Disclaimer:
I do not own Hetalia.
Note: I would be using their character
names, mostly. This is an AU fic—a very AU one. Also, I would like
to apologize early for any out of character behaviour and/or poor
plotting.
..
Along the hollow hallways, the faint sound of cheery laughter gently bounced off the thin walls.
Right now, in the following day, there sat five people in the room displaying the back yard. The atmosphere was mildly comfortable, but it still demanded the silence of sophistication from every individual.
Arthur was sitting on the floor with his legs crossed—Alfred and Matthew did the same thing beside the man. Even with his clothes still rather damp from last night's rainfall, the Englishman stubbornly wore the attire to the long-awaited meeting. The children, though, had worn the robes from when Kiku was still as a kid. "I was about to throw them out, but I think it is wiser to lend them to you." The Japanese man had answered before at the first night they had arrived in the house.
Across the three foreigners, Kiku was sitting down in the kneel-and-sit combination posture. He looked slightly disturbed; he would stare at the empty space in front of him. Ever since the incident that had happened last night, the Japanese man was trying to avoid the Englishman's gaze—he'd always look down at the floor. It was as if looking at the other would only remind him of the strange dream he had.
To be honest, that was exactly it. And for some reason, remembering the dream would somehow make the smaller man's stomach twitch in pain; it also made his face get faintly flushed.
Beside Kiku was another person who also sat with his legs crossed (it was similar to how Arthur was sitting like). The new person had long, dark hair that was tied back in a loose tail; he looked nothing like the Japanese man, but the air of brotherly familiarity was found between them—at least that was what was coming out from the new man. Currently, the latest character was busy reading over the small stack of papers in his hand.
That person was the same one who Kiku had considered as a brother. From the clothes that the other was wearing and the accent that he spoke with, anyone could tell that the person had been staying in China for quite some time. Suddenly realizing this, Arthur wondered why the Japanese man was left to live on his own with the condition he was in.
Knowing this sort of angered him—sort of…probably a bit more than that, really. He really wasn't aware of what he was feeling, anymore.
Alfred then yawned. Arthur immediately hushed him. The two children soon walked out to the yard to play (the small American dragged the other boy with him).
A
few moments have passed; the Chinese-styled man finished the read
with a small sigh. "I have no problem having your company as our
business partner, but the local shops here have been losing sales.
Ours is of no exception." The man passed the papers towards the
Englishman.
"Even with the current situation, Mr. Wang Yao, I
believe that your sales would prosper—if ever you were to become
partners with us."
"Why does your company focus on Japan and
not China, then?"
"Going to the heart of the business empire
would surely cause some confusion. It might affect the benefit we are
looking for."
"That is usually a great advantage,
aru."
"Well—I find great potential in this country. With new
people coming in everyday, probably having some outside help would
gain a good lead."
The Chinese man paused in thought. With the small time he was given, Arthur's eyes looked over towards Kiku's direction. The Japanese man had not looked up since the meeting had started, but the Englishman suspected the other's awareness of the unwanted attention.
Yao
suddenly turned his head to Kiku (somewhat startling the Englishman
back to reality); the both of them started conversing in another
language—presumably Chinese. With a small nod from the Japanese
man, the other looked over at Arthur. With a smile on his face, he
soon decided to agree to the partnership. "If your queen is able to
make many admirable businessmen, then I have no problem with them
asking for me, aru."
"If only her majesty, Victoria, would
have heard such flattery."
"If only she would."
Soon after the pleasant meeting, everything else went back to the playful atmosphere that the two children brought about. Kiku was found talking to little Matthew, and the small boy held onto the little polar bear in his arms. Nobody but the two and Alfred knew what they were talking about—they looked as if to have an enjoyable conversation, though. The small American was busy with a ball that the Japanese man had offered. "This is what I used to play with." Kiku would say.
As
for Arthur and Yao, who were inside one of the many rooms of the
house, the air was increasingly suffocating. Both of them had severe
expressions etched on their faces— "So you know of my little
brother's sickness." Even with the fake relaxed tone in the
Chinese man's voice, the two men knew that this was not a time to
be so blithe.
"As I had said, why have you left Kiku?"
"Aiyah—I
have always thought that Kiku would prefer women and not
men."
"Kindly answer my question."
