ok! so i missed South Korea last chapter, he's down at the bottom. Sorry if i haven't replied to all reviews yet, but i always enjoy them. Epic meal time ref is in here, see if you can spot it.
Thank you for everyone who faved, added or reviewed. This is a more slow paced chapter, just delving into the relationships of the characters more. hope you don't mind ^_^
Ch 10. Misunderstandings and Alcohol Are Fun.
"Oh, you've got to be joking."
"Nope!"
"This is how you stay flexible and in shape?" Matthew pointed to his computer screen, "You learn the dance moves to Korean pop songs?"
"Yep!" Yong Soo grinned back at him. "You wanted to learn my martial art moves right? You're not flexible enough yet, so this is the best way to get limber! Trust me da~ze!"
"Ok then." Matthew swung his arms. "I'll try anything."
Two hours later, Matthew was convinced that the singers in Korean boy bands were not human. No one could do that sort of thing for a living and live to tell the tale.
"Don't worry da~ze! You're getting it! And this is just so you keep flexible. Then I can teach you some fighting moves."
"I'm not sure I'll live that long."
Yong Soo and Matthew had been training every day after school. When Matthew had his big reveal, the Canadian called up Shadow Stroke on the big screen and explained it all. After a few choice words and some blackmail threatening, Tomas had relented and allowed Yong Soo and Romano to join in. After that, it was up to Matthew to teach them all what he knew, and for them to do the same. Hence dying by korean pop.
"Thanks Yong Soo, but I still have a long way before I can even compare to you."
"Yes, but you've progressed amazingly fast! I'm impressed da~ze!"
Matthew took a swing from his water bottle and wiped his face. Martial arts, or rather, training for them really took a lot out of him, but the payoff was worth the sweat and blood. And the groupings… but lets not go there.
From the landing, Koaru waved to Yong Soo, telling him it was time to go.
"Is it 6:00 already? We better get going Matthew, our brothers and sisters will be worried. Lets go Koaru!" The two Asian boys grabbed a meat bun each from his downstairs fridge, yelled a goodbye and ran out the front door.
Matthew decided to call it a night. Things were quiet around town these days. After that stunt he pulled three days ago, the adult metas from Hetalia had been puling double duty by watching the city at night. While the police and the teachers from Hetalia had grilled Lars, he had left before they could ask him anything, he doubted they would be happy to see Grim Reaper any time soon.
Picking up Kumajirou from his now second favorite spot in the house (very middle of the couch downstairs), the duo made their way upstairs. Snow was lightly falling outside, although it would melt by tomorrow afternoon. Winter break started yesterday, and his cousins would be paying him a visit. Matthew would not lie, the idea that his mentor would finally see the end result of his training made him edgy. The blond just vibrated with nervous energy, he kept handling a set of knives that he had specially crafted last summer. Every sound made him jump a bit on the inside.
So it was understandable that he freaked out when Alfred slammed his door open and screamed "HEY MATTIE! IT'S MOVIE NIGHT!" Alfred should count his lucky fucking stars that Matthew hadn't thrown a blade right into his eyes. Instead, Matthew clutched the weapon in a vice grip. Pain ran up his arm and it took him a minute to realize he had just sliced his palm open with the sharpened side imbedded into his hand. Considering he had just given himself a cut the size of the Grand Canyon, the fact that he could calmly tell his cousin to wait in the den for him meant he was the King of Improv.
Matthew was glad that his hoodie was blood red; he hid his hand inside the sleeve and nonchalantly walked into his bathroom. Freaking out just a bit on the inside Matthew wrapped his hand and waited for the wound to stop bleeding. He sprayed an antiseptic onto his palm and covered it with an Alex Corp product designed to mend cuts and scrapes in an instant. Once again, thank God for Alex Corp.
"So, what's up?" Matthew walked down the stairs.
"I just wanted to watch a movie with my baby bro. Do I need another reason?" Alfred flashed his famous grin at his cousin.
"You always have one." Matthew flopped down beside the American.
"Ahaha! Nah, not now, we just haven't had a movie night in forever!" Alfred wrapped his arms around Matthew's shoulders.
