Egg Nation- Kitty Cat Chinatown
France rubbed his weeping face into Kukai's shirt, smearing large tears into the soft fabric. As he continued to embrace him, the country rambled on about how the boy was his 'savior'. Kukai laughed nervously after France's crying died down a little, and his grip on him lessened. He was left with an awkward silence once all noises from the character ceased; the only indicator of any sobbing had taken place was the strategically positioned tears that remained on his cheeks and caught the light from the children's flashlights making his face sparkle handsomely. Yaya broke out into a shy blush, her face turning dark red. A long moment passed; Yaya fidgeting more and more, until she couldn't take the waiting for another second.
"Gah! Yaya can't take this anymore, this guy it too handsome. I mean, he even smells like roses. He makes Yaya want to be swept off her feet by a knight in shining armor and… eat sweets." Her face simmered back down to its normal complexion after her mind wandered off into topics that she usually thought of, such as candy and toys. Kukai watched her vegetate in her childish thinking blankly before hesitantly turning to the new character and asked, "What just happened?"
"I'm so sorry, but that tends to happen to humans when they meet me. My mere presence just invokes the most romantic thoughts out of others, and since you friend is quite immature she came up with a storybook knight and faded into other things she likes." France explained, not in an apologetic tone, but as if he were pleased with himself and his strange effect. Then he smiled wirily and intriguingly laughed, as he asked, "And pray tell, what passionate imaginings are you fevered with?"
"Kukai and romance? Ha! Sorry, but this guy's too thick for stuff like that. All he ever has on his brain are sports."Daichi busted out; laughing out of control as Kukai proved his point by scratching his head, unable to report any 'passionate imaginings'. France was taken aback and in unbelievable shock, sighing about how much of waste it was.
"I mean; you've got such a nice physique that'll only get better with time and zealous eyes that spark excitement into the hearts of others and... No! I will not let your potential be wasted; from now on you are my disciple of love. Come now there is much to teach!" France announced, dragging a protesting Kukai out of the deserted restaurant by his index finger.
'This guy is strong… I kind of like him.' Daichi thought approvingly; following France as the nation pulled his partner along, laughing at Kukai's futile complaining.
"D-did they just leave us?" Yaya yelled angrily having just returned from her day dreaming to notice the new character tow the boy out. Pepe snuggled the top of Yaya's head, drifting off to sleep. It then occurred to the girl how late in the evening it was, and she started looking for the Russian when he gloomily floated up to her.
"What kind of place doesn't have vodka?" Russia simply asked as he continued to slowly hover past them and to the front door, leaving Yaya to follow him and wonder what vodka was.
Dinner passed relatively well; by the time the two girls arrived at the table their father was somewhat composed, but his stability didn't last long with Ami's constant praise of Arthur. Tsumugu soon was back in his familiar corner, bawling his eyes out over the loss of his little girl. By then everyone had learned to ignore his overreactions, and dinner continued peacefully in between Feliciano's panic attacks about how Arthur made 'military advancements' onto his food and later joined Amu's father in the corner. After being excused, Amu dragged herself to her room and plopped onto her bed.
"Amu, what's wrong? Was it my crying? Because I've been working on it, I really have! Ludwig can testify that I've gotten better." Feliciano said concernedly as he settled next to Amu on the bed, followed by her Guardian Characters. The girl rolled onto her back, facing the ceiling and wore a distressed frown that seemed to answer the Italian's question with a 'no'. Ran then stood up; flying onto her stomach and encouraged her owner, "Please Amu-chan, you can tell us."
"It's just that every time we foil Easter's plans; they always can come up with an even worse plan to try and get the Embryo. I was just wondering if it's going to be like that this time too." Amu explained; her sense of ineffectiveness squeaking through as she spoke, and at the end she opened her mouth to say more but the words came up dry. Her Guardian Characters caught sight of this but Su was the one who inquired, "And Ikuto too?"
"Wait, isn't he that mean guy who stole Alfred?" Feliciano asked with a trace of anger ending the question; Amu quickly combated his comment and started with a spitting tone, "He isn't mean! It's not his fault that he seems mean, but I'm the only one who can see it, that he's really not mean..." Italy was pushed back by her fierce exclamation, but when he pulled himself up, the nation had an understanding look that took Amu by surprise.
"Then he's just like Ludwig and Kiku… and me" Feliciano stated; receiving curious looks that eased away as he said, "You see, a while ago we were in this… fight with Arthur and his friends, and we thought we were doing the right thing. Though we were the ones who were really being mean, but you know that we aren't. So… you just keep trying to beat this Easter-thing and everything will turn out good, you'll see!"
Amu didn't quite get the character's vague explanation of the fight, but she couldn't help but smile at his optimistic words and goofy smile that came after they were said. Which prompted her characters to follow her lead; and for a while it was just the four of them in this happy scene, but then they heard an excited Ami bouncing on her bed with the mature Arthur telling the wound up girl it was time to sleep. Amu sighed as the girl ignored the character and continued to wreak havoc; Amu ended the blissful moment and went to aid England.
