Hooray! Another chapter complete! Today was exhausting, by the way! I stayed up super late last night like an idiot, then had to get up this morning and got my driver's license. XD What even? Either way, I'm very tired, and that's all I've got to say, so I'll shut up now.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, but I wish I did because just about everything in this show is genius! I do own these state personification OCs, though, so I got that at least. :)
"How did you get so good at playing banjo?" she asked with a sparkle in her eyes. Honestly, there was nothing that amazed Oklahoma more than her brother's precision when strumming the strings of his favorite instrument. It really was talent, the hand coordination it took to play at the speeds that he constantly pushed himself to play. If he weren't a state personification with all of his responsibilities and such, he'd be a famous Bluegrass artist for sure.
Her brother smirked at her, flying through some scales just to show off before chuckling. "Takes practice, you know. I've been playing for a loooooong time."
If you asked him, the banjo didn't get the recognition it deserved. It was just as cool as the guitar, if not cooler. Anyone who hated on them banjo players could go jump off a cliff-
CRASH!
Kentucky and Oklahoma were both startled by something suddenly flying into the ditch directly next to them, smashing into the ground upside down. They blinked, having not seen exactly what had happened(though when it comes to the states, not many things leave them speechless), before looking at each other in confusion.
Oklahoma raised her eyebrows. "Uh... What was that?"
"I don't know." was Kentucky's somewhat nonchalant response. "Maybe Colorado crashed again."
"Again?"
Kentucky shrugged before slowly easing himself into the steep ditch. There was dust everywhere, making it hard for him to see anything. He coughed and swatted away what he could before he finally got a glimpse at what had nearly smashed into him and his sister had they been just three inches to their left. To his astonishment, it wasn't a dirt bike, or even a vehicle at all. Rather it was an upside down oversized wheelbarrow.
"What the... Whaaa...?" Kentucky scratched his head in confusion. Of all the things he had expected to find, this was not one of them.
"Did you find anything?" Oklahoma called out to him. The dust had yet to completely settle, so she still couldn't see a thing.
"Well, yeah... I guess." He approached the wheelbarrow, only for his foot to get snagged by a rock or something of that nature and throw him to the ground. Huffing a curse, he started to pull himself back up in annoyance when he noticed a patch of red curly hair under said wheelbarrow. Oregon, who could now see her brother much more clearly, smiled sheepishly at him.
"Hey?"
Kentucky stared at her for a moment before he started to snicker. Oregon's smile fell as she blushed in embarrassment. "Shut up."
"I'm sorry, but what's this suppose to be?" Kentucky laughed. "Is this your new energy-efficient home for environmentalists or something? Looks cozy."
"I said shut up... It's too heavy and I can't get out..." Oregon whined, but Kentucky only snorted in response.
"I'd have to say though, in my most humble opinion, that if this is the route you're taking, I'd think that a doghouse would work much better."
"That's where you'll be if you don't get us out of here in the next five seconds!"
Kentucky gawked in amazement. If he didn't know anything better, he'd say that accent sounded British. He dove forward, startling Oregon enough to scoot her backwards as he poked his head in to see beside her. Sure enough, there sat a very familiar and very irateBrit with bushy eyebrows and covered in dirt. Kentucky's shell shocked face turned into one of pure childish amusement as he threw himself backwards and howled.
"Iggy!? What are you-?! How did-!? Ahahahahaha!" he was laughing so hysterically that his sides already hurt and Oklahoma was starting to worry for his sanity. The following "Don't call me that!" was completely drowned out.
"Are you okay down there?" Oklahoma called. She found herself barely able to contain her own amusement as she watched her brother start hacking from laughing so hard.
"What?" Oklahoma asked.
Kentucky took deep breaths and wiped his eyes. "There- And- He- Hahaha!" his laughs had been reduced to wheezes as his laughing fit continued.
Oklahoma smiled at his amusement. "Don't die from lack of oxygen, 'kay?"
"Who let a hyena into our yard?"
Oklahoma turned around to see two figures coming towards her. Two very different people, they were, and Oklahoma couldn't help but smile seeing hot and cold together. One of them was Arizona, with bright brown eyes that shimmered red in the sunlight to match his light red-orange-ish hair. He smiled brightly at Oklahoma in return, then gesture at their brother.
"Seriously, though, who broke Kentucky?"
