Finding Love (China x Female Reader x Japan)

The Asian Summit

The countries and I entered the meeting hall where many other Asian countries and higher officials were.

I recognized a few of the Asian nations from the Hetalia Mansion. I spotted India, Thailand and Philippines amongst the other nations.

The hall was huge and decorated as grand as the event it was for. There were even flags of the representative countries hanging from the tall ceiling.

A podium along with a large conference table stood in front of the hall.

Mei leaned to me and whispered. "I bet teacher's boss preponed this meeting just to brag about the decorations." She gave me a wink.

"Aiyah, I heard that, aru!"

One official took the mic and stood on the podium. "Good afternoon, everyone. The meeting is about to begin in a few minutes," he announced.

"We should get to our seats, aru. (Y/n), come with us," Yao told me and hurried towards the conference table with the others.

I took in a deep breath and tried to keep calm. Yet my heart still thumped in my chest.

"Are you nervous?" A familiar voice asked.

I turned to see Kiku wearing a gray traditional yukata. He gently smiled at me as I nodded and looked down, frowning.

"Miss (Y/n). Do you remember back during your welcome party, you said you believed in me?" he said.

I looked at him, surprised. He still remembered?

"Umm, yes..."

He took a step closer to me. "Today I want to say I believe in you too," he smiled.

A soft blush grew on my cheeks. This was one of those few times when Kiku surprised me with his sudden forwardness.

"T-Thank you, Kiku! I-I should be going now!" I bowed to him, flustered, and ran towards Yao's group who were already seated in their designated seats. I searched for mine and found I was next to Mei.

Mei waved at me. I smiled as I walked towards her.

"Teacher is all the way there," she giggled and pointed at Yao who was sitting gloomily at the end of the table. A small smile grew on my lips watching him pout like a kid.

Taking my seat, I looked up to see the opposite side of the table...only to find Kiku sitting right in front of me.

He was looking down at the papers in his hand and studying them. An air of charm enhanced his serious yet peaceful features.

I almost couldn't remove my eyes from him.

"(Y/n)? (Y/n)!"

Mei held my hand and brought me back from my thoughts.

She looked at me, worried. "Are you alright? I was calling you for a long time," she said.
"I'm sorry, I'm just a bit nervous," I half-heartedly smiled.

Mei and I talked for a while before the meeting started. I felt a certain someone's gaze at me, but I was scared to lock eyes with him.

Gradually, the lights in the hall dimmed out with only the lights above the the table still lit bright. The same man stood on the podium. 

"Everyone, please introduce yourselves," he said.

All the countries and the officials at the table stood one by one and introduced themselves. With each turn over, my heart pounded louder.

I lowered my head, not wanting to look how long before my turn came. Suddenly, Mei stood up.

"Xiao Mei. Republic of China. Thank you for having me here." She pushed her fist against her palm and bowed.

I sighed. It was my turn next.

I gulped and slowly stood up. Looking around me, I saw several faces waiting for me in anticipation to say something. My face almost drained off all its colours.

Where's Yao? Where's he? Didn't he―

My eyes locked with Kiku's, who calmly looked at me with a reassuring smile on his face.

As if time had stopped, we gazed into each other's eyes for what felt like hours.

Finally letting out a deep breath, I faced the people at the table confidently. "Nice to meet you. My name is (Y/n) (L/n)," I introduced myself.

"Ah, Miss (Y/n), we heard you are the daughter of an important official and currently staying at the Hetalia Mansion! Is everyone being nice to you there?" the host asked.

"Yes, they are wonderful," I smiled.

"And no one caused you any harm in any way?"

The room fell silent. A few whispers emerged with the words "kidnapping" and "rejection" coming up with them.

I stayed calm and looked at the man sternly. "I'm afraid you got it wrong. No country hurt me in any way you think. They were all wonderful to me and I'm grateful to them," I replied.

The man stared back at me, dumbfounded. He cleared his throat. "Yes, my apologies."

With a sigh of victory, I was about to sit down when the sound of claps caught my attention.

I looked to see Yao and a few other countries beside him clapping for me. No sooner, the entire hall started to clap.

I froze in my place, embarrassed. Giving a short bow, I sat down in my seat and hid my face in my palms.

"(Y/n), you were great!" Mei rested her hand on my shoulder. I looked at her and smiled.

I'm glad I was able to speak up for them...but if it wasn't for him, then...

I noticed Kiku clapping for me too. A shy smile formed on my lips as I nodded to him as a thanks. He nodded back to me, smiling.

The rest of the meeting went by smoothly. I was finally at peace for not only introducing myself properly, but also defending my friends.

Maybe I should've believed in myself from the beginning too.