HetaGakkō

Chapter 13

Matthew's P.O.V.

I woke with my eyelids sealed, my arms wrapped around something wet and scratchy. I forced my eyes open, daring to look at what I was hanging onto. I instantly recognized the furry features of my white bear. I looked around and noticed that I was on land, my bear being the one who swam me back to ground safely. I smiled softly and sighed, leaning my head onto the back of my friend.

"Thank you Kumajirou, I owe you my life. Again." I chuckled, thinking of all the other times he's been so loyal to me. I'm going to make sure to make it up to him for all those times with a load of fish. So far, I've been feeding him that gross canned fish, and he doesn't seem to like Japan's food. He deserves a treat.

I touched a hand to my face, moving to tilt my glasses up out of habit, but noticed that it was gone. I groaned, burying my head into the clear fur. "I lost another pair. Kumajirou, you mind guiding me back home after this? I kind of dropped my gl-" I stopped, a hand in front of my face with a familiar pair of glasses, but not my own. I looked up and saw a blurry face, but I instantly depicted who the smiling person in front of me was.

"Alfred..."

"Hey Mattie. Oh, and next time, tell me where the fuck your going." The smile was still in place, but I could tell he was pissed as hell. And he knows about the plane crash, considering he's here and there's a plane in the ocean... And I'm soaked wet... And... I was on that plane... Yeah, to put it simply, he's so angry he's gone all Russia on me. Russia and I are in good terms, it's just that when I get him angry, he'll smile really innocently and threaten me. Or curse. Or ask me to become one with him. Oh dear god, he tried to force me into becoming one with him! I seriously hope he's better now! And... not nuts! Alfred was the only reason I'm not under Ivan's control, being the one who barged in and tried to beat the shit out of Russia.

"Mattie... You forgot about Christmas, by the way."

I felt a pang of guilt, and I averted my eyes elsewhere. It didn't matter anyways, I couldn't see anything, so just knowing he's there makes it hurt. A pair of hands rested on my shoulder and I was brought into a tight embrace, and I scrunched up my nose. His hair was in my face. And why was he hugging me?

"Matthew..." I gasped inwardly, noting that he called me Matthew, yet he didn't seem angry anymore. Has the world ended? I don't see any meteorite, but I think the world ended! "Matthew, never, and I repeat, never do that again. You had me worried sick. I literally fainted for twenty minutes when I found out you were on the plane! And you landed it!? You haven't had any training in flight for years!"

"I-I remembered, though-"

"I don't care!" Alfred growled in a low whisper. "You could've gotten yourself hurt! And someone is obviously after you, I hope you know that. They've just happened to kill thirteen innocent people, all with the same description as you except for one thing. They don't know your eye color. Please, oh god, please tell me you didn't look them in the eyes when you were on that plane!"

"I didn't." I whispered, patting his back. "In fact, I didn't even get close to getting a glimpse of their appearance. I just know that they were there, and they were trying to kill me." I gulped, my patting stopping for a few moments as they shakily hovered. "They gassed me, didn't they? Knocked me out?"

"Seems like it. You were unconscious when you were brought back to land. I got everyone to lay of Kumajirou."

"Thank you." I said, a smile tugging at my lips. "You're a good big brother."

For a moment, I felt Alfred tense, and I got slightly worried when he didn't say or do anything for quite some time.

"...Alfred? Alfred, you okay, eh?"

He didn't loosen, but tightened his hold. "You haven't called me that in a long time. Not in front of my face. Not without malice. This is the first time in so long that you've called me Big Brother in front of me so casually..." His shoulders shook. "I missed it..."

I could've sworn I felt tears soaking through my suit as he nuzzled my shoulder.

Nobody's P.O.V., takes place with the Host Club.

The Host Club had their eyes glued to the screen as they watched Kumajirou, the used-to-be cub, swim an unconscious Matthew onto land. They wondered how a baby bear could just suddenly multiply in width and height and swim their master so easily and calmly across a mass of water like it was normal. Once the bear crawled up the land, people instantly tried to tie it down, causing the host club to gasp, most Honey. Though he didn't admit it, he grew a little feeling of respect towards the loyal cub.

The tension soon passed, though, as a man who looked similar to Matthew stood in front of the bear, glaring at any person who dared to get anywhere closer. He ripped off the ropes and petted the bear, cooing soft nothings into it's ear to reassure it that he wouldn't let any other person touch it. He soon stopped and let go as Matthew began waking up. He didn't notice the man until he took off his glasses, handing them over. The two exchanged a few words, but nobody could tell what either were saying, but the mood instantly changed when the man broke down crying into Matthew's shoulder.

