Author's Note: So, I made some adjustments to this chapter as well. I also gave the rest of the Asia family human names. For Hong Kong, I'm aware that in the past it was believed that his English-given name was Horace Wang, but when I looked at the Hetalia shoutwiki recently, it said in a recent blog post that HK's potential names are Wang Jia Long (Wong Kha Loung in Cantonese) and Li Xiao Chun (Lei Siu Chun in Cantonese). The shoutwiki also said he was given the English name Leon. Me, I'm going to go ahead and use Wang Jia Long as his name since Wang is also China's last name. Now, for the rest of the family:
Taiwan - Anmíng
Thailand - Aran
Vietnam - Thi
Family Reunion
Of course I don't remember the times when I was a baby, so I won't talk about those memories. I'd rather start with happy memories from my childhood, back when times were better…
"Papa… Papa… Papa."
"Hmm? Wha…?"
I stood beside Dad's bed, fully dressed, as he opened his eyes. He blinked a few times before looking at the digital clock that was on the nightstand. The red letters read 4:00 A.M. He averted his gaze to me. "Kiku, why are you up so early? The sun's not even out yet." he said.
It was true. Outside, the sky was still dark and the only source of light in Dad's room was coming from the hallway lights that I had turned on.
I tilted my head to the side. "Papa, did you forget? We're supposed to go to Uncle Yao's house today and you told me to wake up really early so we could get on a plane."
I could tell from Dad's expression that he was thinking over my words. Suddenly his eyes widened in realization and he kicked the covers off of him. "Oh sh-oot!" he exclaimed. (Since I was only five years old at the time, Dad watched his mouth whenever I was around him.)
"Kiku, get your things ready by the front door while I get dressed, okay?" he said as he walked toward the bathroom.
"Yes!" I said eagerly.
I exited Dad's room and went into my own, which was right across from his, going quickly to retrieve my Pikachu plush off my bed before grabbing my small suitcase that was leaning against the wall. Just as Dad told me to, I left my suitcase by the front door.
Once that was taken care of, I went to the living room and sat on the couch, hugging Pikachu close to me. I smiled to myself. I couldn't wait to see Uncle Yao again, along with all my other aunts and uncles. Well, except for one uncle. In fact, I preferred not to see him at all. Ivan Braginsky… I tightened my hold on Pikachu, feeling myself tremble slightly as I thought about how he towered over me and the way he said 'kolkolkolkolkol.' I had no blood ties with Ivan, he had married into the family just as my dad did with my mother. Ivan's spouse was none other than Uncle Yao.
Wang Yao was my mother's oldest brother (or so he says). I liked him, he was nice to me and he was always making those Chinese sweets of his whenever I came over to visit. Still, I wished that he wasn't so picky about the way everyone ate their food…
The feel of someone tousling my hair broke me out of my trance. I looked up to meet Dad's blue eyes.
He smiled at me. "Ready to go, kiddo?"
I smiled back and nodded. "Yeah!"
I got off the couch and headed for the front door, but stopped when I saw Dad going back to get his large suitcase. I walked past him.
"Don't worry, Papa, I'll get it for you." I said as I held Pikachu with one hand and reached out the other one towards the suitcase's handle.
"That's alright, Kiku, I've got it. I'm strong, remember?" I heard Dad say.
I smiled as I pulled the much larger suitcase along as though it were nothing. "Yes, but I'm strong too!" I chirped.
Dad also smiled, pride written all over his face. "Yep, just like me."
Aside from the one hair on my head that always stood up and my blue eyes*, I had also inherited Dad's amazing strength, which was why a large suitcase was easy to pull for a five year old like me. Dad opened the front door, letting me go out first. He grabbed my smaller suitcase and went after me, locking the door behind him.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x
"Uncle Yao!" I called as I ran over to him through the crowds.
He turned around just in time for me to hug him around his waist. He smiled down at me and patted my head.
"Aiyaa, Kiku, you've gotten taller since the last time I saw you, aru." he said to me.
