Hetalia
Tri-Stars
Three ordinary girls somehow get transported into the anime world of Hetalia, where they're somehow called "Elements". More importantly, everyone around them is crazy, there's a lot of really hot/perverted guys, it's only 1942, and a meteor is coming to "end" World War II...and the world!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Never Again
Krystal walked through the large wooden doors to the building where the first World Conference since the war had ended would be taking place. France and England were on either side of her, like bodyguards, which helped to ease Krystal's tensions that she was feeling due to the fact that she'd soon be meeting a lot of nations that she hadn't even heard of.
But, just then, Krystal came to a complete stop, and stared at the two people standing in front of the indoor fountain (which had an eagle on it because they were in America). France and England stopped walking as well. They had a feeling that they knew what was up.
Mayling, wearing a red and gold qipao and looking totally at ease as she stood next to China and held a small panda in her arms, suddenly felt the eyes on her and turned around. Her calm demeanour instantly vanished, as she handed the panda to China and then hurried towards Krystal, calling: "Krystal!"
"Mayling!" Krystal hurried towards her, too, and the two young women met in the middle of the large room, hugging. "I'm so glad that you're alright!" Krystal admitted.
"Wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng!" Mayling replied.
"What?"
"I'm also glad!" Mayling exclaimed, and both of them started laughing, as China, France, and England joined them.
Krystal stood back and looked at Mayling. She honestly couldn't see any difference in her long time best friend, even though surely Mayling must've been hearing the same things from others as Krystal. It seemed that there was some mystical property that changed in you once you became a Capital or a Link, but all that Krystal could see when she looked at Mayling was the same girl that she'd grown up with.
She also hadn't seen her since just before the war had ended, and could hardly stop looking at her.
She also realised that Mayling was doing the same thing to her, and their smiles seemed fixed.
"Good to see you again, love." England greeted Mayling with a smile. He could sense how happy Krystal was at this reunion, too.
"Oui, ma cheri, you are looking as lovely as ever!" That was France, of course.
Mayling rolled her eyes, but continued to smile as China handed the panda back to her. "It's good to see you guys, too." Her accents as still entirely Australian.
"Umm, hey, Mayling..." Krystal ventured. "What's with the panda...?"
"Huh?" Mayling blinked, as the little bear that was in her arms raised a paw in greeting. "This is Yuèliàng Xuě. His name means 'moon snow'."
"I see." Krystal nodded seriously.
"Umm..." It was Mayling's turn to look at something. "Krystal...?"
"Her name is Sunshine Daydream Ocean Willow." Krystal introduced the pink-named unicorn to Mayling. "I'm glad that you can see her." She added. Usually only England and I can...
"I can't really," Mayling admitted. "But there's a baby dragon that's been flying around and he keeps on singing 'xiǎo mǎ yǔ jiǎo' - pony with horn." She added, for her non-Chinese-speaking friends' benefits.
"Oh...mon Dieu..." Krystal just sighed and shook her head. I knew this place would just keep on getting weirder...
At this point France, who had no idea what was going on, suddenly noticed that they were supposed to be going into the meeting room, and mentioned this to the others.
As they trekked down the hallway, none of them noticed Russia, who had come in silently and unnoticed somehow.
He was thinking: Hmm...all of them are appearing to be avoiding most nezhnyy matter, da...
The topic was, of course, Emma.
As far as Mayling and China still knew, not even Japan knew where Emma was.
England and France also had no idea what had happened to her, which meant that Krystal had no information, either.
Those three nations knew how much it was hurting the two girls to not know. Mayling had kept on lamenting that 'if only Emma hadn't still been a human'. Krystal had threatened once, very seriously, to do some serious harm to America, but she'd forgiven him since that incident, much to the relief of England and France.
None of them had mentioned any of it in the months after that.
But, just because Krystal, Mayling, China, England, and France were going to avoid it, didn't mean that America would. Even though he was probably the one who should have the most.
It started when most of the nations were seated in the huge and impressive-looking conference room.
Krystal and Mayling knew that it was a rare allowance for them to be at this kind of meeting - since it was the first one after the war and all, the few other nations who had Capitals or Links (personified like they were) had brought them along.
There weren't many...
Who's that? Krystal wondered, seeing a cute bespectacled little girl with violet blue eyes and silvery-blonde pigtails; she was sitting next to Canada and looking just as invisible as him.
