Disclaimer: I do not own the anime, characters, maybe settings and a lot of other stuff that may be mentioned.
Ayumi Kudou: I describe his hair that way because everyone else does but I don't really care. Honestly deep down in the darkest corner of my heart, I believe that his hair is just really messy and spikey either because he styles it that way or it's natural but not gravity defying because I see people with spikey hair, not as obnoxious as Denmark's but it's there.
The next day came and Emil looked up at the bright and burning sky where clouds would only come once or twice a year with rain. How the Egyptian people could live like this seemed insane and impossible for the Icelandic. On the other hand, he had more to think about than the weather.
He walked with his older brother that surprisingly, arrived from Seychelles a few days after he and the rest of the Nordics arrived after he was knocked into the sea of a gigantic bird covered in flames. It was early morning as he and his brother went to go shopping for any personal needs and his brother thought that they should spend some family time together, not that Emil would mind but the thought of 'family time' sounded too childish for his age. Lukas on the other hand didn't think of such activity as childish and if it was, then he didn't mind as long as he knew his brother was safe.
It joyed Emil to know that his brother was safe and not injured mentally or physically but he also saw his brother as a changed man. He couldn't put his finger on it for the change was very little and somewhat unnoticeable. Matthias, Tino, and Berwald did not see anything wrong with their Norwegian friend so the change that Emil noticed didn't seem to be important. Or at least that was what he thought.
Emil's shadow had told that he could feel some kind of power or presence emanating from his brother making him suspicious as it was suspicious of the hooded person from the day before who gave off a similar feeling. Emil did not get a good look at the person's face and so was convinced that he would not be able to recognize the person if his or her face were revealed in public. Either way, both the shadow and Emil kept their eye out for a suspicious person.
Even though the sun was just starting to rise over the horizon, many people were walking around the open-air market bargaining for food, looking at jewelry, or just wanting to see what was on sale for the day. Lukas looked around seeing the objects that were normal for many Egyptians to see but foreign to his eyes.
"This is a pretty busy crowd for the morning, isn't it Emil?" asked the Norwegian.
"Definitely. I think they are all up to go shopping before the day becomes hotter." Emil paused for a moment when he saw the representative of Seychelles also browsing through the goods with the representative of Egypt. "Hmm, seems like you'll have some competition if you want to get Ms. Michelle's heart," he said, teasing his brother.
Instead of Lukas being embarrassed by his brother's comment, he replied with his usual monotonous voice, "I don't like her that way. She's a good friend but nothing more than that and will never be anything more."
"That's harsh for you to say, Lukas."
"It's the truth, Emil." Lukas kept on walking past the two African representatives and turned a corner. Emil followed a few feet behind but ended up bumping into someone.
"Ah! I'm sorry," apologized the feminine voice. Lukas turned around to see a familiar person but with her hair tied up into a high ponytail.
"No, it's my fault for not looking," Emil said as he dusted himself off. He didn't see the woman's face when he bumped into her but when he did, his eyes slightly widened. The woman had soft features and slightly dark skin. Her eyes were a golden color and her hair was black with a high ponytail. Her face gave off an apologetic and innocent expression but he couldn't help but feel that she looked familiar. She wore a tan button-downed shirt tucked by her brown pants that were tucked into her brown boots. The person was not like the rest of the Egyptians and looked more Asian than African.
"Emil, we should be going back. We promised that we would be home around late morning and it's starting to become that time of day," Lukas called to his sibling. Emil looked up and replied that he was going to come soon. He apologized once more to the woman and ran to his brother. Lukas seemed to be scolding Emil that he was too slow and if he didn't walk faster, Lukas would leave him behind. Emil left before Lukas who turned back to see the Asian woman looking at him and mouthing the words thank you too him.
She turned around and left, disappearing into the crowd as she did the evening before. Lukas felt his insides flutter with relief as he saw the woman walk away safely and not getting into trouble with his brother or any of his friends. He started following Emil trying to catch up to him before his brother was suspicious.
Viet walked to a road that led to the area of the market that sold food. There she bought bread and salted fish and meat for her trip that would begin the next day when she left to Turkey.
As she was browsing a shop that held knives and other survival tools, she was tapped on the shoulder. She turned around to see Monica behind her.
"How are you doing with your shopping Viet?" asked the Monegasque. Viet smiled and turned her body around to completely face her friend.
