Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this story.

To Hasegawa: You are too nice for saying my (perfect perfect) Yao is not ooc. I'm so happy~ If they were against Kol Kol, they'd be dead by now ;)

To all readers: Please enjoy!


Kholodno

Minutes passed since the unnatural flash show had occurred before Yao's eyes. His other sibling and students had since gathered in the garden and were now surrounding him with faces of concern. He looked up with wide eyes at the sibling who performed the show. "Kiku…?" He said the name with an inquiring tone as if he was asking for an answer from the other man, but Kiku didn't have any. Yao could see the same confusion beneath the murky depths of his brother's eyes.

"Sensei, Kiku-nii…," Mei's voice came out in a strain, as if she was about to cry. "What happened?"

Kiku didn't say anything. It wasn't because he didn't want to, but it was because he didn't know anything either. Japan's brows furrowed slightly above his emotionless eyes. Yao understood the necessity for him to talk. His whole body was still shaking from the near-death experience. He took a deep breath to calm himself. When he did, he spoke. "It…all began yesterday…"


What sounded like a fantastic story about a magical curse and witches came from their brother's mouth, but the younger nations knew better than to not believe. Korea and Hong Kong were carefully examining the frozen crops left behind by the 'witch'. It was warm with the sun shining, but the ice hardly showed signs of melting. Mei was kneeling beside her teacher while holding one of his hands. Concern was written all over her face. Kiku stayed in the same place the entire time. He listened quietly, absorbing every word.

"If you hadn't protected me with that yellow light, I would be…" Yao looked up gratefully at Kiku, but Kiku shook his head.

"I wasn't the one who cast that protective charm." He knelt down and seemed to be searching for something on Yao's face. "That was placed well in advance," he continued. "And the source of it comes from…here!" His eyes glimmered ever so slightly from his find. His finger settled slightly before Yao's lips. Everybody just looked a little confused until Mei suddenly screamed from a certain realization. She jumped up and covered her blushing cheeks.

"What is it?" Yong Soo ran to the girl's side. When she only responded with more shrieking, he shook her on the shoulder. "Tell me tell me!"

She turned to Yong Soo. Her eyes were sparkling. "Charms have to do with magic, right? And when we're talking about magic Mr. England comes to mind!" Yong Soo nodded. From the side, Kaoru and Kiku responded the same.

"Sensei was brought home by Mr. England last night…" Kiku interrupted, "Wait, Arthur-san brought Yao-san home last night?" But he was ignored in Mei's fervor. "And he touched sensei on the lips to cast his charm. With what part did he touch sensei though…" Mei trailed off in a tone hinting suspense. Her eyes fell on her teacher. His face had been bright red ever since Kiku found the charm's source. Yao's eyes widened with hers.

"Judging from sensei's reaction…"

"NO, don't say it –aru!"

"…it must have been…"

Yao shot up. He seized her, but the sentence spoken from her mouth went on. "...A KISS!" The words echoed throughout the garden. The four men in it stood motionlessly as the one girl bounced up and down in glee. The first man's face had a big 'O' formed by his mouth as his mind processed the information, the second man covered his face, the third man's expression was unreadable, and the last did not seem too surprised. Kiku was the first to snap out of his trance. He walked over to his older brother as his hand reached inside his pocket for something. It came out with a light blue rectangular object. He took Yao's hand and placed the charm in it.

"Hold on to this. Just in case."

Yao looked at the clothed object. He knew what it was. A 'mamori' as Japan called it. It was a divine charm used to ward off evil. Yao smiled happily at his little brother who cared so much for him, "Thank you, Kiku –aru"

"You're very welcome," Japan smiled equally. "I'm a little less busy now that my business trip is over so please let me stay over at your house, Yao-san." His brother's face brightened at the news. "Really? You'll stay over?" he beamed.

"Yay! Kiku-nii!" Mei cheered, even happier.

Kaoru made his trademark 'wish' sign as a show of approval. Yong Soo contemplated whether he should follow suit. Of course it didn't take long as he blurted out something along the lines of "did you know the concept of 'sleeping over' originated in Korea?" and happily invited himself.

"It's been a long time since I stayed over so I hope I won't be a bother," Kiku noted politely but he was already being dragged away by a cheery bunch. Yao didn't mind having company over, especially the company of his cherished brothers. He was happy and knew he would enjoy their company for the night, whether it was for a playful cause or one of precaution.


End of chapter 7

Let's clear up some confusion~ In the world of this story, Hong Kong and Taiwan are the only ones living in China's house. South Korea and Japan live in their separate houses. The brothers have a good relationship (in this story that is) and to highlight that I made them have breakfast every morning together. Ni-ni likes having a big group for his meals after all~

Also in this story, the concept of 'homosexuality' is no different from hetero because…I'm a fujoshi :DD So to explain Mei's behavior, think a nosy little girl finding out that her cute (really pretty) teacher has finally found a boyfriend. Kiku…may or may not be jealous. I will not say anymore. Till next chapter!