That's Margaret, France's voice came to Krystal through their special connection, which she still wasn't used to but it was proving to be useful now. She looks petit, but she represents the International Boundary between Canada and America.
Ah, so she's a Link like I am? Krystal was somehow thrilled to see another Link, and a female one at that. She gathered that, as America and Canada were brothers, that it only made sense for them to have a Link. Perhaps she was like a little sister to them?
Margaret - the International Boundary - glanced up at Krystal just then, and smiled a dazzling, movie-star smile that nearly took Krystal's breath away, and suddenly her human name made sense.
'Bonjour.' She mouthed.
'Bonjour.' Krystal returned the smile. What a mignonne Link! She thought, and noticed France smiling at her. She rolled her eyes. Don't even think it, you. She thought warningly, and it was England's turn to smile from behind his teacup as France looked disappointed.
Nearby, Mayling was looking at a different woman who had just entered the room alongside a man.
The man had olive skin, brown hair, and green eyes. He was wearing a tan suit with dress shoes, but his white shirt was unbuttoned and he looked somewhat dishevelled.
By contrast, the slightly shorter woman beside him looked like a runway model - from the 1940's. She wore a dark red dress in the typical style of their current era, matching shoes, and pearls around her neck. Her stylish hair was that gorgeous shade of chestnut red that you have to be born under a whole galaxy of lucky stars to have, and her green eyes glittered as she looked around the room. She then tugged lightly on the sleeve of the man beside her, as he looked like he was about to fall asleep standing up.
That's Greece, China told her. And his Capital, Athens...formerly and occasionally still known as Meg.
Ah, nà jiǎng dé tōng... And, it really did make sense to Mayling, as she watched the interactions between Greece and Athens/Meg. It was similar to how she thought people interpreted hers and China's interactions. They seemed to be able to speak to each other with their minds, and would move in perfect synch with each other. It was like gravity, as if a nation was a planet and their Capital a satellite. They probably couldn't stand to be apart...they were designed to be together.
And, almost always touching, whether it be holding hands (as Greece and Meg/Athens were doing right now) or just their shoulders touching (as China and Mayling/Beijing had been doing since they'd taken their seats next to each other at the long table).
Even Krystal - the English Channel, as Mayling had been trying to remind herself since she'd first found out about it - seemed to be unable to ignore the pull that Mayling had no doubt came to her long time best friend from either side, both metaphorically and literally. France was sitting on Krystal's left and had his right elbow just touching the side of her left elbow. On Krystal's right was England; he had both hands busy with his tea cup and newspaper but, when Mayling had to duck her head down under the table to stop Yuèliàng Xuě from charging across the carpet towards Kumajirou, she noticed that England was sitting so close to Krystal that the side of his left leg was touching the side of her right leg. It was something that Krystal would have never allowed before all of this. But...she was allowing it now...
Straightening up, as she felt the atmosphere in the room shift slightly, Mayling put Yuèliàng Xuě firmly in her lap, and happened to glance across towards a little girl who had just picked up Kumajirou; the girl was sitting next to Canada and, China confirmed to Mayling, she was Margaret, the International Boundary between Canada and America...Mayling watched as the International Boundary/Margaret and Canada exchanged a glance, before they both looked towards the front of the room.
A moment later, America began talking.
"Okay, dudes and dudettes," he said, seeming totally chilled and a little bit too casual (in Mayling's opinion) about speaking in front of nearly two hundred other nations, plus some Capitals and some Links. "Before we get started..."
Who died and made him in charge? Mayling wondered, before China glanced at her. Oh...dāngrán... China gripped her hand underneath the table.
"Wait, we're not all here, ve..." Italy spoke up tentatively, half raising the white flag that he was carrying. It must've taken a lot of courage for him to do that.
"Yeah, I know, dude," America replied. "That's why I'd like to take a moment to have two minutes silence for our righteous buddy, Emma..." The American flag appeared behind him, as sombre music played.
Oh my God, he's doing this NOW?! Mayling was horrified, and so was China.
Oh, Mon Dieu, what is he THINKING?! Krystal wailed in her mind.
He's not. France and England thought back to her at the exact same time.
Bloody git... England added, rolling his eyes as he gave America a Look (which America either didn't see or just pretended that he didn't see) before glancing over at Japan.