Yes Alfred was the cause of a lot of Matthew's woes, and yes sometimes he forgot Matthews name, but he was still family. And the American could be really caring when he gave something a second thought.
The flat screen began to play the movie, ('Who Framed Rodger Rabbit' thank God it wasn't horror) and as usual, the two of them would stop the movie at random times, talk and go grab more snacks. It was like an unwritten rule, if they were watching a movie together, they had to stop and talk for a good 20 minutes each time, and go get more pop and chips. Matthew had to admit, this was the most fun the two had together for a long time.
"Hey, Mattie," Alfred paused the video, (on a shot of Jessica Rabbit I might add) "I've got a question."
Uh oh, Alfred was thinking, this was never good. "Yeah Al?"
"Have you ah…been going out to meet somebody at night recently?"
Matthew choked on the soda pop in his mouth. "W-why do y-you think that Al?" His mind immediately thought of the two boys who had stolen his first kisses. Matthew could feel the blood rush to his ears and his cheekbones.
"Because you're always busy, and you rarely hang out with the family any more! It's like you have a double life!"
"Y-yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm s-seeing anyone!"
"Why are you being all defensive Mattie?" Alfred pulled Matthew into a bear hug, determined to squeeze the truth out.
"I'm not!" Matthew flailed to get out of his cousins grip.
"Is it a guy?"
"H-huh?" He stopped squirming.
"Are you dating a guy?"
"What!"
"Matt you know I'm ok with you being gay or something like that! I even swing both ways!"
"Al, I am not dating someone!"
"So it IS a guy!"
"Wha-? Look I just said I wasn't, how does that translate into I am?"
"Who is he?"
"Nobody! Jeeze Al, can we drop this?"
"Do I know him?"
"NO! Cause I'm not-"
Alfred cut him off "Is he a villain? Is that why you wont tell me?"
"Al~!" Matthew whined. This had to be worse than watching a movie and your parents walking in on you in the middle of the one sex scene. Hell this was worse than Francis explaining every sex position he knew of. (This had happened before; Matthew was washing his ears out for hours.)
"Is he Grim Reaper?" Al clutched Matthew against his chest.
"W-Why on earth do you think that?" Matthew turned to look at Alfred.
"Mattie I don't care who you like but this guy's going to get you hurt! He's not good but he's not evil! You never know what he might do! Don't go out with him!" The American promptly started to squeeze Matthew against his chest, like a child hugging their stuffed toy. Clearly Alfred would not listen to reason, or sanity for that matter.
"Alfred!" The outburst by his normally shy cousin made Alfred stop. "Look, I swear I'm not dating anyone, but if you wont believe me than can I at least make you believe I'm not going out with the Reaper?"
"Promise?" Alfred looked at him with tears in his eyes. Ok, even Matthew couldn't resist Al's puppy face sometimes. (Good thing it worked both ways.)
"I promise Al." He turned back to the screen. "It's not like it's possible anyways." Matthew mumbled.
"What?" Alfred asked.
"What?" Matthew replied.
"Never mind." The American pressed play on the remote.
Jessica Rabbits song was interrupted by Alfred's phone going off. Being polite, (for once) Alfred left the room and came back looking like a kicked puppy.
"Sorry bro, Iggy just called and said I had to go and meet up with the rest of the Heroes. You want to come?"
"Nah" He waved off, "You go on ahead, lord knows they need you." Alfred did actually have some responsibility as a hero, and Matt couldn't hold that against him.
Alfred ruffled Matt's hair "Thanks man." In the blink of an eye, Alfred was gone. Probably used super speed.
"So Iggy what's up?" Outside of Arthur's house, the Englishman and Francis were waiting on his porch for Alfred.
"Family meeting, and stop calling me that!"
"Family mee- Is this about that refried beans incident, cause I can explain."
"No you git! This is completely different!"
"Hey, wait. If this is a family meeting, shouldn't we have gotten Mattie to come with me?
"Sorry Alfred, but dear Matthieu is what we are talking about."
"Huh?"