"I'm doing well. I've got some of my food ready and I already bought a blanket, some rope, a carving knife, and some books just in case I'm trapped somewhere that is raining or has a dust storm and the such," the Vietnamese woman replied.
Monica chuckled and sarcastically asked, "You can't go anywhere without reading, can you?" On their way to Egypt, Viet was able to find some of Monica's books and read them because she didn't have anything else to do that would really interest her, until the beast came and sunk the ship that held the books.
"It was torture for me the last few days travelling here after the ship with your books got destroyed. I was enjoying learning about your country's history and I've read those novels before when we were younger so my expressions on them weren't as amusing to think of after I read them again."
"You were lucky back there," Monica said, changing the subject.
"He didn't seem to recognize me so that's fine. I changed my attire completely as well so if he saw my clothing from yesterday, he wouldn't recognize me anyway."
"You still have to be careful."
"I know. I've been trying to avoid them since yesterday. I didn't know they were coming here so I bumped into them. There are some things that we can't control." Viet picked out the rest of the items that she needed and went to the seller to buy the items. Monica walked with Viet out of the market and to the inn where the Asian stayed at. On the way, they saw Michelle and the man who everyone calls Egypt walking together.
"Bonjour Viet! Monica! How are you two today?" the Seychellois asked cheerfully. Monica and Viet walked up to their friend and greeted Michelle and Egypt (that's kind of strange to say in this story).
"We're doing fine this morning. How are you doing Michelle? Egypt?" Monica asked politely.
Egypt nodded but Michelle jumped up and down in excitement. "We are doing great this morning too! I don't know why but I'm just really excited today!"
"We can see that. Any news yet?" asked Viet smiling nervously, unsure how to react to Michelle's random excitement.
Again Egypt nodded and took out a piece of paper that was folded and handed it to Viet. Michelle then said, "Egypt talked to the representative of Turkey and he said that he would guide you through Turkey safely once you got there and Egypt wrote down the important facts of his conversation with him so you know what to expect."
"That's great. Well, I'll be going to my room in my inn and get my things ready. I'll see you soon," Viet said and left to her inn.
The dry heat made her uncomfortable for in Vietnam and many other places in Asia were humid and not as extreme in temperature. The area had little water as well and lacked a lot of color besides the glimmering ocean nearby and all the light brown and tan that covered the land. Viet walked inside a small building then walked into a court yard that led to several smaller buildings that were the rooms that customers of the inn stayed in.
Once in her room, she sorted out her belongings and packed, ready to go for the next day. Viet thought about reading her book but stopped herself and decided to learn more about Egypt (the country) by walking around the town and observing their customs.
It was near noon by now and there were children playing on the streets, women were carrying baskets with food or carrying bags with them most likely coming back home from going to the marketplace and chatting with each other. There were also men gambling on their porches and drinking.
Viet smiled to herself at the sight where people were happy but her smiled was sad and was noticed by certain European men from afar.
Matthias whistled as he looked at the small, beautiful girl that didn't look Egyptian. "What a beauty! She looks Asian though so I guess it would be a problem if I brought her home." He rubbed his head and his voice was cheerfully apologetic. It wasn't like he was insincere but that was just a part of his personality.
"I doubt she would want to come with you in the first place. For one, we're all European and second, I don't think she'll want to be with an obnoxious and annoying person like you bro," retorted Lukas.
"We saw her at the marketplace today, didn't we Lukas?" asked Emil. Lukas started to tense up that Emil remembered her but did his best to remain calm.
"More or less. You just bumped into her," Lukas replied. Tino stared at her with curiosity, wondering where he had seen her before.
Berwald saw the Finnish man staring with his confused look on his face and asked, "What are you thinking Tino?"
"She looks strangely familiar and not in a pleasant way either. For some reason, I feel that we should be cautious around her."
"Aw, come on Tino! She looks harmless and I doubt she would hurt a fly," reassured Matthias.
I still feel something coming from her. Beware Emil, she is dangerous, came the voice that only Emil could here.
A falcon soared over the sky and screeched. Viet looked up and saw the bird circling over the city. Haru directed his thoughts only to Viet and said, "Watch where you are going little one. I sense the power of the Seraphim here since yesterday. I cannot determine if it is a beast or a messenger. Either way, beware of who you meet."
Viet then brought her face back down, looking in front of her to see the representatives of the Nordic countries staring at her. She panicked and started walking back from where she came from.
