Heartfelt Competition
Chapter Two
India and Japan... They had always been so close. After Kiku had left him the first time, India welcomed him into her heart and he accepted her as an older sister. Yao felt second-best, like the loser of some sort of competition-And then began their rivalry. He and India would squabble over every single thing, from which culture was older and richer to their citizens education. Kiku always seemed to side with her, and the action slowly tore into Yao's heart. Suddenly, though, India disappeared from his life, sometime in the eighteen hundreds. But his relationship with his younger brother was never healed...
Yao awoke the next morning to see the beginning of dawn. I must have woken up much earlier. He cleaned and dressed himself a bit slower than yesterday and made his way to his younger siblings' rooms to wake them up. Hong and Mei shared a room closest to him, so he leaned his head in, "Wake up, aru! It's morning!" Next, he knocked on Yong Soo's door, feeling too lazy to go in and try to wake him up.
That was strange-Kiku's door was open! Usually, to have more privacy, the Japanese boy would make sure to shut and lock it. Yao uncertainly stepped in, expecting to be greeted with a glare. Surprisingly, it was empty! "Kiku, where are you, aru? Hello, aru?" Where could he have gone?
Making his way downstairs, Yao did not expect to hear soft laughing coming from the kitchen. He tilted his head; Was he just hearing things? The laughs had stopped, but he could hear Kiku's. Yao tiptoed into the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as possible. India was there, along with Kiku, cooking something on the stove. Both of their backs were faced towards him, but he could hear the smile in Kiku's voice. "Oh, hello China!" India had spun around, carrying a plate. "I was making pua with Japan! Would you like some?"
What she was wearing... There was a pang in his heart as he saw India wearing one of Kiku's favorite kimonos. "J-just a little, aru." She gave him what looked like a small pancake on a plate. "Thank you, aru." Yao wanted to say more, but at that moment, the three other members of his family came downstairs.
"Ohayo, you three! India made some traditional food from her home for us, so don't you dare complain!" The genuine smile on his face looked almost out of place. Yao sat down at the kotatsu and took a bite of the food. It tasted much better than America and Canada's pancake things, drenched in syrup and entirely unhealthy-But he would never admit that to her.
"This is rather good," Mei offered a distant smile to India. Hong only nodded.
"Totally, da-ze! But India, what should we call you? Are you as old as China?" Yao sighed at the same time as India. Yong Soo had brought up a touchy subject.
India put a hand to her chin, "I'm older than you, South Korea! In my main language, you would call me didi. Is that alright?" Yao felt glad she hadn't brought up each country's history. "But my culture is older than China's!"
"Of course not! How could it be? Our culture is deep and fascinating!" Yao dropped his plate on the table angrily.
"And ours isn't? We have the festival of lights, Diwali, and colors, Holi, and our art is far more unique!" India put her face in front of Yao's.
"Never! Are you forgetting about the amazing Chinese New Year celebrations? And you only pollute when you have that weird color festival! Why on Earth would you throw colored powder on others!"
"It's exciting for my people and it makes them happy! What would you know about anything like that? You censor social networking sites!"
"My government isn't corrupt, and I have less poverty! How will you reply to that?" India was about to fire back an equally fierce response, but Kiku tapped her on the shoulder. She looked back softly at him then muttered some curse under her breath.
"If I must, Japan. I suppose we both might have gotten a bit...carried away. I apologize if I offended you or any part of your country and its culture." She turned away and focused on finishing her breakfast. "But, on another note, where should I go today? I don't want to impose on any of you."
"Mei, Hong, Yong Soo, and I are all students. Onee-san works at a clinic." Kiku helpfully supplied an answer.
India's eyes widened. "Really? I'm an expert when it comes to homeopathic medicines! I could help him there!"
A few minutes later, India walked beside Yao on their way to the clinic. For a person who said she detested his culture, she seemed excited to see Beijing. With every little shop, she would peer into the shop display, 'ooh-ing' at the new things. "I must admit, even though I don't want to, this city is interesting."
"Really? I never expected to hear that coming from you, India." He glanced sideways at her meaning to ask the question that was burning in his mind. As they neared the clinic, though, his courage faltered. "Do you have a human name? I don't believe going in there and saying 'India' is your name would be the best idea."
"Lakshmi Yadav. Good enough?" Before Yao could reply, she added, "Assistant of Doctor Yao Wang, transfer student studying in China."
"It's decent. Now, let's go in." Yao dreaded the moment in which he would have to introduce her to his colleagues. He opened the door, already nervous about what to say to his steadily approaching co-worker.
"Namaste, sir, I am Lakshmi Yadav, here as a transfer student from India. I'm here to assist and learn from Doctor Wang. I hope you will accept me at this workplace." The man smiled at her kindly and winked at Yao (he had no idea why) and then went off to do his duties. A tiny doll hit her on the leg, bouncing onto the ground. A child looked at her with shamed eyes and began to apologize, causing India to chuckle. She bent down to retrieve the doll and gave it to the little girl. "It's okay, dear. Why are you here?"
"My Nǎinai is sick!" India looked at Yao questioningly. In explanation, he whispered, "Grandmother."
"Oh, that's awful! I hope we can help! I'm Doctor Yadav. What kind of illness does she have?"
The girl pouted. "A very very sore throat! My Nǎinai doesn't wanna use any of those bad medicines from the store. She wants a natural thing, but I don't know where we can find that kind of medicine! I don't want her to get too sick and die!" India laughed a bit under her breath, knowing that not many died from a sore throat.
"Don't worry! I promise I'll be able to help!" Yao, deciding the exchange had gone on for too long, dragged her away and through a door leading to his room. "What? Is sympathy not normal here?"
"Damn it, India, why are you here? Couldn't you have stayed in your home?" Finally, out of frustration, he was able to ask the question he had been holding within. She shook her head.
"China, I didn't live in my own house; I escaped from Britain's home. My own home, though, is nearly destroyed because of war." She raised an eyebrow, "And why would I miss an opportunity to see my little brother, Japan?"
"How can you get along with him so well? Why does he accept you as a sibling? You don't even look like him!" Without meaning to, Yao blurted out the beginnings of a rant and then immediately covered his mouth.
"I know that you're jealous. I can tell by the way you look at him sadly, wound up in your thoughts." She's far too observant... "If you would let me, I could help you get closer to him-But that would mean that you would have to accept me as if I'm part of your family until I must leave. Can you accept that?" Yao found himself nodding.
"Yes." Anything to get closer with his brother.
India gave a full-blown smile. "We start this evening, my student. Now, why don't we get back to our job?"
Thank you for reading. I apologize if any of the characters are out of character (OoC).
pua-Indian pancake, usually with raisins inside
ohayo-Japanese for 'good morning'
didi-Hindi for 'older sister'
Diwali-Indian festival of lights; Like the American Fourth of July, but with many more firecrackers, etc.
Holi-Indian festival of colors; Friends and families celebrate by playing with colored powders
Nǎinai-Chinese for 'grandma'
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