"We… think Matthew may be getting hurt pretty badly, and we wanted to know if you saw anything off with him lately." Arthur explained. If Alfred, with his ability to overlook something two inches from his face noticed something, than Matthew was in real danger.
A look of recognition fell on the American's face. "OH! That! It's ok guys, I already took care of it."
"You did?" Arthur and Francis said in unison.
"Yeah! We talked it over, and things are going to be just fine. You guys have nothing to worry about. Trust me!" He flashed them his award-winning grin.
"You're sure about this?" Francis pressed.
"Absolutely! Things with Mattie are going to be ok!" He gave them the thumbs up and went on his way, saying he would go back and watch the rest of the movie with Mattie.
"Well what do you know, Alfred might not be as thick as we give him credit for."
"Still…" Francis trailed off.
Two days later.
Tomas and Fin had arrived late last night, and with them came Jean-Mark and Nick, much to the Canadian's delight and horror. Right now his two friends were bunking with him, while Tom and Fin were in Arthur's house.
Over the last 24 hours him, Jean-Mark, Nick, Yong Soo, Romano, and Koaru had been hanging out at Matthew's, training, trying out some new equipment, and just goofing off (And of course, swapping embarrassing stories. What was the point of being like brothers if you couldn't do that?). Right now Romano, Yong Soo and Koaru were being instructed in Matthew's basement by Tomas, Fin was in the kitchen. The three other boys were in the den.
"Jesus Matt, those are bad scars. You get ambushed or something?"
Nick was referring to the new scars on Matthew's arms and back, which were now visible as Matthew pulled off his hoodie. The wounds on Matthew's back were still somewhat fresh, luckily not being nearly as deep as he first thought.
"Nah, they've just been accumulating since I got here. Some bad shit's gone down 'round here. It's like bad luck follows me."
"Who says it needs to follow you? You are bad luck."
"Thanks Jean, you really know how to make a guy feel loved."
His comment was met with a pillow in the face. This sparked Matthew into whomping Jean in the side, then Jean tried to throw another pillow at Matt, but he missed and hit Nick instead. Nick promptly got up, grabbed two pillows, and stood over the two younger boys.
After five minutes of the two hitting each other, they looked up to see Nick wearing a shit-eating grin. After that they were eating feathers.
This is how the great pillow war started, and was only broken up once the three of them had collapsed on the den's chesterfields panting.
"Alright boys! What d'ye want to eat?" Finn called from the kitchen. Matthew, Jean Mark, and Nicolas were lying on the couch, limbs tangled and still gasping for breath.
"I don't know," Nicolas told Fin.
"Something with French toast." Jean mark said. His legs on Nick's, and his torso half on Matthew's.
"And poutine." Matthew added.
"Hotdogs" Nickolas said after contemplating for a minute.
"Maple syrup"
"And bacon strips," Matthew chirped.
"And bacon strips," Nick replied.
"And bacon strips" Jean-Mark this time.
"And bacon strips" All three boys said in perfect harmony. Grinning at each other before laughing their asses off.
It was obvious they were overly tired, "Ye want what?" The Irishman poked his head into the den.
"It's the state of the art sandwich, Finn." Matthew turned to look at his older cousin.
"It's the state of the floor I'm worried about." Finn stared at the young boys with disbelief.
"Hey, the trainees are here." Nick sat up, facing the 3 boys and one man who entered.
"Ugh, worst winter break ever!" Romano was wincing slightly, as were the two brothers. Obviously Tom wasn't going easy on them. Matthew shivered. Thank god his training days were over.
"Don' worry, the bruising goes away fast enough. Why don' ye all go n' get something t' eat?" Tomas patted Romano's back. "Matta, I need to speak t' ye."
"Okay…."
Once everyone had left, Tomas sat down across from Matthew.
"What's up, Sir?"
BONK
"I told ye not t' call me 'Sir'. I'm yer cousin, so call me Tom!"
"Ow!" Matthew rubbed the spot where Tomas had whacked him with a box.
"Mngh- oh!" Matthew's face lit up when he saw the box. The D.A insignia was carved in the top, and the lock on the front was no larger than his thumbnail.