Oklahoma peered back into the ditch where Kentucky was now on the ground catching his breath as the yelling from under the wheelbarrow finally came through the noise of his laughter.
"I think someone's stuck." she mused.
"Hmm..." Minnesota, Arizona's companion, knelt down beside her. He pushed his wavy blonde hair out of his face as he peered down at Kentucky and the wheelbarrow with interest in his bright violet eyes that nicely matched his favorite purple beanie.
"Did they crash?" he asked. "I'm guessing that they rolled down or something and landed under it. Arizona and I heard all of the commotion from where we were at the time, don't 'cha know?"(I am so sorry.)
"Yep, that's what happened." Oklahoma confirmed.
"Hey... Haha! Hey- hey, guys! You gotta see this! This is amazing!"
Kentucky's siblings looked down at him with interest as he pointed at the wheelbarrow and motioned for them to see for themselves what was so incredibly funny.
-Hetalia!-
England had never been so humiliated in his entire life. Nor had he ever wanted to shoot someone so badly in his entire life than he did in that moment.
It had been a painful ride down, the wheelbarrow toppling over immediately after they reached the bottom of the hill. Now dusty and irritated, the last thing England needed was another one of America's imps laughing at his misery, and even less so the other three states he could hear nearby.
He recognized Kentucky immediately with his disheveled brown hair sitting lazily down his neck and hazel-colored eyes peering inside their prison. He seemed to always be wearing a plaid shirt of some kind and never bothered to dress up for anything. Despite his poor hygiene(due to not caring), England had to admit that Kentucky was certainly a strong and honest person. He was no gentleman, but he was definitely a personality you could look up to.
Except when he's laughing at your expense and giving you a migraine.
At least he could hear Oklahoma nearby. The young girl had her dirty blonde hair in low pigtails and her bright blue eyes nicely complimented her equally bright smile that was flashing as usual. The only state who had as much of an American smile as her was California when he was flashing a Hollywood grin. She could be overly optimistic sometimes, though.
"This is stupid." he heard Oregon mutter from beside him. She looked just about as amused with this situation as he did, which was not at all.
"Agreed." England stated over Kentucky's now dying laughter(about time).
It still didn't help that there were now three more people standing in front of the overturned wheelbarrow, peering inside curiously at Oregon as she stared back at them somewhat annoyed.
"Uh, help." she requested with an uncharacteristically forceful voice.
Oklahoma was trying her hardest not to laugh, but it was obvious that she found this amusing as well, as did Arizona and Minnesota, who were also trying not to look entertained. Minnesota was doing a rather good job at hiding it, but Arizona eventually just gave up and giggled with Kentucky like little school girls. Of course, Kentucky just had to make the situation that much better for England, now didn't he?
"Did you see him?" Kentucky breathed.
"Him?" Arizona asked, looking further inside to see who "he" was. As expected, he was not disappointed as his eyes widened in shock and recognition.
"England!?" Arizona shouted in surprise. "But wha-. What are you doing in there!? Wow, that's amazing!" he laughed.
"Told ya!" Kentucky exclaimed in amusement. They could hear England slam his fist into the side of the wheelbarrow in frustration, or maybe it was his head? They honestly couldn't tell. Oregon did look a little taken aback. Oklahoma and Minnesota looked inside as well, giving each other surprised glances.
Oklahoma tried to greet him. "Uh, hey, Iggy. Wha-"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
Oklahoma jumped back in surprise. "I-... I'm sorry, Ig-, England. I just... What are you doing under a wheelbarrow?" She let a little chuckle slip at the end of her question, as she, like the others, couldn't really help but find this whole situation hilarious.
"Long story." England growled. He wanted to make it very clear that he was not enjoying any of this at all. Oklahoma seemed to pick up on this, choosing not to interrogate him any further and instead turning to Minnesota, who was coolly talking to Oregon.
"I think we should try to get them out now." Oklahoma stated.
"I think so, too." Minnesota smiled.
"About time." They heard spoken in unison from under the wheelbarrow.
While Kentucky and Arizona watched, Oklahoma and Minnesota went to trying to lift the overturned wheelbarrow, which they quickly discovered was much, much heavier than either of them anticipated. They pushed and pulled, but even with the two personifications trapped inside pushing from underneath, they couldn't seem to make it budge.
"Why is it so big and heavy?" Oklahoma asked no one in particular. "Why do we even have a wheelbarrow this big?"
