First of all, I would like to apologize for taking so long with this update! Writer's block and college are both smacking me upside the head at this point in my life, but I'll try to update faster in the future. Once again, sorry for the long wait!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Hetalia. If I owned Hetalia, there would never be any updates.
Chapter 10: Follow the Sun
Yao paused for a moment, allowing his eyes to follow the man with the bowl hair cut.
'Could it be?'
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Yao took a deep breath and willed himself to follow the shorter man. Lost in his daze, he didn't notice Feliciano turn to give him a questioning look.
"Hm? Mr. Jenkins, where are you going?" the Italian unit asked, tilting his head to the side as he watched Yao turn a corner.
Yao didn't answer him, he only continued to walk until the shorter man stopped in front of an elevator.
After catching up to the shorter man, Yao grabbed his arm, swinging the younger man around. Startled, the young man gave a high pitched squeak as he dropped the papers he was holding.
Yao stared at the man for a moment, his hand almost crushing the man's arm in a vice like grip. He examined the man's face, finding that the man wasn't his long lost master. Kiku had brown eyes, a stark contrast to this man's green eyes. This man's complexion was also pale, much too light to match Kiku's complexion. The final difference between this man and Kiku lied in two screws on the side of this man's neck.
This man was an android, which meant he wasn't Kiku.
Loosening his grip, Yao let the other android's arm fall back to its owner's side. Stuttering, the android spoke.
"Uh- um...is th-there something I can he- help you with sir?" he said, obviously nervous. If androids possessed sweat pores, Yao imagined that the other android would be sweating through his clothing right now.
"No. I- you just looked like someone I once knew. An old friend." Yao replied, straitening his back. "I apologize for making you drop your belongings. Let me help you pick them up-aru."
"Oh, no, it's qu-quite alright sir. I can retrieve them myself." the other unit said, already bending down to pick up the fallen papers.
Despite the android's protest, Yao helped him pick up the papers. After all, it was his fault that the papers were on the floor, why shouldn't he help pick them up? From what he saw, most of the papers featured graphs and stocks, probably some reports on weapons sales or something like that.
Yao continued to idly retrieve the papers until he saw a sheet with what looked like a list of network servers on it. Glancing up to make sure the other android was occupied, Yao quickly folded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket.
After retrieving the rest of the sheets, Yao stood up, the other unit rising soon after.
"I believe these are yours." Yao said, handing the papers to the shorter unit.
"Th-thank you so much!" the other unit stammered, quickly bowing before rushing into the elevator. Before the door closed, the android turned to Yao one last time, giving him a warm smile before the door closed.
Although the other unit didn't see it, Yao's face mirrored the happy expression. It always felt nice to help others, and Yao might have even gotten a new lead for his kindness.
"Oh! There you are, Mr. Jenkins!" a voice called, followed by the sound of foot steps.
Yao turned around, only to come face to face with Feliciano.
"Oh, he-hello-aru." Yao stammered.
"Hi there! Was something wrong? You kinda just...wandered off." Feliciano said, concern in his voice.
"Huh? Oh, no! I'm alright, thank you. That man...just looked like someone I knew." Yao said, trying to brush off the loaded question. The last thing he needed was letting anyone know about Kiku.
"Would you like our branch to conduct a search on the person? With our technology, we'll be able to find them." Feliciano suggested.
'Is he trying to lure me?' Yao thought. He knew he shouldn't reveal his ulterior motive, but he wanted to find Kiku. He wanted to be reunited with him. He wanted to be close to him again. He wanted to know he was safe. He quickly weighed his options, the pros and cons. If he gave Feliciano Kiku's name, then yes, Kiku would be found faster. However, if Kiku was in the company, then that would tip off the rest of the company to Yao's relation to him. If he told Feliciano about Kiku, Yao would open a can of worms that would be very difficult to close.
But if Yao didn't give Feliciano Kiku's name, then Kiku might never be-
'No.' Yao thought. 'I won't think like that. I will find him.'
"There's no need to do that. He's already dead." Yao lied.
"Oh...I'm so sorry." Feliciano said.
"No, it's fine. Now how about we finish the tour?" Yao asked.
"Of course!" Feliciano said, turning on his heel and leading Yao back to the group.
Looking at the unit in front of him, Yao made two mental notes.
One, watch out for Ludwig.
Two, Feliciano was now a threat. He seemed smarter than he looked, and to underestimate him would be a grave error.
A couple hours later, Yao sat in his new room, provided by Europa. The room had plain, white walls adorned with one painting of sunflowers and a metallic clock. There was a desk in the far left corner of the room with a small lamp and various papers scattered about it. Next to the desk was a simple, metallic bookshelf filled with numerous novels and magazines. In the far right side of the room was a painting of a woman in Victorian clothing. Yao thought both paintings looked out of place in the futuristic room.
Of course, the room also had a bed and a door to what Yao assumed was a built in bathroom. He sighed and laid in his bed, trying to sort out his thoughts and his objectives.
First, name objectives.
One, find Kiku if he was here. Two, destroy the branch. Three, live to see another day.
The goals seemed simple enough, but the more Yao thought about them, the more he worried about the opposition he faced. Feliciano and Ludwig were here, and Yao knew those two were threats and to make matters worse, Yao needed to operate under the false guise of 'William Jenkins'. It was only the first day, and he already felt like the guise was slowly suffocating him.