I pulled away from him and laughed. "But you saw me only six months ago. I don't think I grew at all."
"That's because you don't notice it as much as others do, aru." he said.
"Kiku!"
I turned around and saw Dad jogging toward us.
"Papa, I found Uncle Yao!" I said proudly.
"That's good, but I told you to stay where I can see you. Don't ever do that again, understand." he scolded. His voice wasn't angry at all, just concerned, but I still hung my head.
"Sorry, Papa." I mumbled.
I felt Uncle Yao pull me closer to him.
"You are such a hypocrite," he said to my father, "Acting so mature when in reality you are still such a rebel. aru."
"Hey, I calmed down after I married Kiku, remember?" Dad retorted. Of course the 'Kiku' he was talking about was my mother, Kiku Honda.
I heard Uncle Yao chuckle. "Please, you remained the same way even after you got married, aru. I still wonder how he managed to keep up with you."
"I had my ways of helping him keep in pace with me." said Dad, smirking a little.
I soon felt Uncle Yao cover my ears with his hands. "Don't say those things in front of such a young child, aru!"
I looked up at my uncle in confusion. "I don't even know what Papa is talking about."
"You don't have to, in fact, it is better that you don't." Uncle Yao told me as he took his hands off my ears.
He put a hand on my shoulder and looked at the vast crowds of people within the airport. He used a free hand to rub at one of his temples. "Now, let's get out of here before more crowds show up. All this noise is giving me a headache, aru." he was already leading us toward the exit as he finished speaking.
We had left from California early in the morning and arrived in Uncle Yao's country late at night*, allowing the cold evening wind to welcome us as the automatic doors slid open to let us out.
"By the way, I brought Anya with me. She'll bring the car over here, aru." Uncle Yao said as we walked along the front of the airport.
"Really? How is she, anyway?" Dad asked.
"She's doing just fine, aru." my uncle answered.
Anya was my older cousin, as well as Ivan and Uncle Yao's oldest child. Anya was thirteen by the time I was born, and now that I was five, that made her eighteen. I was kind of scared of her actually, because she reminded me of her father. She had the same hair color and she was really tall too, but she had Uncle Yao's brown eyes and personality... when she wasn't angry. Should Anya become angered, she turns into a person that's just as scary as Ivan.
A red car pulled up beside us and I saw Anya get out from the driver's side. Her long, pale hair trailed down her back as she walked toward us.
"Hello Alfred. Hello Kiku." She said with a smile on her pink lips.
"Dang, Anya, you're getting as tall as that commie bast-" her mother elbowed Dad in the ribs to stop him from finishing that sentence. Whether it was because I was there, or because he didn't like to hear his husband being badmouthed, I didn't know.
"Thank you for driving the car over here, Anya. I'll drive us home, aru." said Uncle Yao, smiling at her gently.
Anya nodded her head and walked back to the car so she could get in the backseat. After Dad took my suitcase from me and started helping Uncle Yao with loading our luggage in the trunk, I joined her in the back. I put my seat belt on and hugged Pikachu close to me again. For some reason I always felt comforted whenever I hugged that plush. Dad told me that perhaps it was because that Pikachu plush had belonged to Mother before I was born.
I felt Anya's eyes on me, so I looked at her. She was smiling at me, that same doll smile as her father's. "That's a cute Pikachu you've got there, Kiku." she said. "Who gave it to you?"
"U-Um… This used to belong to Mama. Papa won it for him at a fair and decided to pass it down unto me." I said timidly.
"How sweet~" said Anya.
I heard the trunk close and soon our parents were joining us in the car. I was quiet the whole ride home, for it turned out that I was tired from the trip after all. Somewhere along the way I fell asleep and Dad had to carry me into Uncle Yao's house. I remember being half-conscious by the time Dad put me down on a bed and tucked me in. He stroked my black hair a couple of times before kissing me on the forehead and leaving the room. I slept like a log until the smell of Uncle Yao's cooking made its way under the crack of my door the next morning.