"It's called 'there's fifty of us and about half of us have at least a small garden somewhere'." Arizona verified.
"And at most, some really big farms." Kentucky added.
Oklahoma and Minnesota glared at the two states standing behind them. "Hey, a little help, please?"
"Right. Sorry, sorry." Arizona rubbed the back of his neck as he approached the two to help them, while Kentucky, with a smirk on his face, silently followed behind him. He didn't care what any of them said. This whole thing was first class entertainment. It became apparent rather quickly that even with their combined strength, this was a very heavy wheelbarrow. Despite this, they were able to lift the bottom a couple inches from the ground.
"Can you crawl out, now?" Minnesota asked.
"Are you kidding?" Oregon asked, though her earlier frustration seemed to have dissipated. "Not even I can fit through there."
"Then cut down on the doughnuts, sis." Kentucky requested.
Oregon shot him a look. "Hey."
Their strength giving out, the four dropped the wheelbarrow, laying on the ground to rest. Their arms were going to be very sore for the next couple of days.
"Well, isn't this just fantastic?" England grumbled.
Oregon sighed in response. This was getting old.
"Is everything okay?" they heard someone call over the sounds of a motor revving. A dirt bike skidded to a halt in front of the group, Colorado taking off his helmet and stretching as Vermont climbed off and approached them.
Vermont leaned down to where Oregon was. "Is anyone hurt?"
"No, just frustrated."
"I guess that's to be expected."
"Yeah..."
"So," Colorado started, boldly following after Vermont. "Can I rest easy tonight knowing that I won't be murdered in my sleep?"
There was a sudden, very violent BAM! against the inside of the wheelbarrow. "YOU! LOOK WHAT YOU DID, YOU DOLT!" England screamed. "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING NEXT TIME, WHY DON'T YOU!?"
England continued to violently lash out at the adventurous state as most of the others tried to tuned him out.
"I'll take that as a no." Colorado confirmed.
"Just be ready to run once he gets out of there." Kentucky advised.
"Got it."
"You probably should, too, Kentucky." Minnesota warned, now covering his now ringing ears to try and protect them from England's vile and high volume curses and threats. He felt very bad for Oregon at that moment.
The six states pondered what to do at this point. Even with Vermont and Colorado, they still probably wouldn't be strong enough to lift the stupid thing high enough for Oregon and England to crawl out. There were options, however.
"Why don't we dig a hole under the wheelbarrow?" Minnesota asked.
"No. Too much unnecessary work." Oklahoma responded. "Why doesn't someone go find Texas or Alaska? They'd both be strong enough to lift it all by themselves!"
"Not a bad idea," said Kentucky. "but aren't they helping Utah and Maine move storage right now?"
"Yeah. They are, aren't they?" Arizona chimed in.
Colorado spoke up with a smile on his face. "We could wait for dad to get back."
"NO!" They heard England shout.
Kentucky chuckled. "Actually, we could do that, 'cause then dad would make fun of him and he'd chase after dad and not us. Good thinking, Colorado."
Colorado responded with a grin and two thumbs up.
"Or we could ask Kansas." Oklahoma, who had been casually looking around, pointed in the direction of their new potential solution. His wavy dust-colored hair was tied back and he was comfortably sporting casual baggy clothing as he made his way to wherever he was going. Kansas was a characters that they didn't see very often. He could be brash and outlandish, but at the same time reclusive and stoic. They were never sure how to deal with him. For all they knew, he would flat out say no. Well, it was worth a try.
"Kansas!" Kentucky called.
Kansas stopped to look over at them, seemingly interested in whatever in the world they would be calling him over for. Kentucky smiled as his brother sauntered over, taking in the sight of the wheelbarrow with a raised eyebrow.
"Long story." Kentucky informed him. "Entertaining as all get out, but long."
"Short version is we need help lifting this thing." said Arizona. "It's too heavy for us, but it probably wouldn't be for Texas. In these circumstances, you're the next best thing."
Kansas looked as if he wasn't sure whether to be pleased with being complimented on his strength, or highly offended at being categorized as "not as good as Texas". After a moment, it seemed like he was leaning towards the latter.
"Ignore him." Vermont said with a friendly smile. "He's being insensitive. Could you kindly move this wheelbarrow so we can help those trapped inside?"