The short, dark-eyed nation had gone rigid all of a sudden. He didn't seem to notice that England, China, Mayling, Italy, and Germany were all staring at him...he didn't seem to be aware of much of anything right then; his eyes were unfocused, and he almost resembled a statue because he was so still.
The doors to the world conference room opened suddenly, and five nations walked in.
Three Krystal did t recognise, although they all looked slightly Asian. One was New Zealand, flanked by his moody little sheep named Shawn.
And, the last one, with the psychotic koala, was...
"Australia!" Krystal cried, completely forgetting about the two minutes of silence as she stood up. She couldn't help it - she hadn't seen him since before the war. He and New Zealand had taken off to Bali, with New Zealand's reports that the strange girl that had washed up there was Emma, and then...nothing.
They hadn't heard from them since.
As Krystal and Mayling both hurried over to their home nation, Margaret turned to America.
"How long was that?" She asked, in a sweet soprano voice.
America checked his watch. "Six seconds." He replied.
"Do we have to start over?" Canada wanted to know.
"Hell no..." America mumbled, rolling his eyes, and then suddenly noticing that Switzerland had also stood up.
"Hey, all of you...don't interfere with what's about to happen." The neutral nation said, a tone in his voice making almost everybody turn to him. "And, you," he added, looking straight at America with an incredibly serious expression. "Just go with it."
Perhaps it was Switzerland's tone, or his words. Or, the fact that Liechtenstein looked slightly worried, as she mumbled: "I don't think Big Brother meant to do it now...however..." She appeared to be talking to somebody else. Then, she suddenly looked towards the door. "Look, there." She suggested and so, of course, they all looked.
Standing there, wearing a Japanese military uniform that was black and gold, was Emma...or, as she was also known, Japan's Capital, Tokyo.
She was holding a K31 magazine-fed straight-pull bolt action rifle.
She didn't speak, and nobody else had a chance to either, as she was across the room in 0.035 seconds flat with one destination in mind - America.
In a scene that wouldn't have been out of place in the Arlong Park saga of One Piece, Emma had America on the floor in no time at all, using her scarred knee to pin him. The rifle that she was holding was pointed directly at the nation's throat.
For a number of reasons, America was frozen. It didn't matter. So was nearly everybody else.
Krystal and Mayling were frozen in both shock and horror, at seeing their other long time best friend after so long, and like this - they hadn't expected to see her straight-up attack a nation like this, and from the looks of things, she knew how to use that Swiss-made rifle.
Australia wouldn't even look at anyone.
Japan probably had turned into a statue by this stage. He seemed incapable of moving or speaking. His eyes had followed his Capital's movements, and were now trained directly on her.
Italy looked both happy (to see Emma again) and shocked (by what she was doing).
Germany seemed stunned, which was somewhat unusual for him.
A few of the nations began to exchange glances, which is when Liechtenstein suddenly chose to speak up again.
"Umm...everybody..." She said quietly, in her vaguely German accent. "J-just so that you are aware...she's not doing this as a Capital...she's d-doing this as a human..."
Emma finally opened her mouth and spoke then, her melodic voice ringing out across the room in her normal Australian accent but...it was laced with somewhat of a Japanese one, as well.
"Hai, Lily-Chan." Her unreadable hazel eyes never once left America's blue ones. They appeared to be staring into each other's soul. "Alfred-San," and, it was definitely there, because she'd just partially said 'Arfred-San'. "There are some things that I need to say...to all of you. Dakara...minna...I must insist that you listen, onegaishimasu."
Three Weeks Ago...
"Mama, watashi no hibakusha wa Hiro yori mo tasuke ga hitsuyōdesu!"
"English, Naga, English." Emma said automatically, trying to stave off the headache that she felt threatening her since they'd boarded the plane in Jakarta.
Heck, people had been giving them strange looks even before they'd boarded the plane at Tuban Airfield...probably due to the fact that an argument between the twins had somehow caused a considerable amount of damage to the airstrip, which had needed to be repaired with pierced steel planking.
And, then, on the flight over to Jakarta's Kemayoran Airfield, the three of them continued to get weird looks whenever they spoke in Japanese, forcing Emma to make the remainder of their travel an 'English Only Flight'.
It was hard to uphold that kind of thing, however...
It didn't help that Emma was under the impression that the flight between Bali and Jakarta was to take nearly two hours.
It took twenty-five minutes.
Emma had nearly started panicking when she'd heard the landing gear come down, and the plane had started to descend.