"I never knew my
little brother would be so attracted to a foreigner, no less."
Still having a rather expressionless look, Arthur had remained to not move a muscle (nor flush at the Chinese man's latest comment)—he was absolutely serious. It was plain idiotic to leave a loved one alone to suffer.
Actually, it was simply cruel to leave a being to suffer. Everyone with the right mind could easily agree to this.
This is why Alfred and Matthew are with the Englishman now. The two of them were leading decent lives because Arthur had rescued them. Alfred would never again be stuck in America with only having to walk aimlessly through the dark streets. Matthew would have been sent to an unloving family, or he would have been tracked down by the group that had brought him to the harbour that the Englishman just happened to go to.
Arthur took them in and cared for them; he raised them as if they were his own flesh and blood. Now, here was this man in front of him— this fucking bastard that left his brother to writhe in pain and letting his relative gradually wither away.
The Englishman instantly dubbed himself guilty with the same treason. He had left his friend (who he now remembered was a merchant from China) to suffer on the dusty road in an unfamiliar labyrinth of wooden fortresses.
Nevertheless, Kiku is the other's relative—the person's own brother, for goodness' sake.
Yao
then began to lay on the floor; he looked up at the ceiling while
having his head rest on an arm. He was obviously avoiding
eye-contact; this peeved Arthur, greatly. "I have told my brother
about letting me see what was wrong—"
"Honestly, you have no
right by calling him your brother."
"How about I call him my
half-brother? We are born from different mothers, anyways."
"I
shall dare to persist that you still have no right,
whatsoever."
"What a harsh man you are. I wonder how Kiku
tolerates you."
"…At least by looking at him, have you
figured out what is wrong with him?"
The Chinese man turned to his side and faced Arthur while having his head propped up with the palm of his hand and with his elbow having to land on the floor; he looked down at the floor and drew random shapes with the finger from his free hand. The silence only thickened from then on.
"He
suffers from severe stomach upsets, frequent vomiting, and fatigue.
The last time I had visited him, his chest was in pain and he had
quickly lost weight. No matter how much I fed him, he would soon lose
everything he ate after a few hours. There are even times when he
cannot
walk around without have a shortness of breath.
"I believed it
to be Cholera—we had been faced with it years ago, so it is not
impossible. He had been clearly showing signs of it then and at this
time. I do not think it is the case, right now. I know he has been
cured from it, and I know something inside him is not well. I just do
not know what it is.
"I had offered my help many times, but Kiku
would tell me that he knows how to handle himself. When I kept
insisting him to let me see what was troubling him, he had only
become more distant with me. I started giving him medicine because I
learned to give up. He is very stubborn—just as you are, aru."
Taking
the opportunity of the silence that had appeared once more, Yao had
pocketed out what looked to be a pipe of some sort. Arthur was still
recovering from the things he had been told, but he managed to keep
in touch with his surroundings—he eyed the Chinese man almost
incredulously. "Though you know how to heal a man and maintain
one's health, you are endangering yourself. Why is that so?" The
Englishman nearly spat the words out.
"One learns to seek for
alternatives. I am surprised that you are being so naïve about
this—this was introduced to my country from yours,
did it not?"
"Just what are you running away from, if you do
not mind me asking?"
The Chinese man continued to take his time with the long pipe he held in his hand— the smell of the smoke coming out from the pipe was both inviting and disgusting. Arthur decided to brand it as disgusting. Yao then breathed out a small cloud of the narcotics from his mouth.
"One of the many things that I am running away from is rather obvious, Mr. Kirkland." The man paused as if to build up the anticipation for the other. "It is not long before Kiku's body returns to the earth below us."
A second after that, Arthur had jumped out of the room.
Yao continued to breathe in the addicting smoke as he heard the Englishman's heavy footsteps fade away. The Chinese man sighed deeply to himself. He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them with new ones that looked fogged. He looked up at the ceiling once more as if there was something that had caught his eye. "Aiyah…look at the rabbit on the moon—he is making medicine, aru."
He abruptly laughed aloud as if there was a person beside him; immediately after that, he silently cried to himself. The pipe then dropped from his hand to the floor with an inaudible drop. "What a useless older brother you have, Kiku. I think the rabbit on the moon would make a much better doctor than me, aru."
He began laughing again, once more.
He began crying again, soon after.
