Hetalia fanfic~ The 50 States (of They Need Therapy)

Chapter 4 ~ Mentally preparing

Iowa and Hawai'i walked back into the house carrying two half full baskets of fresh sweet corn and other vegetables that they had picked. They set the baskets onto the kitchen counter and Hawai'i walked through the dining room, and found all of the nations gathered around the TV. She tried to stand up onto her tippy toes, but to no avail. She still couldn't see what the other states were doing. America wasn't yelling, so she figured everyone was at least following his long list of rules.

She then tried to maneuver her way around the crowded nations, as some of the midwest states politely moved through, letting her get a glimpse of what was happening.

Nebraska, Montana, and Colorado were destroying America and England at Call of Duty, that was until America asked Japan over to join their team in a boute of desperation. The three states had a look of horror on their faces when he agreed with no hesitation. That was when the tide turned towards the nations' team.

Hawai'i quickly decided that it wasn't interesting to watch anymore, and walked back into the kitchen to help most of the midwest with the supper for that night, however she found them already almost done with preparations.

"Wait! How did you guys get done so fast!?" She asked looking up at the seven midwestern states.

"We're not quite done yet. We still need to shuck the sweet corn, which Ohio and Minnesota are doing now." Ohio waved at Hawai'i when she heard Iowa say her name, and Minnesota stayed focused on what he was doing.

"Right now we're getting the water up to a boiling point, to put the corn in, than we need to put the grips onto them. After that we should probably get one and take it off of the cob, because Rhode still has braces, right?" Iowa continued to list off everything they needed to do clearly, before turning to her other siblings, for an answer to her question.

Minnesota than nodded, adding, "Yeah. She gets them off next week, from what I heard."

"Okay. So we need to do that. I assume you're here to help, so you can help Ohio, since it's the safest thing for you to do."

Hawai'i ran and jumped, butt first, on to a chair that had been pulled from the dining room by North Dakota. Seeing her do that prompted Iowa to give her a lecture to never do that again, because the furniture was from the late eighteen hundreds.

They spent the next hour or so doing that, when suddenly the yearly training season came up as a conversation topic.

"So!" Minnesota said, clapping his hands, setting his half shucked piece of corn onto his lap. "Who you think will catch up to Iowa this year?"

"Um... that's hard to say. A lot of us are stuck in levels we need to think about ahead of time, which Iowa does already. I bet she's been brainstorming ways to get into the house quicker, to save both parents this time," South Dakota said, looking over from his job of setting out and preparing the tater tots needed for the hot dish they were making. He glanced expectantly at Iowa, who looked like wasn't even paying attention to the conversation anymore, as she was carefully slicing corn off of a cob for Rhode Island.

"You may be right, however, remember she can't stop him from going into the house. By the time the simulation starts he is inside the house. I don't know the actual story well, but I believe I heard he was in the attic by the time they got home," Ohio stated, not even casting a glance up to anyone, as she focused on what she was doing.

Hawai'i just watched her older sister, as the other states continued talking about that event. She didn't believe for a second that Iowa wasn't paying attention. Whether other states noticed her or not, she had the tendency to remain quiet and pick up as many sides of the story as possible. Hawai'i had learned that from Iowa herself, as the older sister had picked up and analized some helpful information on one of the levels that she was stuck on for years. Iowa had told her how exactly she should go about it in order to pass on to the next level, and it had worked.

That was, however, the year before Iowa ended up spiralling ahead of every state after World War Two. They had started the simulation training after the civil war, in order for the states, not only to feel like they changed history to the way they wanted it, but to also teach them how to fight with the weapons that evolved over time. They were assigned a weapon before hand, and it was corresponding to what happened that certain day.

During wars, the states wouldn't do the 'Required by Alfred' training, because most of them are out fighting with their people.

Hawai'i was spacing off, trying to figure out what Iowa was thinking as they talked about a painful event in her history, right in front of her, when a sudden voice came from the doorway.

"What are you talking about?"

It startled everyone so much, that Iowa almost dropped the knife on her foot. She was able to move in time, luckily. Lichtenstein stood apologetically in the doorway. She seemed to be shocked that she ended up surprising the states.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to startle you all!" She said quickly, clearly panicking.

"It's fine! We were just too engrossed in the conversation to notice you. It's not your fault, it's ours," Iowa said crouching down, grabbed the knife, and put it into the sink, so she could clean it later.

"Iowa's right. We should have been more aware of our immediate surroundings, instead of this stupid freaking training that we do every year," North Dakota said, leaning back in her chair, obviously annoyed at the mention of the exercise.

"ND, you're just upset that you haven't gotten past level 50 yet," Kansas said, looking at her younger sister with a spark of amusement in her eyes as she started setting the dining room table.

"Well, yeah! I've been stuck on it for the past ten years! Why would I not be frustrated!" North Dakota shot back, causing everyone in the room to give a chuckle, still amused with her attitude.

"Do you want my help on what to do, or are you going to be Midwestern stubborn, and do it by yourself for the NEXT ten years?" Iowa asked, mischief slowly creeping into her face.

"Fine! I give up! I give in!" North Dakota said, throwing her hands up in a surrender motion, and that's when Iowa explained it to her in extreme detail. It was complicated, however, it was very simple and easy to understand, even for Lichtenstein, who had decided to help them.

"You know what... That actually makes a LOT of sense thanks for pointing that out to me. I never honestly thought of it important in the slightest," North Dakota said, completely in thought, which caused the Hawkeye state to lightly chuckle.

Everyone ended up looking up at her, confused when nothing funny had happened in the slightest. She noticed their stares, and answered with a half hearted reply.

"I just wish someone would help me figure out how to navigate through that house quicker and more efficiently. If only there WAS a way to get in there quicker..."

*~*Chapter end*~*

AN: I ended up finishing writing this not only when I wasn't feeling good and unable to sleep, but procrastinating as well. It's more than one thing, and I'm pretty sure I have a cold, my temperature just refuses to show that I'm sick. So I'm basically dying while typing this.

I hope you guys have a great day! Don't forget to stay safe!

*~*Agent AJ signing out!*~*