The growling of my stomach added to the fact that I didn't eat much food the night before. I sat up in the bed I was in, stretched my arms, and yawned. I rubbed away the small tears I had in my eyes before taking some time to look at the room I was in. Though it was guestroom it was furnished quite nicely. There was a dresser in the corner with a little mirror, an armchair in the other corner of the room, a circular red rug on the floor, a ceiling light, and the bed I was sitting on. I also noticed that there was an empty blue sleeping bag on the floor.
Dad's… After socializing with the adults, he must have come back into the room while I was sleeping and put it there for him to sleep in.
The smell of food became stronger and my stomach growled even louder, making me lose my focus on anything else but food. I got out of bed and left Pikachu sitting on my pillow as I exited the room. Right away, I was greeted by the smell of rice, beef noodle soup, and vegetables. My stomach continued to growl quite loudly as I quickened my pace down the hallway. When I entered the kitchen, I noticed that Dad, Uncle Yao, Ivan, Anya, Zhu, and the twins were already there. Uncle Yao was at the stove, adding the finishing touches to our breakfast, while Ivan was sitting at the large wooden table, balancing the twins on his lap as they gurgled happily.
The twins' names were Nikita and Lien-Hua. Nikita was the older twin and a quiet boy. He had pale blonde hair like Ivan, and he had both his parents' eyes. Nikita's left eye was violet like Ivan's and the right eye was brown like Uncle Yao's. Lien-Hua, the younger twin, was the same, only the brown eye was her left and the violet one was her right, then she also had black hair like her mother.
I liked Nikita and Lien-Hua, they were cute and were still very small, for they were less than a year old. I remember that before the twins were born, Uncle Yao's tummy had gotten bigger and he was always switching his moods. I asked Dad why that was so, and he told me that Uncle Yao would be having twins. Then I asked him how the babies got inside his tummy, but Dad didn't give me a direct answer on that one; he told me that I would learn when I was older. When the twins were finally born and he was well enough to start working around the house again, Uncle Yao was back to his skinny form within a matter of weeks. Zhu told me it was because he was always doing things like martial arts and drinking green tea with every meal.
Speaking of Zhu, I saw him sitting on the floor, hugging his Shinatty-chan plush close to him. Zhu was five just like me, but he had been born before me by three months. He was like a copy of Uncle Yao, except he had violet eyes like Ivan. His black hair was short, but just long enough to be held in a small ponytail, which he always wore. Unlike his older sister Anya, Zhu didn't seem to have inherited his father's frightening personality. He did, however, had the habit of saying "aru" after nearly every sentence he spoke. Being the same age, we got along very well and were like brothers to each other.
Finally, I saw Anya and Dad sitting at the table with Ivan and the twins. Dad noticed me and waved, smiling as always.
"Hey, Kiku, you're finally up." he said.
Everyone turned their heads to look at me, even the twins. Uncle Yao only looked at me for one second before turning his attention back to the stove.
"Zǎo ān*, Kiku."he greeted, his back facing me as he stirred something in the pot.
Nikita and Lien-Hua gurgled happily when their eyes landed on me while Ivan smiled that creepy grin of his at me, which sent shivers down my spine.
"доброе утро*, Kiku." he said to me.
Even though I was afraid of Ivan, I didn't want to be rude by not returning his greeting. I swallowed hard and said, "G-Good morning, Uncle Ivan."
He continued to smile at me, even when the twins started wiggling around in his arms. "Oh… Why are you so shy? Come and give your Uncle Ivan a hug-"
"Quit harassing my kid, Ivan." Dad intervened. When I looked at his face he didn't look very pleased at all.
The Russian man, my uncle by law, sent a glance at Dad, still wearing that smile on his face. "No need to be hostile, Alfred. I was just trying to be friendly."
"Just because you're married to Yao doesn't mean that I consider you as family." said Dad.
Ivan chuckled and said in a dark voice, "True, I can't bring myself to think of you as a brother either, comrade. But your resistance will all be useless in the end since you and your son will become one with me someday-"
"As interesting as this conversation is…" said Uncle Yao sarcastically as he began setting food on the table, "I don't think that any of the children need to hear the end of it."