Philippines had had to remind her to breathe.
And, now, the twins were arguing over whose survivors were more important, and it was about to do Emma's head in.
The twins had aged sort of rapidly in the past few months. They were currently about five years old. Emma had been unprepared for being a Mother, and even less prepared to be a Capital who was the Mother of two Cities.
If not for the support of Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia, then she wouldn't have known what to do - there was no instruction manual on being a parent, whether you were a human or not.
Not that any of this was precedented. It was such a special case that not even the five nations who were accompanying her to Switzerland knew quite what to expect. They just knew that she needed support, whoever or whatever she was. Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and New Zealand also knew that Australia still had feelings for his citizen. Even though she was now officially Japan's Capital, Tokyo.
That was complicated.
He'd been somewhat of a godsend for her, however. Even now, as they resumed their flight after they'd stopped in Baghdad to refuel (and, Iraq hardly said two words to them, although she smiled when Nagasaki told her that her hijab was really pretty), and the twins had started arguing again, Australia stepped in and began teaching them the poem Mulga Bill's Bicycle. The twins listened intently, and then began to recite it with him the second time around.
"He thinks that they should learn things like that because of your human heritage." Philippines whispered to Emma.
Emma smiled. "I don't mind. It's important to build relationships with other nations...now, more than ever..."
Phillipines nodded. "I agree...but, how are you going to handle...you know...?"
Emma knew what she meant, and she sighed, turning monochrome and with blue lines around her. "Dōsureba ī no ka wakarimasen!" She wailed quietly.
"Engrish, Mamma, Engrish." Nagasaki told her.
Oh...it's times like this that I wish he was here... Emma thought, thinking desperately of her beloved Japan. If I close my eyes, then I can sense him...somewhere, somehow...daijoubu... Shecould imagine him telling her that it was alright...
"Attention, passengers, this is your Captain speaking, we're about to fly into a bit of turbulence, so I'd suggest remaining in your seats and keeping your seatbelts on."
Philippines watched as Emma had her fourteenth breakdown of that week.
Emma was looking around the cafe, and not actually paying attention to anything that Switzerland was saying to her.
"Hey," the fact that she wasn't listening seemed to annoy the blonde-haired nation a little bit. "If you don't want to know what's going on then I don't really care, but..."
"Iie, it's not that, Switzerland-San," Emma shook her head. "Eto...gomenasai, it's just..." She closed her eyes briefly for a second. "He was here, wasn't he? Recently..."
"If you mean Japan," Switzerland shrugged. "Then, yes, he was here for, like, twelve seconds when he met with China, and was told off by China's Girl..." He rolled his eyes.
"Mayling..." Emma sighed. She could picture Mayling - now known also as Beijing - telling off Japan. She opened her eyes, and noticed both Switzerland and Liechtenstein looking at her. "We've been friends for years...her, Krystal, and I..." She explained.
"Ah, Krystal!" Liechtenstein nodded. Her blue green eyes sparkled. Emma realised that she'd been having some trouble trying to distinguish the differences between blue and green when she named those colours...last week she'd asked Malaysia if he knew where her blue dress was, and it had taken them nearly half an hour to locate the dress she'd meant, the colour of which happened to be Viridian.
"You know her?" Emma was surprised.
"I know of her." Liechtenstein replied. "Mayling told me a little bit about you three. I never thought that I'd get to meet you, though..."
"Nani...?"
"Well, of course, everyone thinks you're dead." Switzerland said bluntly.
"Yes, well, because..." Emma shifted uncomfortably. She'd been avoiding everybody for months, except for Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Australia. "I've been...trying to figure some stuff out..."
"Like what?" Liechtenstein wanted to know.
"America-San o korosu kamo shirenai ki ga suru hi mo aru." Emma muttered, clenching her fists under the table.
Switzerland and Liechtenstein exchanged a glance.
"I have noidea what you just said, but since it was to do with America that's probably a good thing..." Switzerland sighed. I knew that there'd be problems with Tokyo regarding this...
Liechtenstein looked sympathetically at Emma. "It must have been hard for you, to not be there..."
Emma looked at her. "You have no idea, Liechtenstein-Chan...on the one hand, it was almost like I was there...I saw it, I felt it, as if I was standing there when the bombs dropped...and then, at the same time, I was so far away and couldn't be there for him!" Tears had filled her eyes - they were doing that vibrat-y thing - but she didn't let herself cry.
