Chrome Shelled Hetalia

Chapter 5: Trovato

Chapter 5: Trovato

The white then faded back to a new Regios. This one seemed to be strongly influenced by the sea, and had several sushi stands. It appeared to have some very strong Japanese influence in the architecture, as well as several other, more tropical, beachside cultures, such as Fiji and Tahiti. It was different, but somehow it worked.

"Welcome to Edgevas. It's the only Regios that dares travel the coastline, near the Acidic Sea, and thus near the extremely large and dangerous Contaminoids. They're really hard to fight, because their battlefield is an ocean that eats through pretty much anything that hasn't adapted to it." Italy explained, as the nations looked around in awe. "Fratello and I had just discovered that the Electronic Fairy here didn't have the power we were looking for, and we were both incompatible with his power. Turns out, it was just an ingenious idea of mixing Sea Contaminoid blood with the outer armor coating of the Regios, which protects it from the Sea spray, and has the added bonus of disguising the Regios' scent, so they're pretty safe from the Contaminoids." Italy continued. "We decided to spend a few days there to rest before heading out for Upwhur. It's 2,500 TF."

"UUUUUGH! After all that shit, we still haven't found it!" Lovino shouted out in frustration, as Feliciano patted his shoulder comfortingly. They were sitting at a café that overlooked a man-made beach. People were lounging about on their beach chairs and children were playing in the water. It looked like a normal beach.

"N-nani?!" They heard a familiar voice cry. "Itary-kun?! Romano-kun?!" The twins whipped around to find Kiku Honda standing behind them, staring at them with a smile of disbelief.

"Ve?! Japan?! You're okay~!" Feliciano cried in joy, as he latched on to the Japanese man who hugged the Italian back fiercely.

"Yokatta! Thank God! You two are alright!" He sighed in relief. Kiku had changed quite a bit from the Japan standing beside them. His black hair was speckled with white and pulled into a low ponytail. He seemed taller and broader, as if a heavy weight had caused him to age. His features were sharp and defined—even more so by a diagonal scar on his left cheek just below his eye. His sword still lay quietly at his side, even though his clothing was suited to the times in which he now lived.

"What are you doing here, Sushi-bastard?" Lovino asked in a polite tone when he let go of Feliciano.

"I was looking for something, and thought it might be here. Turns out, I was wrong." Kiku stated as he pulled up a chair and joined them.

"At least you're okay, aru." China stated, beyond relieved that his dìdì was all right.

"H-hai..." Japan muttered under his breath, as he remembered Italy's breakdown the night before. 'Why did you have to die?' he had asked him. Japan knew that his future self would die, but here he was... Would it be like France all over again? His future self didn't seem to be crippled or injured in any way. I guess it's a good thing that I got rid of all those Power Plants, then. Japan thought to himself.

They watched with wide smiles as the three of them caught up. Kiku was visibly upset at the news of France's death, but he seemed to have expected it.

"Japan...?" Feliciano asked quietly. He looked timid, as if he wasn't sure if he should ask the question. "Do you think... could you join us in our journey?" He asked.

"Oh? Let me guess; you two are also searching for the Time Fairy, hai?"

"Si. I suppose you're searching for the same thing? We've already obtained quite a few powers so far." Lovino stated.

"Hai, I am. I have also obtained a number of abilities. Perhaps we should go over them so we know each other's strengths and weaknesses? After all, if we're going to be traveling together from now on, we need to know how to fight together, which means we need to know our limitations." Kiku said as Feliciano let out a whoop of joy.