When the older sister came apon the scene, her expectations were met to the smallest detail. Pillows littered the floor, along with clothes and toys, and the little girl was wearing a mismatched set of pajamas. Amu was about to step in and intervene, but England soon gained control of the situation like the seasoned caretaker that he was. The nation simply kneeled on the end of the bed and began humming the tune of 'London Bridge is Falling Down'. Ami skidded to a stop after Arthur had hummed for a while and stood in the middle of the room, bouncing her head to the song.
"What song is that? Sing it, sing it!" The little girl demanded; rushing up to the side of the bed and pushing repeatedly on it to emphasize her command, but England had stopped the song by then and was sitting silently. He looked up at Ami with a smiling face, whose look seemed to be able to nurture you all on its own and said, "It's 'London Bridge', a nursery rhyme. I'd be more than happy to sing it for you, but first you'll need to get ready for bed."
'This guy is slick' Amu thought bitterly; half expecting to see a sly grin creep onto his face, but she didn't see any sadistic, controlling smile as Ami raced around the room tidying it. The character continued sitting on the bed with a proud smile beaming at the cleaning child. Ami was like a hurricane; spinning around picking up more than she could carry, but somehow managing not to drop her mountainous piles. Su nearly fainted at the intensity of the cleaning; first Feliciano bested her in cooking and now Ami in cleaning, but thankfully for her it didn't last long, as Ami was snuggled in her covers beaming up at the nation to commence singing.
He blushed embarrassingly and mumbled bout it have being a long time since he last sung, but the song began with a shaky start and soon leveled out with confidence. Arthur wasn't the greatest singer in the world, but he sang in a way where all his feelings were made known, his affection for the younger sister with a mysteriously sad undertone. Amu couldn't help but think of her friend, Utau, and to some extent her sleeping character, Dia, as she witnessed the song. As England kept singing, Ami was able to pick up on the song's repetitive tune and hum along with the nation. But soon the song ended with its last 'My fair lady', and Ami gently applauded the performance before looking up to notice Arthur's distant expression.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so sad? The song was great!"Ami asked; England hadn't realized his head sink down or the dejected look on his face, and he quickly rose, wearing a convincing false smile as he waved off her suspicions. She believed his act and beamed up at him before giving out a yawn that was purposely and playfully drawn out. Ami then closed her eyes and mumbled 'good night' before sleep swept over her. Arthur slowly left after waiting to make sure the girl was truly asleep, and then found Amu and the others outside the door fawning at his adorable, parental nature.
All except for Miki; who was looking at him intensely but puzzled, like the look one has when they are concentrated on solving a problem but their furrowed brows suggest resentment. But she shrugged off this expression and left England with an awkward look plastered to his face. Then the country experienced a sudden backlash as he now had to contend with Italy clinging to his arm, nervously begging him to sleep with the frightened Italian. All consideration for the proposal was lost after Italy had tried supporting his request with the fact that he'd often slept with Germany and Japan.
"Wah! I knew you were really mean. I thought you'd be nice to me, like you were to that girl. Ow, stop hitting me! "Feliciano whined as the Englishman started bopping his head.
'They raise one another, have brothers and sleep with each other. These guys are weird' Miki sighed to herself.
Rima woke up early. There wasn't any reason for her to want to stay so she left soon afterwards. The night before was a typical one, her parents arguing as she secretly watched some comedy with Kusukusu. Rima enjoyed waking up early though; it was the only time when her home was peaceful, but Kusukusu always found the quiet unsettling, so they'd never remain in the house long when this occurred. As Rima walked down the street she flipped open her phone, only to be reminded by its faint glow that no one else would be awake. After a curious biker sped past her; she let out a drawn out sigh, and Kusukusu appeared in front of the girl with her face pulled out into a silly shape.
"Look a funny face!" The character announced, sticking her tongue out for the full effect. Rima covered her mouth with a hand, muffling her shy giggles. Kusukusu erupted in laughter at her timidity which, instead of forcing her into an embarrassed silence, amplified her own laugh. Another person gave the petite girl a worried look, as it appeared to the business-like man that she was laughing at nothing. The concerning bystander was ignored by her continued laughter; so he left with a nervous chuckle of his own, but Rima stopped as she noticed her Guardian Character's glance dart around.
"I sense another character!" Kusukusu said, then deciding the direction where the sensation was coming from and flying toward it. Rima followed as the clown character led her through the back roads and alleyways of the city. She was soon breathing harshly and beads of sweat rolled down her face.
'I hate running' She groaned; leaning against a wall to catch her breath, but her break was ended as Kusukusu began calling for her from around the next corner. She trailed along the wall, her heart pounding anxiously as her character continued to call for her with a more dire voice each yell. But when her gaze fell on a gate that stood up to her chin, made out of scrap metal and painted on its misshapen surface was.
