Hello! I'm sorry if I didn't update for a while. I've been thinking ahead of how December Memoir and this story will go, and it's pretty steady so far. As for A Thousand Years, I'm still working on the second chapter. Please Enjoy!

Dislaimer: Axis Powers Hetalia does not belong to me.

Xiang was awakened by a baby's scream, coming from the seat behind him, followed by a woman's gentle voice coaxing the infant to return to its slumber. Blinking, he scowled, rubbing his eyes and removing the tilted headphones from his ears. No battery. Great.

Reaching down, the teenage boy was about to open his backpack until he felt a vibrating coming from his coat pocket.

Slumping back, he flipped open the phone to find a text message.

From Yong Soo.

Mouth agape, he unlocked the phone, unbelieving. It had been years since he and the runaway son of the South Korean diplomat had spoken!
Xiang! It's been a while! I heard you were coming to Tokyo from Zhao, da ze! I have a concert there in two days! You should totally come and see! Message back and I'll tell you where I'm staying~
Xiang grinned, already beginning his reply.
Things were already heating up.

"Pochi, did you see that lady look at us?" The dog yipped, wagging his tail. Mei pursed her plump pink lips and stared in the bathroom's direction. She wondered if the lady had come out yet...

There was just something odd about her. Like, she was supposed to know her, even though she probably didn't. Like she had a connection with her.

"Well, let's get back." Standing, Mei led her dog over to the elevator, right when the down arrow button blinked.

The silver doors slid, revealing a well-dressed young man with a strange curl to the left side of his face.

"YONG SOO!" She leaped onto the boy, who almost stumbled back into the elevator.

"Mei, is that really you, da ze?" Brushing the invisible dirt from the long sleeves of his black denim jacket, he looked up and stared at the girl's face. Sure enough, it was his pretty and annoying friend who used to chase him down the halls of whatever government building their parents were attending. Sure, she had grown. Grown, in that way.
Inside, he frowned.
She shouldn't be here.

"Oh, Mei-Mei! Whatever brings a girl like you to Tokyo? With such a pretty little form as yours, you should keep watch for yourself, da ze~!" Shooting forward, the girl flushed and turned to the side, wary of where his hands were aiming for. The Korean idol met the ground in a loud smack.

Ok, maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

"You're still a pervert." Mei sighed as she picked up Pochi's leash and slowly walked towards her friend.

"You're still strong, da-ze." The young man was now sitting up, rubbing his face. For a second, Mei felt guilty. She had heard that the boy was now a popular teen singer. Did he have a concert today, or later this week? Oh, those poor makeup artists, fixing-

Wait. Yong Soo was a pervert.

Never mind.

"You should come to the concert this Saturday!"
"That sounds nice! My boyfriend is going to be busy for a while, so I don't have much that I can do." Yong Soo pouted.
"Hmph! You're already going out! Unluckily, for a superstar like me, I have many adoring female fans who will just ruin a formed relationship out of jealousy! After all..." He flashed his best-looking smile, and narrowed his eyes.

"I am the one who invented sexy, da-ze!" She laughed quite loudly, clasping a smooth hand across her lips.
"You haven't changed." He stretched.

"I have to get back. I'll see you another time, da-ze. Oh, I know!" He raised a finger.

"I'll treat you to dinner tonight at the restaurant they have here! They say it has really good sushi!" Mei smiled.
"It's a deal, then."
"Ok, tonight at six!" Then the two parted their ways.

As soon as he made sure she was far enough away, his carefree expression changed into a serious one. Yong Soo bit his lip, shoving his hands into his pockets.

You really don't know how much I've changed, da-ze.

Eyebrows crossed at the sound of hearty female giggles, the swishing of floor-length dresses, and heels that hit the marble floor with a clack sound. Yao wasn't one for luxury. Even though her mother had far more than enough money for the two of them a few months after arriving in New York, Yao took to heart that buying things that expensive was a waste of money.

Sometimes she did have to make exceptions. Sometimes Ivan would buy her something pricy and sparkly which she secretly despised, and put a smile on her face as she accepted it (and put it away in the deep corners of her side of the closet).

And sometimes the girls would go out shopping, and she declined nearly every offer. She had heard from Elizabeta that they would be going to Victoria's Secret, and that didn't mean anything too good for her own sake (and mind).

Because the mission would be starting tomorrow, the two assassins had time off on their hands. While Natalya had gone shopping (ugh) she decided to take a stroll through the halls of this fine hotel. With all the money she made, she still wouldn't have agreed to stay in something as luxurious as this.

"Teacher, is that you?" Her wandering pace was slowed to a halt at the sound of a boy she knew years ago.

In one quick breath, she swiveled on her foot, face to face with a partially shocked looking Gang Xiang.