"... That's Alfred, right? Matthew's brother?" Haruhi asked, squinting to get a better view.

"Seems like it." Said Tamaki. "Alfred looks like he's in a mental break down. Then again, I'd have one too if my brother was trapped in the middle of a plane crash..."

"You don't have a brother." Said Hikaru. "But I do, and I understand what he's feeling. Dominant ones understand each other..."

No one understood what he said other than his twin, but they all kept quiet and continued to watch.

Matthew patted Alfred's back, a guilty frown on his face. He was taken away soon after to a hospital in an ambulance.

"... So." Kyoya sighed, tipping up his glasses. "Matthew and Alfred are Canada and the USA. And Matthew just escaped a plane crash. Coincidence? I think not."

Tamaki nodded, crossing his legs and putting a finger to his chin. "So, someone's after Matthew. Question is, who? The reason, well, we don't know for sure, but it obviously has something to do with Matthew being immortal."

"Could be to rule of Canada." The twins said. "We mean, seriously! Canada has the third most well trained military in the world, as well as having the largest water supply!"

"Could be something else, though." Honey said. "Like, maybe a way to get closer to the USA? Matthew and Alfred seem to be really close. Maybe even more than brotherly."

Hikaru nodded, understanding perfectly. "That's right. Alfred seems to like Matthew more than a brother. I should know, I play a part in the homosexual twins."

Everyone fell silent, thinking in on the idea of the two brothers liking each other. They didn't understand country affairs, so they weren't sure how the two were born and when, and they most definitely did not know if they were blood brothers or not. Now that they though about it, it didn't seem as if any of the countries could possibly be related by blood. They witnessed Matthew being given to England, and so England became the father from then on, but not by blood. And France only found Canada, not create it, so there could not be any way the two were related either. America and Canada were both on the same land, but that didn't mean they were blood related either. And not only that, but what about civil wars and such? How does that work?

The more the host club though to themselves quietly, the more confused they got. How could they understand or help Matthew if they knew absolutely nothing about the boy in general? They wanted to help, that was factual, but how? When? Was is a matter of patience or a matter of hastiness? The questions flew through their head as they tried to come up with a solution. Tried to find a way to understand Matthew. Maybe looking through a history book is all they need, but it wouldn't help much on trying to understand the actual person. Not just a country, but as a living, breathing, and walking person.

"Oh." Haruhi said, snapping her fingers. "Nekozawa gave me a piece of paper with Matthew's number on it. Matthew gave it to him when they met on the first day. Should I maybe call?"

No one replied.

Alfred's P.O.V.

Matthew and I were loaded onto the ambulance. Matthew had already fallen asleep, with all the havoc it must have exhausted him. I feel kind of bad for having been mad at him. I know he was just trying to save people, but it really freaked me out! Not only that, but someone was after him! Someone could have killed him! I know that we're countries, and we regenerate right after, but... But when that happens, we may possibly loose the memories of the days we were colonies. If that happened, Matthew wouldn't remember anything that he and I were like together up to 1867, July 1st. His independence day. If that happened, he wouldn't remember anything. And... I would just die inside every time I'd look at him.

Suddenly, Mattie's phone began ringing. I picked it up and looked at the collar ID. It had a number that I didn't recognize, which was strange because I should know the numbers of all the nations. Then again, Matthew could have possibly changed his number, so it probably wasn't a nation in the first place. I flipped it open, setting it on my ear and breathed a sigh. "Hello? This is Matthew's phone. But uh... He's kind of in a pickle right now. So, you're speaking to his friend, Alfred."

I wasn't sure how Matthew introduced me, because he still doesn't like calling me "brother" that much unless he's trying to keep my identity a secret. It throws people off if he says 'brother' because people would expect that we have the same last names, so it keeps my identity in check.

A voice replied in Japanese, and I couldn't exactly tell if it was a boy or a girl. I replied back, switching to the same language. "Sorry about that. This is Alfred, a friend of Mattie's. Who's calling?"

The voice sighed. "You know Japanese, thank god. I am Haruhi. Um, Alfred right? ...Are you...?"

I lifted an eyebrow, slightly confused of what this person was asking. I could tell it was a girl because she said 'watashi'. "Um, are you trying to ask if I'm his brother or something?" I asked.

"No, we've already established that."

So, it's now suddenly a 'we'? This is becoming a very suspicious phone call.

"We kind of wanted to know... Are you the USA? And is Matthew Canada? Because-"

I hung up.