She's so brave... Liechtenstein thought. Not just as a Capital...
"And...he can't be with me...with us..." Emmaglanced across, to where Australia was judging an Origami Contest between Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
"My cranes are a hundred times ruckier than your crovers!" Hiroshima declared.
"Nah-uh!" Nagasaki protested. "My crovers are better because they're brue!" She held up one of her shamrock green clovers.
"What happened to all of the green serviettes?!" A waitress was wailing.
Emma, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland all sweat-dropped, as they turned back to each other.
"Well, at least they're talking in English..." Emma muttered. "Australia's been such a big help..." She sighed.
"You're from Western Australia...and, you met Australia and the others before you became a Capital, right?" Liechtenstein remembered.
"Hai, but only briefly..." Emma replied.
"When you came from that other world." Switzerland said flatly. It wasn't a question.
Emma nodded. "That's correct...Krystal, Mayling, and I came from another world that's likethis one, but in the future..."
"Wow..." Switzerland rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. "You actually knew how this war was going to end, especially for Japan, and you still chose to become his Capital."
"Well, I had been living with him for a few months prior to that..." Emma defended herself. "I met friends that way, human friends...they were all innocent people, who've lost their lives for this war to end...not to mention the years of suffering in store for the survivors, because of the nature of the attacks..."
As if on cue, Nagasaki began to cough, and Australia and Indonesia immediately swooped in to help her. They were used to this, by now.
"I don't want anyone else to have to go through this..." Emma muttered, watching this happen. "The manufacture of nuclear weapons, just...nidoto...nidoto..."
"Do you want to tell America that?" Liechtenstein guessed.
Emma glanced at her. "Can I...?"
Switzerland shrugged. He had a feeling that she was going to do it anyway, whether he approved of it or not. "Why not? Your feelings from when you were a human are what's fuelling part of your pain now." He recalled what Liechtenstein said it felt like to transition from being a human to being something more. "That's what Lily told me." He added, looking at Liechtenstein, who nodded in confirmation to her human name.
"Yes, Big Brother Basch," Liechtenstein responded in kind. "And, it's very important that those feelings are not ignored, because our people are what make us who and what we are." She reaches across the table and took Emma's hands. "What Tokyo will do is important...but, what Emma will do is just as important."
Emma swallowed. "H-hai...domo arigatoo...I guess that I do want to tell America-San how I feel, and hopefully urge him and the other yūzai nations not to take this whole atomic weapons thing any further..."
"Well, if you're going to do that," Switzerland told her. "Then, there's probably only one way that you're going to get that guy to shut up and listen to you..."
Present...
Now, thinking back on things, Switzerland couldn't help but wonder if it had been a mistake to give her the rifle. She had assured him that it was purely to get America to actually take notice of her...in fact, at first, she hadn't wanted to use it, and had waned to know if a replica would suffice, to which Switzerland had informed her that America would know the difference.
Watching her staring into the blue eyes of America, Switzerland realised that it was out of his hands now. He also wouldn't want to be in America's position right now.
Whether Tokyo/Emma was going to shoot America/Alfred or not, was completely irrelevant - she had succeeded in commanding all of his attention, and now he could only listen to her.
Too bad she was speaking so softly to him that only he could hear her.
Krystal and Mayling were staring at their friend in unmasked shock, trying to figure out what was actually going on.
Something was bothering Mayling, though, and she silently voiced this thought to China. What did Lily mean when she said that Emma's doing this as a human...?
China glanced over at Mayling. For one who used to be a human, those emotions can still be strong enough to evoke certain reactions to big events, aru...we understand this, to varying degrees, and so there's a little bit of leeway when it comes to what's going on right now. We can see this happening, but this is Emma doing this to Alfred, not Tokyo doing this to America, aru...
I didn't know we could do that...Mayling wondered if she could get away with doing something like this to Russia/Ivan.
I wouldn't, aru... China sweat-dropped, but he was also waiting.
Mayling was staring at Emma, and then a lightbulb went off above her head, just as the same thing happened to Krystal, who's been silently talking to England and France.
"Tokyo!" The two girls cried in unison.
And, at this, Emma looked up, finally tearing her gaze away from America - as she did, a tear fell from her eye, and landed on the lens of his glasses.
She looked back at America, and then stood up, holding out her free hand to him, which he took.