Thank goodness Vermont could be so level-headed. Kansas seemed to appreciate this. "Sure." he answered curtly.
He immediately went to lifting the wheelbarrow, easily pulling it up off the ground and flipping it upright within a matter of seconds. Oregon shot up, dusting herself off and readjusting her beaning and glasses before giving her legs a good stretch.
"That was stupid..." England grumbled as he straightened out his back.
"You're welcome." Kansas blurted. You honestly couldn't blame him for going out of his way to help someone and at least want to be thanked. England looked up at him, sighing in annoyance, though more so towards his situation.
"Thank you, lad."
Kansas nodded in response. "Why were you riding a wheelbarrow?"
"You ask as if I wanted to... Which reminds me."
"Run." was the only thing that got out of Kentucky's mouth before Colorado was bolting past him in an attempt to escape a very angry Englishman chasing after him. The others watched in amusement as England ran after the young state with the ferocity of a dragon as Colorado screamed as he ran for his life.
"He's probably enjoying this." Kansas observed fondly.
"I think you're right." Kentucky laughed.
Kansas suddenly scowled, realizing how close they were to his garden. "Hey, ya'll better not trample any of my sunflowers, you hear!?" he yelled.
Colorado stopped for a second and was about to ask Kansas to repeat himself when he was suddenly tackled to the ground by his pursuer. Kansas shook his head as he approached England violently shaking Colorado around while yelling incoherent curses at him. Kansas had flinched; they had skidded up way too close to his sunflowers, and he didn't even want to think about what he might do to them if that happened... He stood directly in front of them now, looking down at them stoically.
"Please be careful of my sunflowers." Kansas demanded.
England looked up at him surprised as Colorado hung limply in his grip. He hadn't noticed Kansas walking up to them. "What?"
"My sunflowers. You almost ruined my garden." Kansas stated matter-of-factly.
England sighed. It was still being one of those days. "Forgive me, Kansas, but that is none of my concern at the moment."
"It is for me, though." he enforced. "If you want to beat up my brother, could you please have the decency to do so somewhere else?"
England seemed offended. "Decency!? What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means that I'm asking you to get away from my garden." England was now standing eye to eye with Kansas. Kansas hadn't flinched at all under England's gaze, looking him in the eye with full confidence.
"Now you see here. All of you should be speaking to you're elders with a little more respect, so be more respectful towards me, why don't you!?"
"This again." Oregon giggled.
"I'm not trying to be rude, Iggy." England's eye twitched. "I'm just asking to go somewhere else."
England was trying to not be angry and argue with the states. He was just in such a foul mood and now so tired that he was now lashing out at people for very poor reasons. Of course, the person he was now lashing out at was Kansas.
Bad choice.
"Right." England scoffed. In all honesty, he was the one being rude here, but he would never admit that. "Because your flowers are the only thing you can find out in your boring state-"
BAM!
It happened so fast that no one really saw what happened at first. The moment the word "boring" had left England's lips, Kansas's fist was in the air. England reeled back, clutching the side of his face that had been struck. Just great. He was sure to get a black eye from that. He had forgotten just how good was a right hook he had. Kansas was a military expert. What was he expecting?
For a second, Kansas looked unmoved, but then his face fell into a somewhat apologetic expression. "That was a reflex." he sighed.
England nodded, interpreting it as his apology. He might as well stop this nonsense before one of them made it any worse.
"Anyway," England said. "I've been here for long enough and I have things I need to do. So, I imagine that I can leave all of you to your own devices without regretting it later, correct?"
"We were fine 'till you showed up." England shot a dangerous look Kentucky's way.
"You talk too much." England hissed.
"You say too much." Kentucky responded with a friendly smile. "I did enjoy this experience, though, so thanks for that."
"Come on." Oregon suggested. "We still have other states to find, you know?"
"Agreed." said Vermont. "Let's continue on before something else happens."
England couldn't agree more. Perhaps once he left this incident behind him, things would calm down for a while. He hoped so, anyway. He needed a break.
-Hetalia!-
He was wrong.
Oh, he was so horribly, dreadfully, painfully wrong.
England had been happy to finally leave the fiasco with the wheelbarrow behind him. He knew he had been angry, rude, and ungentlemanly, but he really didn't care anymore. He never wanted to be here in the first place and this felt like a good way to vent out his frustration. Besides, they wouldn't hate him for it, so why worry about it. With little things like this, they were surprisingly forgiving, especially the younger states.