"XIANG!" In a sudden impulse she threw her arms around the boy, smiling as wide as her face would allow. There wasn't anything worthy to remember as her days of a child back in Beijing, save for when she was left alone without her parents, alone with her friends. It felt like centuries since she last saw their faces, and she highly regarded that she wouldn't see them again, given the circumstances.

But this mission given by Vash allowed her the possible chance of seeing Kiku.

And now, it had allowed her to see another.

Oh, sometimes fate really did care about you!
"Teacher," She sighed. Yao almost forgot the tiny, boyish voice that used to call her that. Because she had been so much older than him, the child mocked her by calling her things that would make her feel old. These nicknames weren't offending, but (due to her naiveté, which she reluctantly admitted) they were taken as terms of respect.
"Teacher, let go. People are watching us. This is a five star joint." He hissed, eyes wary of the ladies in fine gowns snickering behind their fans and men chuckling from behind their backs.

"But I'm so happy to see you, aru!" Both eyes widened. For one, she lost that accent since she left her homeland. For the other, it was just...a fond memory, he hated to admit.
It took her a while to let go. Xiang, her dear friend...next to Kiku, who grew up rather quickly and missed the joys of youth, Xiang kept a few young aspects of his personality. Maybe it had been because of his age, or because his mother (whose father was the politician-she had been an actress) spoiled all her love on him.
She was still glad she had someone to call as her little brother, and someone who would stay and act that way longer than the other one did.

He sulked, cheeks red at the thought of others watching him in this awkward position. Maybe he'd get lucky and they would be mistaken as long-lost cousins or siblings who didn't see each other too often. As a boy, he didn't like it at first when Yao constantly doted on him like she did with Kiku, wherever he was now. Sometimes when they didn't get together to play, he found himself hating it. Hating that he had no brother or sister who could actually bring some excitement in his life.
But when Yao was around, even if she did get annoying, he liked it.

Dare he say it, he secretly loved being around his 'big sister'.

In a small, weak voice, Xiang responded.

"...I did too."

"How are things? Your mother, is she still doing well?" Yao was having the break of her life, sitting in one of the hotel's restaurants and listening to her 'brother' talk.
Hey, it was a miracle that she actually saw him again in a tumultuous lifestyle such as this.

"Yeah. Like, she's still an actress and everything. I think a lot more popularity came or something, because she's really been busy working in all these movies." He played with the odd balls of rice rolled in nori. He concentrated, trying to guess what the contents of the sushi were. He had tasted many types before, and this was one he had never tried. Huh.

Yao noticed this and rolled her eyes.
"How many years have passed and you're still picking on your food, aru?" She swallowed. There it goes again.

Xiang , in turned, stared at her like she had just failed at making a joke.

"You're still bossy as ever, Teacher." After taking a sip of the water (the restaurant did offer alcohol, but there was a teenager in the vicinity! No bad influences) she took a look at the sushi she ordered, which was the same as his.
"I believe it's pickled plum, a speck of wasabi, and grilled salmon?" With the thin chopstick, she lightly pushed the pinkish flesh.

"See? You're playing with your food too." Smirking, he drank the water.

"No, I'm observing for my little brother, aru."
"Well, if you can't figure out what it's made of, I guess we'll have to order something else. Like, there was fugu on the menu-"
"Even if the people here are five star chefs, doesn't it take skill to cut something so dangerous that only a part could be saved to be eaten?" She switched to Cantonese, making sure that the people around her wouldn't take offense.

"But I know what it tastes like." Xiang answered back, interested in how fluent she kept her Cantonese after being away for so long.

"You don't know how one thing can change your life." Yao returned to English, taking the small roll into her mouth. He raised an eyebrow, feeding himself on the grains of rice on the other bowl. He'd have to bail out on dessert.

"Huh?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I got married, after a few years of my work. He's a very nice man, childish, but intimidating enough to keep others who threaten him away. Perhaps a bit too much." She chuckled.

Her brother made a strange noise with his mouth.

"You sound like Mom when she's working for a romantic comedy, Teacher." Seriously, though. Yao didn't seem the type to get married. Maybe she seemed like the type who would calm down and live a peaceful life, but Xiang guessed that from her steady personality, she wouldn't want someone else to be with her through it all.
"Romantic comedy? I've only seen a few, and I really think that those women overreact, aru."
"That's, like, because they're in love and stuff."
"Hmmm..." She wrinkled the corner of her lips. Overreact? That wasn't something she could sympathize with, even if she was in love.

"Yong Soo." He waved nonchalantly, before returning to his food. Yao froze. Then she turned, seeing her old Korean friend flashing a very large smile and waved.

Yao smiled back, but not for long.

There, standing with a childlike, lovely smile and a blush as pink as her dress, was the girl from the lobby.

Thank you for reading! Please Review!