Anya looked at him innocently. "But Baba*, I'm not a child anymore. Besides, I already know about Papa's plans to make everyone become one with him."
"You may think that you're no longer a child, Anya, but you are," returned Uncle Yao, "And you're still too young to be having conservations like that with your father."
Anya gave an irritated huff and turned her head away from her mother's gaze as she pouted. I saw Zhu stand up so he could walk towards me, still hugging his Shinatty-chan (that thing really creeps me out by the way).
"Anya and Baba have been arguing like that for weeks now, aru." he whispered to me.
Ah, yes… Even though Anya had the same personality as Uncle Yao's when she was calm, the two didn't exactly see eye to eye. Though they argued often it was never about anything serious, just small things. He would merely scold Anya, causing her to huff and pout. Though I was frightened of her, I had a feeling that her arguments with her mother were her ways of showing daughterly affection.
Zhu took a seat beside his father at the table while I sat down by my own father. Once all the food was set down on the table, Uncle Yao took the twins from Ivan-san and put them in their feeding chairs. Out of the corner of my eye I watched him spoon feed Nikita and Lien-Hua. Lien-Hua ate whatever was fed to her, but Nikita wouldn't open his mouth, causing some of the carrot to get on his face. Uncle Yao would sigh as he wiped it off with a napkin. It took him two more tries before Nikita finally opened his mouth and ate the soft carrots.
As for me, the first thing that I went for was the beef noodle soup. I loved meat and all, but I didn't overeat it like a certain someone. I liked salty food as well, such as salted salmon! For now, though, I had way more vegetables on my plate than Dad had on his own.
With everyone eating, things calmed down. Even Dad and Ivan didn't snap at each other. We all talked about how our lives were and what we had been doing since we last saw each other. Then Dad reminded the other two adults that there would be another UN meeting next month.
Uncle Yao groaned. "Oh, please don't remind me, aru. I have four children I have to take along with me."
"Why don't you just leave them with Leon*, or Anmíng?" Dad asked.
"I don't want to burden them, aru. Especially with my oldest one." answered Uncle Yao , glancing at Anya before continuing to feed the twins.
Anya just giggled at her mother's comment as she put her spoon of congee to her lips.
This UN meeting that Dad was talking about would be the first one that I would have the chance of tagging along with him. He thought that I was old enough to come with him on most of his trips now, so he agreed to take me with him to New York. Before, Dad would leave me in the care of Aunt Anmíng, one of my mother's sisters, as he went to the meetings or to other countries (the only other countries I had been to were China and Japan). He also told me that I would meet other children around my age besides Zhu, so I was excited. I already knew most of their parents, like Arthur and Francis. I remember that during one of their visits to our house they mentioned their son, Henri.
When we had finished eating and put our plates in the sink, Zhu and I ran outside to play in front of the house. Uncle Yao's house was very large (all the Nations had big houses) and was surrounded by a beautiful, green bamboo groove, which was perfect to play hide and seek in. I was counting while Zhu tried to find a hiding spot. I made the decision that this would be a perfect time to practice my Japanese*.
"Ichi. Ni. San. Yon. Go. Roku. Nana. Hachi. Kyuu. Juu!" I stopped covering my eyes and looked around, trying to catch any sign of movement. I walked over to the right side of the thicket and looked, but Zhu wasn't there.
"He's over there!" I heard a familiar voice cry out to me.
I turned around and saw Uncle Yong Soo across from me, standing by some bamboo stalks and pointing his finger in their direction. That's when I noticed a sudden flurry of movement there, so I ran towards that spot before Zhu could get away and find another hiding spot. I jumped through the space that was between the bamboo stalks and tackled Zhu, knocking him to the ground.
"Ow! Kiku! You play too rough, aru!" said Zhu as he tried to get me off his back.
"Sorry." I apologized as I rolled off of him.
I pulled him up and he began to dust off his pants, which now had some dirt on them. Since his pants were white it could be seen easily no matter how hard he dusted at them.