The redhead unlocked the box and pulled out a pen. He held out his hand and Matthew gave him his wrist. Tomas was about to initiate Matthew fully into Devil's Advocate. After this, he would be a full agent, and after school, he would be in charge of a city (or a country, they were pretty spread out.)
"You're sure about this? There's still time to be a normal teen."
Matthew locked eyes with Tomas and said, "Who says I was ever normal?"
A hum sounded in the room as Tom placed the pen on Matthew's wrist.
His wrist stung, the area where the tattoo was penned was still raw, but it was worth it. After the skin healed, there wouldn't be a trace of the design. A chemical would trigger the ink to reappear, and disappear the same, making it near impossible for anyone but D.A agents to know who was a member and who wasn't.
Last summer he had given the oath in front of other agents, but Tomas had been out of the ink needed to complete the ceremony (that was a really awkward moment for everyone there). So he had to wait till now to be a full member.
In celebration, Nick had gone out afterwards and bought a few cases of beer and some coolers. Tom approved, Fin didn't and Romano and Yong Soo got smashed. Who knew they were lightweights and Koaru and him could hold their liquor?
Now on his bed, Matthew was feeling the buzz of the alcohol slip and he was feeling pretty content with the world.
Too bad his feeling of peace wouldn't last.
Every time Matthew closed his eyes, his mind kept going back to that incident in the ware house a few days ago. Something felt wrong about the entire thing. He still hadn't seen what they were bringing in to town, due to the fact he had to rescue Lars.
Matthew still didn't know much about Serge either. He had scoured the internet before and all he came up with was bounty fees. Most of them posted by the big man himself. Other than that the man was untraceable. It was like life was playing a bad joke on him, the invisible boy couldn't find something. Yeah, way to go life, you can make a crappy pun.
Looks like there was only one way to find out information about him and that was to work the underground. Not something Matthew liked to do. It usually involved him either dressing in drag or compromising his morales in some way. Usually both. But if that was his only option...
Wait…the school. The dean had records on every hero and villain in the world! Unfortunately the school was closed for the holidays, but he couldn't wait till after new years to get information. He'd have to break in.
Only one problem, Hetalia high had top security, even by Koaru's standards. It would take a day or two for even the boy from Hong Kong to bypass the security.
He sighed, better tell him now instead of putting it off.
Matthew turned on his com and clicked on Koaru's icon. After a few moments, the stoic face of his friend came into view.
"My friend." Koaru greeted.
"Hey Koaru, you have anything planed for the next few days?"
He shook his head.
"Good, I have a bit of a favour to ask. You think you can get a layout of Hetalia's security and a quick-hack?"
(Koaru's Fun Facts: A quick–hack is a code created before a job that temporarily hacks all security systems. It's often used in jobs where there are hundreds of security measures, but little time to hack on sight. Often, quick-hacks are stored in a holo computer or a device that sends the code wirelessly.)
Koaru stared blankly at him.
"I need some info from the Deans office and it cant wait till after the holidays."
"Ah." Koaru nodded.
"Thank you so much Koaru!" the brunet simply stared at him. "And yes I'll pay for your snack foods." Koaru gave a slight smile.
"Two days, three at the maximum."
"Thanks." The screen went dark, leaving Matthew to wait for the next few days.
Kuma moved a bit in his sleep and mumbled "Bad idea."
This was an easier chapter, and shit really hits the fan next chapter. oh and... Im Yong Soo (South Korea) Age 16. Code name: Gentle Strike. A strong fighter, with a keen eye and a love for grouping boobs, even if you don't have any. A master of dozens of martial arts, he will most likely become the top trainer for Devils Advocate later in life, and he is the first person you go to for flexibility and endurance training. Although most people avoid his lessons due to his love of grouping peoples chests and his need to say everything originated in Korea.
i know that the parents walking in on the one sex scene has happened to everyone. And if it hasn't it will. You're watching a movie, and in that entire movie, theres only one sex scene, or even if its just a less than innocent scene, thats when your parents need to come in. Its like they have a radar for that kind of thing. yeah.