The men noticed her sudden reaction when they saw her. "Wait!" cried the Dane childishly. Viet started to run when she heard his voice but bumped into a large man with a thuggish face.
"I'm sorry!" Viet exclaimed. The man looked down at her with a red face as if he just drank and growled as she ran into him. He slurred something in Egyptian and grabbed Viet's wrist. She struggled from his grip but the man would not let go and started to drag Viet somewhere.
Matthias rushed to the woman to save her, Lukas followed without thinking, worried about Viet, and Emil, Tino, and Berwald were hesitant wondering why Lukas ran after Matthias but ran after the other two.
Viet saw the five Europeans running towards her, now panicking about getting harassed, her identity being revealed or getting into a situation where she had to introduce herself to them which she did not account for during her stay in Egypt. Viet quickly kneed the man in the groin and punched his face which caused him to loosen his grip on the Asian woman.
Viet pulled back her hand then kneed the man this time in the stomach, making him lean over to hold onto his stomach. Her final move was forcing her elbow down on the back of the man's head, making him unconscious. The pain in her elbow traveled up her nerves quickly but she did not wait for the pain to subside when she ran away from the man and Europeans.
Matthias stood in shock along with Emil, Tino and Berwald whereas Lukas stood there amused by her sudden action which contradicted Matthias previous thought of her. It looks like she can handle this kind of situation. I wonder if that guy is alright though, thought Lukas. He walked to the man crouched down, poking him with a stick that he found on the ground, seeing if he was alive. The man moaned and muttered something but did not get up.
"That was kind of surprising and scary," said Matthias, still stunned and processing what he just saw.
"That also proved that she can hurt a fly. Maybe even the smallest or microscopic of flies ever," said Tino. Emil and his shadow became definite in their suspicion.
Under his breath, Emil said to his shadow, "Something is definitely strange about her. Now you can go investigate."
That will be my pleasure, sir. The shadow quickly moved into the nearest shadow, and Emil's shadow became motionless like it should be.
Viet ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. She panted and was trying to put the events in order which led her to breathing heavily in her room. Haru flew to her window and chuckled at the sight of his partner.
"I saw what happened child. That was quite amusing and their faces expressed confusion so I doubt they recognized you."
The Vietnamese woman let out a sigh in relief and sat on the bed. "I think I'll spend the rest of the day in here to avoid meeting them again."
"That is understandable-." Haru stopped mid-sentence and seemed to be focusing on something.
"What's wrong Haru?" asked Viet. The falcon flapped his feathers as if he were about to attack.
"The Seraphim are near. Child do not let your guard down," warned Haru. Viet carefully looked out the window but there was no sign of any enormous animal rampaging in the city or any other signs of anything suspicious.
She pulled her head back in and looked around her room. She then sat on her bed, crisscross, and then closed her eyes, focusing on her surroundings.
Other than reading and talking on the ship, Haru and Hydra taught her and Lukas to focus and learn about their surroundings without seeing them. They were able to identify living and nonliving objects within a 20 meter diameter.
A presence of something non-human shocked Viet and the sudden jolt made her feel something that she hadn't felt in years but she couldn't remember when she had felt that way.
"Do you feel it Viet?" asked Haru. Viet nodded and concentrated once more, this time prepared for the sudden shock and was able to grasp its whereabouts longer than the first time she tried. Viet felt the presence in the shadow-covered corner of her room but she saw nothing there. She started to feel nervous as she sat there, unsure of what to do.
Her face gave a calm composure and she turned her head to find something to do. Her eyes lay on her book and she smiled to herself. She leaned over and grabbed it then turned the cover to see a picture of hieroglyphics and ancient writing. She turned the next few pages to where the book actually started and she began to read. After several minutes, she forgot that she was being watched and she was into the history and customs of Egypt, making her question the book's contents and giggle at parts that seemed amusing or make a disgusted face when she learned the procedures of how the Ancient Egyptians wrapped their mummies.
The shadow saw the falcon and instead of watching the Vietnamese girl who was now not as interesting as before for it knew who the falcon was. Haru watched Viet becoming a carefree person who no longer acted conspicuous and he did not worry about her safety too much.
He knew that one of the Seraphim was watching him now but he acted like all other birds would except with pride and a fierce look.
The shadow became bored as nothing was going on with the falcon or the female human and soon moved away, back to Emil.