"And it's not fair! Shūshu* helped you cheat, aru!" he said as he continued his attempts to get the dirt off his clothes.
Uncle Yong Soo continued to smile at us. "Sorry, I thought that Kiku was actually looking for you, Zhu."
Now Uncle Yong Soo was not the type of man who liked to ruin people's fun, and Zhu knew this, but he was still a bit upset. Suddenly, he ran over to us and picked both of us up into his arms, swinging us around a little. "Ah, it's so good to see my two cute nephews da ze!" he said happily.
Yong Soo was another one of my mother's brothers. He always had a smile on his face and a lot of energy. In short, he was a kid trapped in a man's body. I liked him because he was fun to be around, although there were some characteristics of his that I found a bit... I don't know... disturbing. Dad told me that back then, Uncle Yong Soo was always trying to grope at my mother's chest, and if he was caught by my dad, he would "sock him on the head," as my father liked to put it. However, it wasn't until shortly after this family reunion when Dad actually told me this information.
"Put them down, Yong Soo. If Yao and Alfred find you swinging them around like that, it won't be good." said a feminine voice.
Through the swinging, I saw my other aunts and uncles appear on the scene. Jia Long, Thi, Aran, and Anmíng. Aunt Thi was the one who had told Uncle Yong Soo to put us down, which he did.
"Sorry, I was just happy to see them, that's all." he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
After recovering from our dizziness, Zhu and I ran over to our other relatives to greet them. Aunt Anmíng kneeled down and embraced the two of us.
"Zhu. Kiku. It's good to see you again." she said to us.
"It's nice to see you too, Auntie Anmíng." I said.
Aunt Anmíng was the one who took care of me when Dad's twin brother, Matthew, could not while he went on trips. She was always kind to me and told stories of when she, my mother, and the rest of the Asia family were growing up together. She never seemed to stop smiling and she was fun and energetic, but she didn't have a groping fetish like Uncle Yong Soo.
She pulled away from us so we could greet the rest of our relatives.
"Kiku. Zhu. I hope you have been good to your parents." our other uncle, Aran, said to us with a bow.
"Of course we have, Shūshu!"
"You know I'm always good to Papa!"
Uncle Aran was yet another one of my mother's brothers. He gave me a stuffed elephant toy for my fourth birthday, which I still have. He was calm and quiet.
Uncle Jia Long was the next one to greet us. At first, he looked at Zhu and I with a stony expression, but then we saw his eyes brighten slightly. Smiling wasn't exactly a hobby for him, so it's not like we were expecting him to do so. "Zhu, Kiku," he gave us a small bow.
Zhu smiled and returned the bow, but I-
"Hi, Uncle Jia!" I chirped.
My greeting caused his cheeks to turn the slightest tint of pink, but his face remained in its usual stoney expression.* I knew he preferred to be called by his full first name, but I thought Uncle Jia had a better ring to it, which is why I addressed him as such. He had the same personality as my mother, quiet, stone-faced, and serious, except Mother had smiled much more often than he did. At least, that's what I assumed judging by the family pictures.
Aunt Thi was the last to greet Zhu and I. She smiled at us and patted our heads. "Xin chào, Zhu. Xin chào, Kiku*."she greeted the both of us.
"Nihao, Āyí*."
"Auntie Thi!" I flung myself at her, causing her to laugh and lift me up into her arms.
By this time, Dad, Uncle Yao, Anya, and Ivan had heard the commotion and came outside. Anya was holding both Nikita and Lien-Hua in her arms. The twins tilted their heads to the side when they saw their other Asian relatives. Since they were so young and the whole Asia family would only get together every few months, they hadn't recognized anyone besides their parents and siblings.
Dad smiled and waved at everyone from the porch. "Hey, everyone! Good to see you again!"
Everyone returned the greeting, even Aunt Thi.
"Aiyaa, perfect timing." said Uncle Yao as he walked over to us. "There's still plenty of food on the table, aru."
"Hiya, Hyeong-nim*!" cried Uncle Yong Soo as he bounded toward the other man.