It had been nice having his company reduced back to two. He would never say it out loud, but the two hipsters with him were among the more manageable of the states, and thus, easier for him to interact with. He had hoped that it was a good sign that he was now dealing with less rowdy states and that he'd be able to relax a little, or at least until he found the dreaded original thirteen.
Now, if he remembered correctly, America had mentioned nothing of any other nations being present at his home. In fact, Japan had come with England. That wasn't by America's request at all. As far as England knew, he and Japan were the only countries there at the moment.
So why was France there?
The moment he heard that obnoxious "Ohohohohoho!", his eyes widened. Maybe these imps aren't as bad as I've been making them out to be. Anything was better than France.
Oregon and Vermont gave each other looks as England ran ahead of them, probably to make sure he wasn't crazy, or possibly hoping that he was, because on top of every ounce of stress that he's had to deal with today, he didn't need that of all things. Oregon didn't know how much they hated each other from personal experience, but she'd heard plenty of horror stories about times outside of world meetings that they were stuck being near one another. It baffled her how they could be such strong allies during the world wars.
Vermont, however, had been around long enough to have seen the catastrophe that is England and France interacting outside of politics, and he hated it. Vermont is a very gentle soul. Violence is something that he hates more than almost anything in the world. Violence is what usually happens in these situations. He wasn't looking forward to it.
And none of them were crazy, much to England's distress. Despite his best wishes, France was indeed there. They had left the fields by now, now in a park looking area with sidewalks and ponds scattered about. The sound of croaking frogs filled the air as England slowed to a stop and contemplated running in the other direction. Then again, would it even be a good idea to just let France run around America's property without supervision?
Well, it was too late, anyway. He'd been spotted.
"Angleterre?" France called somewhat surprised. "Why, bonjour, mon cher! I didn't expect to see you. What brings you here?"
England grumbled something to himself as Oregon and Vermont caught up with him. "I should be asking you the same thing, frog." he spat.
"Now Angleterre, that is no way to speak to someone. You should be more respectful-"
"CAN IT! I've had a bad day and I'm not in the mood for being lectured by the likes of you!"
France pouted. "What did I ever do to deserve this cruel treatment from you, mon cher?"
"Oh, don't get me started, frog! Why are you even here!? You're trespassing on private property, you know!"
France let out an offended squawk. "I am not trespassing, I'll have you know! I was invited."
"You were what?"
"Yes. This lovely state over here and I visit every once in a while with the sole purpose of perfecting cuisses de grenouille. She is surpisingly talented in collecting the required ingredients, but you would know nothing of this or proper cuisine, now would you?"
England mentally sighed in relief and let his anger at his former charge dissipate. Oh, if he had been the one to invite France...
England also noticed that, yes, there was a state with him, but only one. She had long straight black hair running down her back and light blue eyes hidden behind sleek thin-framed glasses. She was dressed very casually, but that was most likely because she had been prepared to be standing up to her knees in dark, murky water with a spike.
England nodded. That took Missouri off of his list. The girl shifted her glasses and smile politely at him.
"Hi, England." She never noticed England's look of sheer graditude for calling him by his actual name. "I didn't know you'd be here. What's the occasion?"
Oregon answered her. "It's a long story, Missouri. We'll tell you all about it later."
Missouri nodded before spearing an unsuspecting frog with ease and throwing it into a bag. England felt his lips twitch upwards.
"That should be enough." Missouri stated. "Let's go back to the house, now."
"Oui, mon cher. I will show all of the best ways to prepare cuisses de grenouille! You will be so entranced by their wonderful flavor that you will never be able to stand greasy American food again! Ohohohoho!"
Missouri shook her head, then looked over at England. "Would you like to come with us?"
Oregon and Vermont gave her a look of pure disbelief. She didn't really think about that before suggesting anything, did she? England's eyes widened in response, and France not being as upset as him in the least bit only made him even more uneasy.
"I think that is a brilliant idea, mon cher. Come, Angleterre. You and your companions were heading that way as well, no?"
England grimaced. France was going to enjoy this, wasn't he?
Even after cutting this chapter in half, part two here was still a LOT longer than I thought it would be. I guess this will just have to be a chapter longer than I anticipated. I hope you guys don't mind. :)
~AnonymousTwit