'It's exhausting pretending to be nice to these people.' Yao thought, remembering the tactics Europa sunk to get their workers. After seeing the same unit from five years ago, there was no doubt in Yao's mind that Europa was also responsible for Kiku's kidnapping. If he knew where Kiku was held he would just-
The sound of footsteps in the hallway snapped Yao out of his thoughts. He sprung up on his bed, looking toward the door and listening.
The footsteps were light, moving about the tiled floor outside with soft clicks.
'Heels? No...they could be dress shoes too...' Yao thought, trying to identify the person in the hall. If it was a member of Europa, he would have to act like the fake persona forced onto him. If it was an ally, then he was safe.
The footsteps stopped and Yao's door opened, revealing the woman who now called herself 'Nancy Johnson'.
"Hello, William, may I come in?" she asked, wearing an innocent smile.
"Oh...of course. Come on in." Yao said, making room for Mei on his bed.
"Thank you."
Mei walked over to Yao's bed, sitting down on it and smiling. Yao could've sworn he saw her eyes flash red.
"How are you adjusting to our new life?" Mei asked, reaching into her pocket to produce a single sheet of paper and a pen.
"Um..okay, I guess-aru. It's a lot to take in at once." Yao honestly replied. He wasn't used to the atmosphere in Europa, a suffocating air that kept both workers and androids on their toes. He felt as though at any moment someone would burst through the door and blow his cover.
"I agree, it is a lot to take in. However I know that we'll both be just fine. We're smart, and there was a special reason that we were both chosen." Mei replied, scribbling something on the paper in front of her. After she finished her statement, she handed the paper and pen over to Yao.
Slowly, Yao read the contents of the paper.
This room is bugged. There are wire taps, but no cameras. We have to continue talking about mundane things while we carry on the real conversation here.
Yao gave a quick nod, hoping that Mei got the message. Then, he continued to speak.
"Yeah, I guess so-aru. But at least everyone here seems nice." he gave a shrug before scribbling a reply on the piece of paper. "What do you think they'll have us doing first?" Finishing his statement, he passed the paper to Mei.
Very well. Is there anything new regarding the mission?
Mei tsked before replying, writing another reply on the paper.
"Ha, they'll probably have us doing paper work. After all, they can't really give the big jobs to the new recruits, huh?" she said, passing the paper back to Yao.
Not yet. We didn't exactly get a chance to explore because we were tethered to Feliciano all day. Did you find anything new? You walked off somewhere for a moment on the tour.
Yao read the paper, already working on his written reply.
"Heh, I guess not-aru. I just hope the paper work isn't too boring. I always hated paper work during my schooling." he said, finishing his reply and handing it back to Mei.
I retrieved a sheet of servers. I plan to hack into them to see if there's any info we can use for our mission. I just need to wait for a chance.
"Well, it's not too hard to dislike paper work. After all, who would want to sit in a cubicle all day?" Mei replied, writing more on the paper. After finishing, she held up the paper to Yao.
That's great! Tell us if there's anything we can do to assist you. The servers may hold some useful information. However, I also wanted to ask if you were okay. You seemed kinda dazed when you walked off.
Mei gave him a concerned look and Yao nodded, taking the piece of paper from Mei and quickly writing a response, returning the sheet when he was done.
"True, well, I guess we'll see what Europa has for us tomorrow, huh?" he said, adding on to the mundane conversation he and Mei were having. Mei read the paper.
I'm fine. Just reminded of a few bad memories, that's all. Don't worry about me.
Mei only reached out, taking Yao's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
'Everything will be alright.' she mouthed, giving a small smile. Yao returned the smile, also giving Mei a squeeze back.
"Yes, I suppose we will." Mei said. "I guess I'd better let you go before we stay up all night, huh? I don't want you to be too tired for the work we'll have tomorrow."
Mei then stood up, letting go of Yao and plucking the paper from his hand before stuffing it in her pocket.
"I guess so-aru. It was nice talking to you though, see you tomorrow." Yao said, standing up and walking Mei to the door.
"Like wise. See you tomorrow." Mei said, smiling before leaving. Yao closed the door behind her, leaning up against it and sighing. There was no going back now. He was here, in Europa trying to complete a mission that had a high chance of failing.
After all, how could a handful of people bring down one of Europa's core branches?
He took out the list of servers from his pocket, unfolding it and scanning the surface. Would this single clue lead him to Kiku? Could he really find his old master while running from a tyrannical company? He wasn't sure anymore.
Yao wished for the old days, when he and Kiku were still together. Before the death of his parents, before Europa rose to power. Things seemed so much simpler back then. Yao didn't have to worry about a company that had the authorities under its thumb. He didn't have to walk on egg shells in fear of being killed.
No, back then, his biggest worry was keeping Kiku safe.
"I guess I failed at doing that." Yao mused, sliding down to sit on the ground. He sat there for a moment, trying to process the situation he was in, but no matter how much he thought about it or tried to rationalize it, it just sounded like something out of a novel, a dream someone came up with.
Yao looked at the paper again, trying to make sense of the complicated looking mix of numbers and letters on it. Something had urged him to take this paper, something inside him told him this sheet of paper was important. As he stared at the paper, Yao made a resolution.
In a week's time, he would see where the paper led him.
Folding the paper and placing it back in his pocket, Yao stood up from the ground, making his way over to the bed to attempt to sleep in preparation for the day ahead.
And that wraps up another chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP.
Remember, any feedback is appreciated!