When he reached his older brother, he trapped him in a tight hug and nuzzled his cheek against the other's hair.
"Hyeong-nim, I really missed you. It's been awhile since we've seen each other." He tightened his hold on Uncle Yao.
"Yong Soo... can't breath... aru..." Uncle Yao managed to say aloud.
I saw a gleam in Ivan's eyes and I swear that I saw his lips moving. He was probably muttering "kolkolkolkol." He put a hand on Uncle Yong Soo's shoulder.
"Would you be so kind as to stop suffocating my wife?" he asked in a voice that sent icicles down my back.
Uncle Yong Soo trembled slightly before releasing Uncle Yao.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Ivan. I am not a woman, therefore, I am not your wife, aru." he said in an irritated voice once he was able to catch his breath.
"But you are the smaller one, and you are the one who carried four children." said Ivan, his good mood restored.
Uncle Yao blushed. "Y-yes, that's true, but I'm not a woman. I'm your husband, aru."
"You're my wife." said Ivan, deaf to his spouse's words.
Uncle Yao blushed a darker shade of red and gave an irritated huff as he turned his back on Ivan.
I could hear Aunt Anmíng trying to stifle her laughter. After all, it wasn't everyday she got to see her eldest brother embarrassed like this. He soon regained his composure, however, and turned around to face everyone. He smiled.
"Come in, come in! I'm sure you all must be tired and hungry from your trip, aru. Let me serve you some food." he said to his younger siblings.
One by one, they followed Uncle Yao into his house. Aunt Thi put me back down on the ground before she followed the rest of her family. As she passed my father, he smiled at her.
"Hey, Thi! How are you?" he greeted.
She stopped walking and looked at him. A small smile appeared on her lips, but then she suddenly gave Dad's ahoge a hard tug. Dad's eyes screwed shut in pain and I thought I saw small tears at the side of his eyes*. He flinched when Aunt Thi released him. She was still smiling and gave him a pat on the shoulder before entering the house. Dad just stood in place for a moment, flabbergasted, before sighing and sending a look at Ivan.
"She's still mad at me, isn't she?" he asked.
Ivan just smiled. "Da."
*I know that originally in The Empty Cradle, I wrote that the baby Kiku had brown eyes like his mother, but I decided to change that by giving him some more features from his father, which is why he has blue eyes now.
*It might not be accurate, but I'm going to guess that if Alfred and his son left from California on the West Coast of the US early in the morning, they would arrive in China by evening. Again, it is only a guess.
(Sorry, if any of this is inaccurate. If it is, please let me know!)
*Zǎo ān - Good morning (Mandarin)
*доброе утро - Good morning (Russian)
*Baba - Father; papa (Mandarin)
*Alfred addressed Hong Kong by his English given name "Leon" just because it's easier for him to remember.
*Without his mother to teach him, Kiku wouldn't be too fluent with Japanese yet. Though, Alfred does teach him whatever Japanese he learned in the past. That is why, unlike the deviantart version of this chapter, Kiku does not address his relatives with the honorific "oba-san," "oji-san," or "-san" yet.
*Shūshu - Uncle, as used by children to address older men (Mandarin)
*Hong Kong gets embarrassed when Kiku calls him "Uncle Jia" because the name "Jia" is usually a name given to girls (though some sources say Jia is a unisex name too).
*Xin chào - A common greeting in Vietnamese, often used to say "hello."
*Nihao, Āyí - Hello, Auntie (Mandarin)
*Hyeong-nim / Hyung-nim - an honorific Korean term of address for a man's older brother. Meaning is "respected older brother."
*No, Vietnam wasn't sexually assaulting America :| I don't think his Nantucket is an erogenous zone, I just think it's a sensitive hair on his head, which is why he expressed pain when Vietnam tugged on it. I used that scene to show that she's still kind of mad at Alfred.
School will be starting for me soon, but I still have some future chapters that are ready to go. The reason this chapter took so long is because I did quite a lot of editing for this chapter, plus I'm finishing up a report that is due on my first day of school.