The Disappearance of Kiku Honda

A/N: Oh, my dear freaking lord, my week sucked. The reason I didn't update was because I had an adverse reaction to the anesthesia when I got my wisdom teeth removed. Believe you me, I would soooo have rather been writing this and-dare I say it-going to school. But, no. Life just isn't that nice. I'm still not completely back to don't kill meeeeeee...!

Chapter 7:

"R-Russia? Y-You found m-m-me?" England whispered, shivering. "No... N-No... Just an... illusion... just like the o-others..." England curled into a ball, whimpering. "Even HIM...? I didn't think he COULD die... Will I have to watch that t-too...? Like all the others...?"

"Eh...?" Russia sat up, cocking his head. "You make no sense, da? I am Russian. I dhon't die." He smiled, feeling proud that he had found the one in trouble so easily, even though the Russian had heard the scream far away. Maybe the Englishman was one of those 'ventriloquists'? "But you can, da? So let us find dhe odhers and... hmm, whadh is dhat word in English again...? Oh, da! 'Regroup'."

England didn't seem to hear him, though. "Just an illusion... Don't g-get sucked into it, Arthur... It'll pass... D-Don't... Don't let yourself hope..."

"'Illusion'? Dhat means 'fake', da? I am not fake..." Russia said, perplexed. "I can show you, da?" With that, he picked up England the same way he had done in Japan's home.

England screamed, totally unprepared for the unpredictable Russian's move. "Wh-What are you d-doing, you bloody git! How can you e-even touch me when you're not-" England cut off and stared. "... real..." He finished, unable to believe what was happening.

"I dhink I have proved dhat I am real, упрямый мальчик. Why are you being so strange? Hm... maybe you have finally fallen ill from your foodh...?" Russia frowned slightly, confused. "I do not know how to fix dhat, but Yao-Yao probably couldh... Let us go find him, comrade~! Dhen we will have you back to your grumpy self, da~!" Russia giggled, starting to walk around the docks aimlessly, searching for the small Chinese man.

"You're real... You're really here...!" England mumbled, finally realizing the truth. "Wait, what was that bloody comment about my food! There is nothing wrong with my food! Scones and tea are part of a healthy diet! I don't need China's help! AND I'M NOT GRUMPY!"

Russia looked at the annoyed nation in his arms. "Mmn... Well, you are not back to your regular self, da? So... dhere is a need for him."

"WHAT?! What about me is wrong, you bloody git?!"

"Because in your list of complaints, dhere was not one about me carrying you, da?" Russia shook his head. "It is not like you to forget to complain about somdhing."

England stared in shock for all of two seconds before flying into a rage that threatened to make the Russian drop him. "YOU BLOODY GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

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"YOU BLOODY GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" A yell echoed around the docks, making Germany and China stop what they were doing.

"Was that England, aru...?" China asked, sweatdropping.

"I... vhould assume zhat, ja..." Germany sighed. "Does zhat mean zhat it was Amerika zhat screamed? It sounded like England... I vhas almost positive..." Germany looked to the sky, feeling the rain drops fall on his face.

"Mm, aru. I think it was England that screamed, but he seems alright now, aru. Let us go back, aru. I do not like this creepy harbor, and I am getting very wet, aru..." China looked around, frowning.

"Ja. I have kept track of vhere vhe have been, so it vhill not be zhat hard to fo back to zhe building..." Germany muttered, as efficient as ever.

China smiled, relieved. "Good, because I am completely lost, aru..."

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"-GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"

America's head jerked up, hearing the last of his brother's bellow. "Wha...? But I thought he was over here...?" America looked up at the boat he'd found. It had been around where he'd heard the other screams, and was the only one around that looked passable enough for England to have boarded. But it didn't have the symbol that England was finished searching it: the British flag. I know England better than anyone. He'd have found this ship in no time. This is definately where he went... so... why am I hearing his voice over there...? Dammit! I'm supposed to be the hero, but I can't even find him...

"Well... He HAD sounded more mad than scared... I bet he took care of whatever was going on..." America nodded, comforted by his own knowledge of England's power. "Iggy's strong. Not as strong as the hero, but strong enough for any random villan. But I don't think he finished searching this thing... Maybe..." America laughed. "I got it! I'll finish things up here, and then Iggy'll be all like 'I can't believe you did this for me, America! You really are a hero!'. And then I'll find Japan, and be his hero, too! Man, what a great plan! Ah ha ha ha!"

America boarded the ship, finding nothing of interest on the deck, and definately no flag. "Maybe on the inside...?" America opened the hatch to the inside, climbing down the ladder. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary, just a few doors leading to small rooms. This was just what they needed, it seemed; America smiled at the thought of how much praise he would get when he got back to the others. He wondered what had kept England from searching this ship.

Fishing in his pocket, America found the American flag sticker he kept in his pocket for when his brother, Canada, tried to embarrass himself with tattooed leaves on his forehead. America stuck it on the side of the boat, meaning that he had searched it and found it passing. Staring at it, America sighed, a little bit sad at the memories it brought back. England and himself had used to search ships like these, back before the Revolution. They'd put England's flag on the ships when they split up so they didn't search the same ships twice. Man, I miss the days England wasn't always mad at me... Now it seems like everything I do is wrong... I guess even heroes make mistakes...

America gave one last look back at the boat. He'd gotten a strange feeling while on board, but nothing else seemed amiss. If they couldn't find another good boat, then the group really could go all the way to Okinawa in this craft. Thank goodness, I'm so hungry from all this searching!

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England turned from the group as they waited for America to show up. Shortly after England finally managed to get out of the Russian's grip, Germany and China appeared, asking why he'd been screaming. England was reluctant to admit that he'd been caught off guard and got the bloody hell scared out of him, so he only gave vague replies. Germany had let it drop, but England could feel China's eyes boring into his back even now.

"Heeeeey, dudes, you'll never guess what I found!" America's shout carried over the pitter-patter of the rain. He didn't seem to mind the fact that he was soaking wet, and looked genuinely happy to see them. That was what made England lose his self control. Slowly, he walked up to his little brother and just hugged him. It was a simple gesture to anyone else, but for the brothers, both knew what it meant.

It meant America was forgiven.

America stared at the top of his brother's head, hardly believing that the embrace was real. Awkwardly, he patted England's head, not able to do much else with the chokehold on his other arm and chest. He heard England whisper something softly, but was unable to catch it. "What did ya say, bro?"

England looked up, unfallen tears in his eyes, and hissed, "Bloody hell, you git, I watched you die."

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A/N: Is this long enough...? *Glances at the time* Oh, hell yeah, it better be long enough! I spent three hours on this sucker with all of that editing!

So glad you guys care enough to write reviews to kick my lazy but into gear~! I actually find that nice. I think I might be a little bit backwards... _ 6_6 _ Yup, I'm backwards.