Once Viet was a quarter way into the book, she felt as if the room had gotten warmer. She focused on her surroundings once more but this time did not feel anything suspicious around her. Haru shuffled his feathers and blinked several times before speaking.
"It seems that a Messenger of the Seraphim was observing us. You did well with acting naturally like that," he said.
Viet chuckled and then said, "It wasn't acting and I really forgot that we were being watched. Remind me to bring a book the next time you feel the Seraphim coming."
There was a knock on Viet's door. The Asian woman got up from her bed and opened the door to see Michelle and Monica standing outside.
"Monica, Michelle, what are you doing here?" asked Viet.
"We thought about going out to have a drink so we came wondering if you would like to join us before you leave tomorrow," Michelle said, a hint of excitement in her voice.
"Does the place where you guys are going also have food? I'm kind of hungry right now so…"
"Of course Viet," replied the Monegasque.
At the restaurant (and pub), the girls sat at a table talking nonstop about a variety of subjects that no one knows how they got there and shall remain a secret because at times it became awkward.
Ten minutes later, the alcohol came out.
"Cheers to good health!" cried the Seychellois.
"I would love to agree with you Michelle, but drinking alcohol will do the opposite of bringing us good health," said Viet with a smile that said 'this is going to be a long night'.
Two minutes later…
Viet sat limply on her chair and she was giving uneven laughs and hiccuping every few words she spoke.
"I can't believe that you drank four shots in two minutes and became drunk immediately after the second shot," said Monica with concern.
"I don't dwink *hic* a lot," Viet slurred.
Michelle sighed. "It looks like we'll have to bring her home."
"I can sover (I did that on purpose) up!" cried Viet and she stood up only to find herself tilting to her side.
"Woah, don't want to go too far with your drinking now, do you?" asked an unfamiliar voice.
Viet turned her head slowly and Michelle and Monica were stunned by who they saw. The Nordic representatives stood behind Matthias who was holding onto Viet's shoulder.
"Ah, it's you *hic* guys again. Stop *hic* fallowing me! I *hic* know my ethnicity *hic* and your guys' ethnicities. Don't bring twouble!"
Matthias chuckled at the sight of the drunken girl in front of him. "Do you girls mind if we sit with you guys?" he asked politely.
Lukas sensed something bad was going to happen if he was talking politely. Michelle and Monica agreed because they knew it would be suspicious if they turned the men away.
"You aren't going to sit next to her though Bro," Lukas said. "I don't care about anyone else but you because when you get drunk, it could become a problem to have two drunken people sitting next to each other."
"Aww, that's mean Lukas!" Matthias whined but Viet moved her chair next to Michelle's and grabbed Lukas' wrist and pulled him toward her.
"Because he *hic* said that, he can sit *hic* next to me since *hic* he seems responsible," Viet said clearly besides the hiccups that came from her mouth every few words she said.
Matthias looked hurt and Tino chuckled at his friend's pouting face. Emil was less suspicious, especially since she showed up in public and getting drunk but that didn't make the feeling go away. Berwald didn't say anything and just found a seat to sit in. Lukas was surprised by Viet's sudden movements but couldn't reject since her grip around his wrist was like iron.
"What's your name?" asked the Finnish man.
"You can call me Phuong," replied Viet softly. She took another glass and filled it to the brim with alcohol and brought the glass to her mouth and swallowing the drink. Michelle grabbed the glass from Viet's hand.
"You are not, I repeat, not, going to have another drink," scolded Michelle. Viet gave a face of disappointment but did not argue. Her face was red from the alcohol and her movements were unsteady. She brought out her book with shaky hands and began to read.
Monica then talked to the Nordics asking, "How do you know of Phuong? Also, since she's Asian, don't you guys have something against her? I'm friends with her because I met her on one of my travels to visit Michelle and she was different than what many people say about Asians."
"Oh Lukas over there, sitting next to Phuong and Emil who is sitting next to me bumped into her at the market place this morning and then a little bit after noon, we saw her but I guess she knew about the situation between Europe and Asia that she became nervous and started running away. The next thing we knew, we saw her getting harassed by this big drunk man and we were going to save her but then she beat up the guy until he was unconscious. That answers your first question," explained Matthias.
"We understand the history but we can't exactly blame each and every individual in Asia for the causes that has been happening. Getting to know her just as herself and not as her history is a better way to look at things, especially in a country that is neutral to the war," answered Tino for the second question.
"We don't really battle Asians that often since we don't live anywhere near them so we won't be able to see what other countries see sometimes," Emil added.
