Julius was honestly astonished when Alfred had leapt up and threw his mobile. The phone crashed against the wall, shattering into pieces.

The brunet man morphed his expression into one of impassiveness and he stared at Alfred, who was panting heavily, clenching and unclenching his fists.

"I don't need your help!" he shouted, eyes blazing. "I don't want anyone to help me. I've been independant for years, and I don't need anyone now!" he declared, glaring furiously at the man before him, various emotions swimming in his sky-blue eyes.

The elder man's eyes were boring into his, staring at him in pity, almost patronisingly. The man eventually broke the gaze and sighed forlornly with a shake of his head. "Regrettable," he murmured, getting off of the desk and rifling through his drawers.

Alfred's breathing finally got back under control but he remained scowling. "What is?" he muttered, his shoulders not as tense as they previously were.

"I was going to recommend you for a job at the precinct in America next year," Julius replied vaguely, eyes trained on the documents he was scanning.

"Wh-what?" Alfred stuttered, backtracking. His eyes were wide again instead of narrowed, and all signs of anger had vanished by now. "Really?"

"Mm," the older man hummed in agreement with a nod. "I mean, including this year, you only have two years left, and I know that you preferred your home." He shrugged and looked up from whatever he was reading. "But I guess there's no point then, right?"

The blond frowned in confusion and annoyance. He waited for a few seconds, wondering if Julius was going to continue and explain, but the man simply glanced back down at his documents, humming to himself.

Shifting uncomfortable, Alfred finally grumbled, "I'd... like that."

Julius disguised a smirk and merely looked up at him with a quirked brow. "Would you now?" he drawled rhetorically. "But I thought you didn't want help," he mumbled, discreetly emphasising the last three words, appeased when Alfred appeared very awkward.

"Well," the American muttered, averting his gaze. "I guess I could accept this." He then turned to glower at his head teacher. "What do you want in return?" he asked, and Julius chuckled in amusement.

"No getting past you, eh, Alfred?" the man said jokingly, smiling a closed-eyed smile to hide his deceptive eyes. "Well," he said in a sing-song tone, standing up and streching. "I think you can guess for yourself what I want."

Alfred frowned for a second before he sighed and looked down. "Right. Yeah, I know," he grumbled moodily, almost pouting. "But... can I do it later?" he asked hopefully. At Julius's expression of disapproval, he hastily added, "I will do it. I just... want some time to think things over and stuff, you know?" He looked straight into the man's brown eyes, and the elder man could see the pleading within the blue orbs, and so, taking pity on the poor kid, he nodded curtly once.

"All right," he agreed. "But if you don't go through with it..."

"Don't worry," the blond said, flashing a grin. "A hero never goes back on his word, and I'm one of them heroes!"

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"It's really unfair that he made me go to classes today!" Alfred whined petulantly, pouting and stuffing his hands in his pockets. Matthew glanced at him tiredly. "I didn't even have class today, but he made me make up what I'd missed..." he grumbled. "He usually lets me off."

As they approached the outside, they zipped up their jackets and took out their strong umbrellas, Matthew having thought ahead due to the strong wind that would turn most umbrellas inside-out.

"Alfred," his brother said wearily. "You have to work hard to obtain things. You know how hard I'm working to become a lawyer," he said softly. "A-and the others," he added hastily, not wanting to seem like he was bragging. "Everyone's doing so much do just get by. So, for him to actually offer you this opportunity..." He shook his head and looked at his brother properly. "You should be very grateful."

The blond glared at him and opened his mouth to retort, but stopped himself when Matthew flinched. He closed his mouth and paused for a long moment before saying quietly, "Yeah. Yeah, I know."

Matthew smiled. "Good," he said. "I'm glad." He looked around before crossing the road, and then jogged to catch up to his danger-seeking brother who didn't even glance on the roads. He muttered a feeble attempt at berating him, but went ignored. As usual, he thought with a sigh as they approached the bus stop.

"I wish it weren't raining so much," Alfred muttered with a heavy sigh, pouting. "Rain is so dull."

The younger boy shot the other blond a scepitcal look. "Honestly, what did you expect?" he asked rhetorically. "This is England," he reminded his brother.

"I know that," Alfred snapped, and inwardly cursed at his temper when his brother silently looked away. "Sorry." He ran a hand through his hair. "Anyway," he said with a grin. "D' you wanna go to McD--"

The rest of his sentence went unheard, but the brothers did hear a screech of tires, a scream, and more screams, before a vehicle reeled off the road, breaking through the barriers and rolling down.

The brothers stood there, astonished, as people gasped and shouted amongst themselves. People flipped out phones to call an ambulance whilst one small woman pushed the crowd aside, bawling her eyes out. "Big brother!" she screamed as tears poured down her face. She dropped onto her knees next to the still figure in the road and immediately ripped off a piece of fabric from her dress, pushing it against the huge wound in his stomach and applied pressure. "Please, big brother, stay with me!" she sobbed, her small shoulders shaking as blood poured out of the prone figure on the ground.

The two brothers remained there in the pouring rain even when the ambulance arrived, both of their eyes wide and horrified, but one's more so than the others.

Just like... that time...

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"Alfred... did you make it home all right?"

"Yeah, Mattie. I'm on the phone, aren't I?" replied the elder brother into his phone, buttoning his pyjama shirt as sitting down on his bed.

