A/N: I'm back, I'm back! Alas, after a ridiculous wait that I apologize for subjecting you to, Floodwaters is ending! :U Sorry if it's a bit awkward…I literally haven't ended a series in five years, so this took me a lot of thinking to write. It's also quite tricky to research about earthquake rescue. Not only that, but suddenly, my Internet went down! I'm posting this from someone else's computer, because FFN won't let me log in using the Internet I'm using temporarily…

And so, after a very long wait, I present Floodwaters chapter five, the final (and longest) chapter!

"What?" Ivan turned first, and everyone else followed, eyes suddenly wide. "Are you sure you're not imagining things? It has been a hard day, da?"

The flash of fur came again. "I'm sure!" insisted Francis. "Look!"

Gazes were fixed to the edge of the rubble, and this time, everyone saw it pass-As well as heard it. Small, high-pitched barking, too soft to hear if you weren't listening, but unmistakably the voice of the little Japanese pooch they knew.

"Hey!" Pushed by the persistent yaps, Alfred leapt straight into the water, wading around to see better, a few of the others even following. Once he had made it halfway, his curious expression turned into a huge, triumphant grin. "Dude, it is! It's Pochi, man!"

Feliciano had already caught up, a look of complete delight on his face and a dumbfounded Ludwig right at his heels. Arthur shed his coat and jumped in as well, too winded by the discovery to care much about how ridiculously dramatic that looked. Even Yao ran straight into the rolling waves, even if he knew perfectly well that he had no idea how to swim.

"I'm going to call the rescuers," announced Ivan, and before anyone could reply, he turned on his heels and ran for the makeshift tents where the rescue teams stayed for the night.

"I…I'm coming with you!" snapped Francis immediately, wanting to help out but preferring to do so without getting his clothes wet. He dashed after the Russian, who was already far ahead with his scarf blowing behind him.

"We'll go see what Pochi is barking about," Ludwig shouted after them over his shoulder, then broke into a speedy swim. Yao was still wading carefully a little far off, but everyone was at their quickest. After all, they had found Pochi—and dogs had this thing about being man's best friend.

Alfred, in the lead, arrived at the shore first, soaked through but grinning widely. He scrambled over the wet sand and cooed, "Hey, Pochi, boy! Watcha find there?"

The Akita pup stopped barking at the sound of the familiar voice. He took one quick, beady-eyed look at the ecstatic American and the others trailing behind him, and suddenly began barking as frantically as ever. He was soaked to his skin as well, and he was thinner than Alfred remembered, that's for sure, but his energy levels were off the charts as he yelped enthusiastically, jumping around in circles.

"I've never seen him so excited," stated Arthur as he landed on the shore after Feliciano (who was by then running after Pochi) and Ludwig (who was by then running after Feliciano). "What's he yapping about?"

As if to reply, Pochi froze behind one particular pile of rubbish and debris, fluffy tail wagging intensely as he stared, waiting interestedly for the friends' response.

And every single one of them, Yao crawling at the far end of the ocean included, froze in shock, which grew quickly into a confused blend of terror and fragile hope.

Under the slabs of crumbling rock and broken planks of wood, a bloodied hand stuck out, pale with its fingers curled. Someone was down there, and even Feliciano could guess who it was.

"…Kiku…?"

The friends scrambled towards the bloody limb, and Pochi resumed his fervent barking. Arthur pressed his fingers to the exposed wrist, slightly grimacing at the sensation of the sticky blood.

"Hey, man, how is he?" queried Alfred anxiously, peering over the crouched Englishman's shoulder. Just like the others, he held his breath and just mentally begged that there remained life under the fallen debris.

His prayers were answered.

"He's…It's…There's a pulse!" exclaimed Arthur, unable to hide his surprise and relief. "He's alive!"

"What? It's a miracle," said Ludwig with an eyebrow raised. "But he's not out of the woods yet. It's been awhile since the flood…he's bound to have been down there for…" The German trailed off, noticing the others' smiles fading back into worried expressions at the exposure of the truth. He himself scowled. He muttered instead, "We have to get him out."

"How?" Yao frowned, only just emerging from the water and coughing out whatever had gotten into his mouth on the inconvenient wade. "The rescuers; they'll have to—"

As if in reply, a rumbling filled the air and in one mighty mechanical sweep, the rubble that blocked the long strip of shore cleared. In its place stood a large bulldozer, a team of rescuers, Ivan, and Francis.

"All clear," shouted the stocky man driving the vehicle, and his colleagues proceeded to the scene.

"Ivan! Francis!" Feliciano called, waving a hand in the air.

"We got the rescuers," stated Ivan obviously. He seemed slightly out of breath, but his violet eyes shone in the dawn light. "Did you find…?"

Ludwig motioned to the hand as Arthur and the others confronted the small uniformed rescue team. "Before you ask, there's a pulse, but I'm not sure how long it's going to last."

Francis dusted off the sand and soil that had gotten onto his designer clothes, lips puckered. "Kiku better be alive," he said sourly, but even he couldn't hide the anxiety from his tone.

He could be alive. Or, he could be dead. There were only two options, really, and whatever came of it, they had no control over. There was only hope-quiet, fragile hope, as the friends stood with the waves lapping at their ankles, watching the rescuers scurry around at orders from their superior, carrying shovels and digging in various places.