He stood up, and looked back down at her. He still hadn't said anything.
Switzerland came up to them just then, and Emma wordlessly handed the rifle and its ammunition to him.
"America-San," Emma said, her voice surprisingly strong, despite the tears that occasionally dripped down her face. "How you did it...I can never forgive. Demo, what you did, and why you did it...if I can look past the thousands of innocent people who've died, and the ones who will be dying well up to the year 2013 and beyond due to radiation disease, including cancer..."
Italy gasped quietly, remembering their conversation back at Seychelles' house. "Bella..." He whispered.
Romano glanced at him, and then looked back at Emma, his expression unreadable.
"And the fact that I lost four friends, including our Confidant..." Emma's voice shook ever so slightly. A few nations looked horrified, and Greece and Athens exchanged a glance. "Then, above all, what I want to say to you, is this..." She took a deep breath, and then bowed, deeply and respectfully. "Domo arigatoo - for ending the war and for stopping anything more from happening." She straightened up. "I never...I never ever want anyone else here to go through what we've had to go through..." Her hands were shaking slightly. "I can't stop anyone here from manufacturing those kinds of nuclear weapons...I want to, but..." She sighed. "As a Capital, as a former human, and as an oya, I can honestly say that it would be the biggest mistake that you'd ever make to subject somebody else to that sort of thing."
What does oya mean? Mayling wondered.
China was frowning slightly. I think it means 'parent', but...
He and Mayling gasped then, exchanging a startled glance and then they swung their heads around to stare at the two small figures that they hadn't noticed by the door until now.
Everybody else did, too.
They were two young kids, maybe five or six. Both had dark red hair and dark eyes - the boy also had very thick eyebrows. Both were dressed in navy-styled outfits that made Mayling instantly think of those little kids that you see in anime.
They weren't normal kids, that much was for certain.
Just then, the boy started coughing, and it was the most horrible sound that any of them had ever heard. It sounded like there was black tar in his lungs or something...and then he coughed up blood.
Most of the nations gasped in shock.
Krystal's hand flew to her mouth in horror.
Australia and New Zealand immediately swooped on the young boy to help him, as the girl hurried over to Emma, who immediately picked her up.
"I won't have to retaliate if anybody here uses nuclear weapons," Emma spoke quietly, but her hazel eyes were flashing. "Because, I can promise you, that this will be the result for the target, but if you can live with that now that you know about it, then..." The little girl in her arms buried her face in Emma's shoulder. "I pity you."
"Where's Emma?" Krystal wanted to know.
They were still in the conference room ten minutes later, after Hiroshima had gotten over his coughing attack, but now Emma seemed to have disappeared.
Again.
Krystal was sitting next to Australia, and Hiroshima, the latter who looked up at Krystal with his dark eyes and said: "Mama wa papa to hanashi o shitakatta."
Krystal blinked. "Umm, wait, so...she's with Japan?" She guessed.
The boy shrugged. "Dakara itta." He murmured.
"Okay, mate, that's enough." Australia said, in a good-natured way.
Krystal raised an eyebrow. "And, how come you've got him?"
Australia wouldn't look at her. "Because..." He muttered quietly. "I promised her..."
"Huh?" Krystal sighed in frustration. She was still struggling to wrap her head around the fact that Emma had kids now; twins, in fact.
From the way that Mayling was shaking her head, Krystal could tell that she couldn't quite believe it, either.
"Okay!" America said suddenly, standing at the front of the room like he hadn't just been staring down the barrel of a gun twelve and a half minutes ago. "Are we ready to continue?" He was looking towards the door to the room, and a few others looked as well.
Japan was standing there, and beside him was his Capital. The two of them looked completely calm. And, as was noticed by the other nations who had Capitals with them, the two of them were completely and utterly in-synch.
And, Maying realised as she watched them (Krystal was currently having a glaring contest with Hiroshima, for whatever reason), it was partly because they'd been that way even before she'd become his Capital. Japan had cared for Emma long before she'd become Tokyo, and vice-versa. It was now just a lot more obvious to any outsider looking in.
"Hai." Japan and Emma said in perfect unison. And then Emma, her hazel eyes full of worry, turned to look at Germany.
"Germany..." She said, and he looked back at her, already guessing what she was about to ask him. Nearby, Spain did too, and he sighed.
"Ja?"
"Where is Prussia?"