"You guys are nice people with the right minds!" Michelle cried. Viet sat, ignoring the rest of the table as they drank, ate, and talk as she read her book with interest with an uninterested face (oxymoron much?). Lukas and Berwald barely said anything throughout the whole thing.
There was a point where the whole table except for Viet was teasing Emil to call Lukas Big Brother but resulted in him leaving the table. The next topic of discussion was the history of their native countries and Viet started to become a part of the conversation but was still uncoordinated with her movements and her head was still hot from the alcohol.
It wasn't until late that night that Matthias was dead drunk, Tino trying to hold back from drinking too much despite his slightly smaller body, Berwald just sat in silence drinking slowly because he usually doesn't drink a lot nor does he get out of control and drink more than what he should and Lukas who only drank three shots throughout the whole evening. Michelle and Monica realized that if they became drunk, it would be hard for them to travel back to their lodgings and they didn't want men to try and carry them back to the place they slept. Viet on the other hand was able to sneak some more shots and was drunk once more when she was about to be sober.
Berwald and Tino were able to carry Matthias back to their place whereas Lukas was forced to bring Viet home with Michelle and Monica. The only problem was that they forced him to do it because they still believed that Lukas had a crush on Michelle but was still a false statement.
Lukas carried Viet bridal style down to her room because she passed out halfway to the inn she was staying at.
"What a night. She wasn't suspicious, was she Lukas?" asked Monica, referring to Viet.
"I don't think so. Besides, almost everyone was drunk and didn't really pay attention to the situation so I think we're fine."
"Ooh, we're here. Follow me, her room is over here." Michelle pointed out a small building that looked like a cube with slanted roofs. There was a window with a wooden covering and door looked rotted and dry.
"We'll leave you guys along because I want to get some sleep. Let's go Monica!" Michelle and Monica left Lukas before he could say anything.
The Norwegian walked to the door, struggling to open the door since he was carrying Viet bridal style but he managed to open the door. He saw the simple bed placed against the wall to his right and walked over there. Lukas gently laid Viet onto the bed. He stared at her sleeping face that was still red from the alcohol, but was still showing signs of peace.
He turned around to leave but a hand took hold of his sleeve. He looked back to see Viet's eyes slightly open and her hand on his sleeve.
"Are you okay?" Lukas asked gently. He walked back to the bed and sat at the edge. Viet could feel the heat from his body and her face reddened more.
"I'm fine. I just feel really hot right now from the alcohol… Thank you for bringing me here." She slowly sat up, Lukas quickly putting his hands around Viet's arm just in case she was about to faint or fall again. "I think I'm still drunk."
"You should just sleep then. It will be a while before you can actually move." Lukas arms still surrounded Viet's body. She leaned into his chest and snuggled up against him, causing him to blush.
"I told you I'm still drunk," said Viet before her eyes closed and she fell asleep. Lukas slowly put one arm around her and used his free hand to pat her head, as if she were a child.
"I'll see you in the morning then. Good-night Viet."
Omake
Me: So I thought about doing something different towards the end and add random info or extras at the end of each chapter. What I put on may or may not relate to the story.
Vietnam: She'll start off with relative information to the story today.
Me: Yep! Well, we're start with some Scandinavian mythology and Chinese and Vietnamese mythology.
In Scandinavian mythology, dragons usually lived in the sea. So that's part of why the Water Dragon in the story usually lives down there. As of Chinese and Vietnamese mythology, dragons represent masculine and phoenix represent feminine. In one of the folktales of Vietnam, the country was born by a fairy whose symbol was a phoenix and was female, fell in love with the king of the ocean or something like that who was a dragon that was male. Together they had 100 children, 50 of them that lived in the mountains with their mother and the other 50 living near the sea with their father.
Now what is the chance that I didn't know any of this info when I began writing this story? I'd say 50/50 but either way I really didn't think of any of this while I was writing. It was complete coincidence that I had Viet-chan represents the phoenix and is a female while Nor-kun is male and represents the dragon and the dragon lives in the sea and so on. I guess I did know the info beforehand but I didn't think about it as I was writing this.
Norway: You talk a lot.
Me: Only because I have something to say. If I don't know what to say then I'm a mouse compared to now.
Vietnam: Please R&R. We'd like to know your thoughts about the chapter, predictions, feelings about characters and so on.
Me: See you guys next chapter!