"Yeah..." Matthew agreed, sounding slightly distracted. He shook it off, however, and said, "Anyway, we should get some sleep."

"What?" Alfred look scandalised. "Didn't that freak you out?" he exclaimed.

"You know it did," the younger boy responded quietly, and Alfred could just imagine him hugging his old Kumijarou bear. That bear was really odd, Alfred thought.

"Right..." Alfred agreed, feeling awkward. "Fine, well... sleep well, Mattie," he said.

"Yeah. Good night, Alfred."

"'Night," he said, and hung up. He stared at the phone in his hand for a long moment before reluctantly reaching out and grabbing the yellow post-it.

"Daddy!" a small boy screamed, eyes wide and fists clenched tightly around his bear. "Daddy," he said with a sob. "Why aren't you talking?"

Alfred sat frozen for a moment before noticing his brother was crying. "D-don't worry, Mattie," he said shakily. "I'm sure dad's fine," he mumbled uncertainly. He moved forward to look into the driver's seat but whined as pain flashed through him. Looking down, he noticed a small red patch on his white shirt. He clutched his side as if it helped stop the pain and sat backwards.

"A-Alfred...?" his brother whispered fearfully, terrified.

Alfred smiled in reassurrance. "Someone will be here to help us soon."

Swallowing loudly, he began dialling the number.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

"Good afternoon. Kiku Honda speaking. You have contacted the Yin Tian Agency. How may we help you?" a certain Japanese man greeted politely, pausing in the letter he was writing.

"Uh, hey," replied the voice on the other end. Kiku immediately noticed the American accent and, judging by his hesitation, he wasn't already a patient at their therapy agency. "I'm... uh... Alfred Jones. Um... I was told to call you guys," he said awkwardly.

"Yes, sir," Kiku said politely, knowing that people always felt uncomfortable calling for therapy.

"Um... I was told to call some guy... Wang Yao?" he ventured a guess, not really good at remembering things.

"My brother," Kiku informed him calmly.

"Yeah, right," Alfred agreed, and then there was an awkward pause.

"So, when would you like your appointment to be booked?" the Japanese man asked, getting to the point, getting out his pen again.

"Wh-what? Oh," Alfred said, sounding incredibly uncertain. "Well, I dunno..."

"Shall I book it for tomorrow?" Kiku offered helpfully. "Maybe this rain will die down by then," he explained.

"Oh. Right. Sure."

Kiku waited patiently until the boy made a sound of understanding.

"Oh. Uh... how about eight?"

"In the morning?" the black-haired man asked, still patient.

"Morning? Jesus Christ! No!" the American exclaimed, making Kiku jump in surprise. "I meant in the evening. Who's awake at eight in the morning?"

Everyone who works here, Kiku thought bluntly but merely said, "All right... The only person working at that time is Mr. Kirkland."

"Uh... all right," Alfred replied uncertainly, not really caring about the person's name. "Well, thanks, I guess."

"You are welcome. Good afternoon, Mr. Jones."

"Um... yeah, see ya."

He hung up and blinked at the phone. That was weird, he thought. But easier than I'd anticipated...

Shrugging, he put his phone on the bedside table, removed his glasses, and heeded his brother's advice and tried to sleep.

On the other end of the line, the phone rang again. Sighing softly and a bit tiredly, Kiku picked up the phone. "Good afternoon. Kiku Honda speaking. You have contacted--"

"Mr. Honda," a voice said gravely, sounding apologetic and rueful.

Kiku blinked slowly. "Yes...?" he asked slowly, a feeling of dread creeping up on him.

"I am sorry to inform you that your elder brother, Wang Yao, has been hospitalised at St. George's Hospital(1). He is currently in the emergency room and I am uncertain whether or not he is yet in stable condition..."

The person had said more, but Kiku didn't hear it, as he had dropped the phone.

Aniki has been... hospitalised?

"I am uncertain whether or not he is yet in stable condition..."

"Kami-sama," the Japanese man breathed, his eyes burning slightly. He shakily reached for the phone to hear the person calling his name. "I'm here. C-can I come down to the hospital?" he asked, forcing a calm tone even though his nerves were frantic.

"You may, however you won't be able to see your brother until he is in stable condition," the man on the other end replied regretfully.

"Okay. I understand." Kiku swallowed and took a deep breath. "Thank you for calling."

"No problem," the man replied gently, and added a final apology before cutting the line.

Kiku dropped the phone and sobbed into his hands.

O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-o-O

Characters/APH (c) Hidekaz Himaruya

(1) This is a real hospital. I should know; my mother goes there frequently.

I'm so sorry, Kiku and siblings. ;n; It isn't my fault, I swear! It was [SPOILER CENSORED]. So, you understand, of course?

Alfred and Arthur meet in the next chapter, but not the way you may think. It isn't anything to get excited about... actually... no. No, it isn't. Or is it? My apologies, guys. I'm rather drunk. ...XD No, not really.

Reviews are very much appreciated. ;w; I will give you scones in compensation. -holds out tray of burnt scones- So, please review. c: I'll just be reading (again) before I start writing the next chapter. Yes, reading and research is the majority of what I do in my spare time. Along with video games, watching porn, listening to music... -coughs- Just kidding. XD ...Or am I? Yes.

I'm just going to shut up now (finally). Please review. I thrive on them. I must improve...!