Francis was never particularly close to Kiku, but watching them dig him up right there, with no indication of whether he would see the day or not, was utterly heartbreaking. He had seen him in all his stoic decisiveness, and to see him so helpless…

Ivan had talked with him a couple of times before. He was always so deep, so…hard to understand. Yet, in crises, everyone was the same. Everyone, you could sympathize with, especially when you see him being uncovered from the ruins as if he were merely some valuable artifact. A life was more valuable than that…

Alfred and Kiku liked a lot of things in common. They'd visit each others' houses to play videogames a lot. Alfred usually lost when it came to Kiku (it seemed as if he'd mastered every single game in the world), but losing to someone like him didn't feel so bad. And when it all boiled down, under the long gaming meet-ups and bowls of popcorn, Kiku would help him out when he needed it, even if Alfred could be an annoying brat sometimes, and he knew it. If those hours-long and enjoyable multiplayer sessions stopped…

Arthur had at first only opened up to Kiku. Crabby, irritable, and everything in between, he hadn't really liked joining the strange group of friends at first; it had just seemed unavoidable. But then, he'd grown a slight bit lonely, and so he took up a conversation with Kiku, and Kiku talked back, and he helped improve his English while he helped him cook a little better. A little. But still, he'd seemed so friendly, so polite. To lose him would mean…

Ludwig had been the one to invite Kiku into their little group of friends. At that time, it had been for perks. Surely befriending a capable, smart young man such as Kiku would benefit someday? But then, Ludwig sort of warmed up to the group, especially Kiku, to his surprise, and before he knew it, he believed in friendship, too. He was no longer just a tool; he was a friend, and for him to go…

Feliciano really liked Kiku. It was amusing when he'd look around, flustered, if he did something wrong, and it always felt good to help him out with something he didn't understand and see his smiling face afterwards. When their meeting had been in Italy, his home country, he toured Kiku all around on this long food trip, and he enjoyed so much that Ludwig couldn't recognize him when they came back. And most of all, he was smart, and he knew so much, and he'd tell Feliciano all sorts of things, and somehow, he'd feel even just a little bit brainier. If all those blank expressions, confused scowls and enjoyable smiles were surrendered for an eternal lifeless stare…

And Yao, Yao felt sorry. It was an accident all those years ago, a fiasco and completely unintentional. But he had pulled away, and he severed that mentality that they were brothers. The others had tried to talk with him, but he closed up, and right at that moment, as fallen beams were pulled away and crumbling foundations were dug out, he felt so guilty. Like it was his fault, somehow. He could have approached him or something; Kiku never spoke first, after all. And now, if he lost him, his brother, if he lost the opportunity to see him laugh again…

There was silence as the seven watched on.

Minutes seemed like hours that felt like days. And they endured it with breaths held as a full arm was uncovered, with Kiku's torn silk sleeve stained with blood. Pochi had stopped barking, reduced to a small, whimpering light heap of fur. Time passed by like dripping quicksand, and the world was silent, as if waiting with them in their torturous vigil.

And finally, finally, they got him. Covered in bruises and cuts, his black hair sticking around his face with dark blood. And it was horrible to look at, someone you loved, your friend, so hurt and so helpless when just some time ago you were laughing with him over the phone.

Francis stared with his mouth open in terror, and Ivan was mute. Arthur looked away and Alfred had both hands over his mouth. Feliciano choked, gripping at Ludwig's stiffened arm tighter and Yao was already crying.

And all dark sorrow was drowned out by the cries of ambulance sirens.

/

Epilogue

"Kiku? Kiku, wake up.

"I brought you some dumplings today. I made them myself."

"And pasta!"

"Woof!"

"Oh, Feliciano, Pochi!"

"Quiet! At this rate, you're actually going to wake him up, stupid git!"

"Chillax, bro! Isn't that a good thing?"

"Actually, he's not supposed to wake up for another few months, da? If he woke up something would be wrong."

"What are we even doing? He can't hear us."

"He might. I read something about comatose people actually being conscious, and sometimes they can remember things they heard while they were asleep."

"Woof! Woof!"

"Hey, man, then maybe we can all laugh about it over at my place when this is all over!"

"Sure thing. I'll bring some games."

"What are you talking about, Arthur? You don't game…"

"Kiku might want to play something."

"Yeah, that would be nice."

And they laughed, and quietly, as the machines beeped a steady background, he laughed with them.

A/N- China is almost unrecognizable without his annoying aru's…XD Anyway, that's how it ends. Like, several months after I started it, and that's only a few chapters. Bah, I suck. XD

While I was proofreading this, Time of Dying by Three Days Grace was playing in the background, and when it started to get sad, it moved on to Alphonse Elric's theme, Ano Yume No Mukou E. And it was amazing. X3 I like how it came out, honestly, but your opinion is your opinion, so review anyway!

Well, whether you thought that was good or not, thanks for reading and reviewing the whole thing despite my knack for procrastination! I'll write something up when I think of something again, maybe Fullmetal Alchemist, and I'll try to go a teensy bit quicker. Goodbye for now and good luck in your own writing escapades!

~~Nuttyjigs~~