Fugues of Rain

Main Characters---

London: Eton Kirkland, 168cm, Virgo. Light nut-brown hair, jasper eyes. He usually wear monocle on his left eye because his ineffective vision ("The City of Fog" is his well-known title, isn't he?). He is actually older than Arthur, although his baby face looks like a younger one.

Generally speaking, Eton is a polished English gentleman, behaves distantly but soft sense in mind, and he is a stickle for neatness. He acts as a good servant, is the chef secretary and intendant of Arthur, and his remarkable feature is using ironic language to point out inner meaning of other people's polite formulas.

It is a common sense that Eton and York are having an affair, but...It appears Eton do not like Alfred (since he grabs Arthur's attention), tries to avoid to offer a direct reply for James's loving statement in a fairly natural way (?), but it seems that Eton does not totally afraid of getting close to James since realizes his sentiment. Anyway, if they drive him too much to admit his emotion in return, Eton would be blushed with unusual behaviors (to sum up, his distinguish character is tsundere - he is extremely opposite to be straightforward about emotional affairs). Eton is obviously insensitive; either for his own emotion or others' feeling on him...Otherwise, he would not fail to recognize York's sentiment during hundreds of years...

Washington D.C.: James. DC. Jones, 182cm, Scorpius. He was born in 1791, on the purpose of being capital city of the US, so even he is actually a younger one, he grows up so quick while looking mature for his age (or even looks old?). He hair is light blond, with a ponytail like the founding father, and his eyes are marine blue. A crop of his hair symbolizes Washington Monument, the hair called Ahoge acts as a mark of his feeling. A chain lies around his neck, with a mini photo of the founding father inside a silver oval pendant. James has a passion for hardworking, which differs from Alfred's attitude on it. Besides, he is much more conscientious than the former, always needs to deal with odds and ends of accidents that arose by Alfred. James always turns to his dark side when at work or having Eton in sight, and he has been courting Eton with indomitable spirit since they first met. His desire to possess is extremely high, and he is so jealous that his elder brother York can maintain a relationship of being brother cities with London spontaneously.

New York: York. N. Jones, 178cm, Aries. Shiny blond hair, cerulean eyes. York is a man of cheerful temper, and usually wearing fashionable dresses. He seems like an undisciplined one, but he is actually an effective officer when at work. York looks younger than James, but he was born at the same time with Alfred. He used to be Eton's younger brother in the past, however they still maintain a special relationship of being brother cities. York is fond of being with Eton, but he also does not like to be ruled by someone or something, so he always acts as if he doesn't care about anything. Actually, his emotion on Eton is far more than brother love, but it appears that Eton is the only one fails to notice it.

Chapter I Rainy Day
Eton side
Eton/Arthur/Roman

I had always been with Arthur, ever since we met. I had no recollection of the days and years before that. It was happened in distant past, a man called Roman came to me, named me as Londinium - it seemed a little bit mouthful at the time. Roman said that he would offered me all wonderful stuff in the world while touching my hair, but he vanished someday - hundreds of years after the day we met- without a word or even a premonition, as other cities or nations I had ever met. He showed bustling ships to me at ports, told me that everything is in our hands. Roman smiled while stooping to look at me. The smile on his face, which was carved by the hardship of life he endured, was extremely bright.

“Londinium, you’ll become one of the strongest cities all over the world, those are just beginning…” He said to me.

However, Roman suddenly disappeared, even before his words ended, I couldn’t find him anywhere. Besides, his Romans that lived in my city also vanished one night, as if they weren’t even exist.

I stood alone on the port, while watching my home that was not anyone there, and realized…

It appears that I was abandoned.

After a not-so-long period --Actually I didn’t own a clear sense on time-- I met ‘him’. Seems as a kid, he stood on the grassland, with uncontrolled shake due to the strong wind. I noticed that he obviously guarded against everything while identifying obstinacy from his eyes. The verdant eyes felt like it covers every island of the kingdom.

How gorgeous the colour is.
I’ve already grown to my ‘teenager-like’ period and realized my role gradually during my solo journey enormous of years. Hence, I understood that the charming green symbolized our relationship of being family members. Unpredictable warmth arose when I ensure his identification accordingly.

I lifted his left hand onto my forehead while kneeling in front of him.
“You shall be my lord now, and I promises to be with you till the day I wouldn’t exist.”

The child’s verdant eyes opened wildly while shedding tears. The pure liquid landed on my forehead, tip of nose, then on lips. That was the first time I tasted tears, which was salty and slightly bitter.

I tried to dry his eyes by touching his face, and wiped tears from his cheeks. He seemed to be a tearful child since I couldn’t stop it.

“Do not cry…”

“…You’re crying, too.”

If he didn’t mention, I might not even recognize it. I never drop tears before, even didn’t when Roman abandoned me.

“…Arthur Kirkland, that’s my name.”

“I used to be called as Londinium, but no one call me like that for such a long time…”

“Then I names you as London.” Arthur smiled with crystal clear tears and said to me, ‘”we are a family from now on.”

I embraced him tightly, and felt that his body still shook in my arms. We snuggled and kept being with each other during the following thousands of years.

All I wondered was a family, which would not leave me alone anymore.

Arthur, you might have the same sense as well, I thought so.

Arthur became much more stronger during hundreds of years, he sailed across seas and oceans, whether in sight or out of sight, while enduring great bloodshed with twilling. People can only observe decisive and cold-blooded spirit that unbreakable shined in his verdant eyes. Arthur collected trophies by defeating rivals everywhere. He was proved to be an inborn conquer, and became the overlord among seas.

I had been accompanying him all along, seeing all his loneliness and struggles. Deep in the heart of Arthur, there was his born loneliness, which was as natural as the rainy days in this country - chilly and pitiful, but we could only endure them. This loneliness was a burden that he had to bear all on his own. No one else could free him from this burden, and I was no exception.

Arthur brought so many children to home, they were full of house at peak time. However, they all left us gradually as if it was an imaginary dream. When they brought back their lands while leaving us, the so-called sun-never-set glory of Great Britain apparently eliminated afterwards.