"C-Chinatown" Rima read bewilderedly, blinking at the sign. Kusukusu starred wide eyed and mouth gaping at what was beyond the gate. There were rows of makeshift stalls with oddities being traded among, cats. Their commerce included cans of questionable food, broken or lost trinkets, any kind of garbage in general and fish; lots and lots of fish. They hissed and purred as they nudged currency and other valuables in exchange for what item they desired, but what else had the two companions in awe was the strange character zipping around overseeing everything.
"Oh, Nǐ hǎo!Welcome to Chinatown, you can call me Wang Yao, aru. It certainly is nice to have some costumers that aren't cats; even that little guy over there seems to be part cat too, aru." China welcomed cheerfully after noticing their starring; and when mentioning the 'little guy' he pointed over his shoulder to Yoru, who was eating a dried sardine on top of a trash can.
"Hey Yoru, what're you doing here?" Kusukusu asked accusingly as if his mere presence was a crime, the sudden yell shocked the cat character into dropping his fish. He pushed out his lower lip, pouting over the loss of his breakfast before he was bombarded with more yells.
"Answer, you thieving cat! You're here to steal Yao like you did with Alfred, aren't you?" Rima shouted, stepping in between Yoru and the new character. China looked at Yoru with awe and mumbled in disbelief, "Whoa… I can't believe it. Alfred's pretty strong; he's not easy to take down, aru." Kusukusu then hovered next to Rima; clenched fists held in the air and eagerly awaiting the command to character transform.
"H-hey! It's not like that at all. I wouldn't give up easy food like this for those Easter goons any day, so no need to worry." Yoru stuttered as he attempted to sound reinsuring, giving a lopsided smile. Rima wasn't convinced at all since she kept her ground and glared even more sharply at him, but Kusukusu became less tense, lowering her arms and floating towards Yoru to inspect him. When she was right in front of him; he stiffened up, and she proceeded to flit around him, searching for any visible signs of lying.
She then gave a thumbs-up and broke into a fit of giggling. Yoru collapsed from the sudden release of stress and weakly held his hand, sticking his thump up from a shaking fist as well. Rima; still being skeptical, hesitantly stepped forward to have a look herself, but she did let a small smile form when Kusukusu started poking the puddle-like Yoru. Yao followed behind her; looking over the girl's shoulder, confused.
"Yoru!" Ikuto yelled, standing at the other end of the Chinatown. Said character held his head down, drifting over to his owner while wearing a disgusted frown or what he knew would soon follow. The boy glanced at him, and he murmured revoltingly, "Character change"
Ping…
The ghost-like appendage appeared by Tsukiyomi Ikuto's side; menacingly swatting the empty air, keen to capture some prey. He then shouted, "Phantom claw!" The paw lunged at the three; destroying Chinatown and sending a cyclone of ricocheting trash toward them, while all the cats ran at them as well.
Luckily; they avoided serious harm from the projectiles, and the felines only pushed them slightly back. Rima wiped the fresh scratches along her arms; she regained her defensive position and stood, expecting to unlock her heart and become Clown Drop. However Yao was by her side; his dark brown eyes burning in furry at the destruction of his town, and he was the one who yelled out, "Character change!"
Ping!
Rima's long blonde hair was then tied back in a ponytail, and she held in her hands a wok and ladle. She also shared the raging fire in her golden brown eyes as well and leapt at Ikuto, wielding the wok and ladle to strike. She slashed through the Phantom Claw he launched at her, and Rima swung the ladle, missing Ikuto. This pattern of a swipe from either the wok or ladle and the boy dodging continued for a bit. He then propelled himself back, lightly panting.
'These new character changes are stronger. I can't believe it, but I might actually need to…'
"Unlock my heart!" There was a blinding light that engulfed him, and when the last sparkle dwindled out all that was left was Black Lynx.
"Wha- …C'mon, you do it too, aru!" China demanded, turning to the girl as he shouted. She initially replied with a perplexed look and a finger pointed at herself. After the nod from the nation with his high expectations; she shook her head furiously and fumblingly said, "I don't even know how t-this happened. How do you expect me to do a C-character Transformation?"
"Fine, I'll do it. Unlock your heart, aru!" Yao yelled. Kusukusu folded her arms; blankly giving the attempt a doubting look and mentally prepared herself to come in with Clown Drop, but when the familiar radiance started to shine from her partner her jaw dropped. Rima's hair remained as it was in the character change, but she now wore a dark green Chinese military uniform with a bright red armband. Then the light faded to reveal the new character transformation.
China Drop!
A/N: I'm so sorry it took me such a long time to get this chapter out! I can go on and say that I was busy, which I kinda was, but I'm still sorry. I always try to get each new chapter out quickly so you all don't have to wait because I hate waiting forever for a new chapter of a story to come out; and then I check everyday hoping it's there, but it's not there. And I want to go on a murderous rampage because of the constant disappointments an- ...Ahem... Sooo, 'kay bye!
Peace~! -MagnifiedSun