So far, Emil loved the human world. There were so many new sights, smells, and sounds, and most importantly, a lot of brand new tastes. Leon had smiled when he tried chocolate for the first time. Apparently, he thought Emil's looked ridiculous. The day before was so unreal for Emil. He and Tino actually made it to land. They had broken the surface of the water and so close to finding if this Lukas Bondevik was really his brother or not. He sat up on the edge of the bed in the guest room of Leon's house. Emil stared down at his legs and playfully wiggled them. He couldn't keep the grin from his face. He heard a knock on the door.

"Uh, come in."

Mei poked her head in. "Good morning, Emil. How'd you sleep?"

"I slept fine."

She came in and sat next to him. "That's great! I brought some clothes for you to wear today. Tino's in the kitchen getting breakfast. He told us to let you sleep. Cheng said that he, Kiku, and Li will take you and your cousin to the Boardwalk sometime between noon and one."

Emil tilted his head. "When's that?"

Mei giggled. "Don't worry, it's soon. I think it's about eleven now." She stood up and smoothed her skirt. "I'll leave you to get dressed. Call us if you need anything."

Emil looked down next to him at the clothes Mei had laid out. It was a similar outfit to yesterday's except a white shirt replaced the silver one. Emil sighed. The sooner they found Lukas, the sooner they can go home. Hopefully this Lukas guy in town was his brother.

"Emil, glad you could join us," said Yao as Emil entered the kitchen. Yao was Leon's older brother. They had met last night when Leon introduced him and Tino to the rest of his family. "I hope you're hungry."

Emil nodded. "I am." He looked over at Tino who was passed a cup full of a black liquid by Kiku. Tino made a face. "Is that squid ink?"

Kiku shook his head. "No, Tino-kun, this is tea," he explained patiently.

Tino sipped is cautiously and made a face. "It tastes weird."

Emil couldn't hold back a giggle.

Cheng smiled and stirred his own tea. "We were thinking we'd go to the boardwalk around noon."

"Is that when that bright yellow thing is the highest in the blue thing?" Emil asked.

Cheng nodded. "Yes, the sun in the sky. So we have time to relax and explore."

"Oh that sounds like a lot of fun! Where will we go?" Tino asked.

"Vido Bajo Marina," Leon said. "It's the boardwalk where Mei's store is. You remember, right?"

Emil nodded. "Of course I do."

"It's where Havana Lounge is also," Kiku cut in. "That's where Mathias works and that's where we'll meet up with him later."

"That's where we went yesterday, right?" Tino asked.

Leon nodded. "And I'll be your guide for today. Kiku has school and Cheng and Mei have to go to work."

"Where's the rest of your family?" Emil asked. "You said you had more."

"They are visiting family. They'll be back soon, tomorrow, I think," Cheng said.

Leon looked at the clock. "Speaking of which, we should probably get going. It'll take us a while to walk there."

They had only been at the Boardwalk for five minutes and Tino already had walked off. To be fair, Tino couldn't help but wander off. There were so many new and exciting things to see! He wasn't really naturally curious but he was here now and he wanted to see as much of this world as he possibly could before they went back. Tino frowned at the thought. They would be going back right? That was the plan? Find Lukas and convince him to come home with them? Something in his gut told him it was going to be that easy. He was so lost in thought that he wasn't watching where he was going and bumped into someone. Tino, still not being used on his legs, fell and actually hit the ground this time. Not one of the most pleasant experiences he'd ever come across.

"You okay?" asked a voice.

Tino looked up to see a hand outstretched to him. He took it and stood up. "Yes, I'm fine. I just lost my balance."

"No kidding." Tino got a better look at the blond man who was about his height with serious-looking green eyes. He had some sort of stick-thing strapped to his back. "I'm Vash, by the way."

"Tino."

"Tino, huh? You don't look familiar... are you from around here?"

Tino shook his head. "No, I'm just visiting." He pointed to the thing slung across Vash's back. "What's that?"

Vash unslung it from his back and held it out in front of him. "This old thing? It's the K13. It was the standard rifle of the Swiss armed forces used from 1933 until 1958. It's a magazine-fed, straight-pull bolt-action rifle," his neutral expression didn't change. "It's okay, I guess."

Tino looked at it in wonder. He had no idea what that thing was, but it sounded pretty cool. "How does it work?"

"I'm actually on my way to open up the range now. It's technically closed today but I have the keys. I co-own the place. If you want, you can come and I'll show you. Maybe you can fire a couple off."

Tino nodded. He didn't know exactly what that was or how it worked but he did like learning new things. "I'd like that."

It wasn't too far. It was at the end of what Kiku called the Boardwalk.

It was an indoor range. It had a closed front and many different kinda of firearms lined the walls inside. Tino lightly touched the glass separating him from them. "What is all this stuff?"

"What you're looking at right now is a case of early American rifles. They're considered antiques but they still fire pretty well."

"How do they work?"

Vash grinned, as he took the gun off his back. "I'll show you."

He walked up to the half-wall and put on safety goggles and earplugs. He hoisted the rifle and fired off a round. Tino covered his ears. He'd never heard anything so loud in his life! Suddenly, it stopped. Vash put down his rifle and turned to him. "That's how it's done."

Tino was amazed. "Can I try?" he asked.

Vash looked him up and down to see if he could be trusted with one. "Pick what you want to try out."

Tino looked around until his eyes landed on one. He pointed to it. "That one."

Vash looked at it and opened the case. "Sako TRG 22. It's a Finnish sniper rifle. It might be easier to for you to fire when you're lying down on your stomach."

Tino put on the glasses and earplugs Vash had handed him and Vash showed him how to hold it.

"What you want to do," he advised, "is to try to line up the center of the eyepiece with the center of the target."

"Got it," Tino murmured as he lined it up. So all I have to do is line up the two dots and pull the trigger? This seems simple enough, he thought. He fired until the magazine ran out, then put the safety on and stood up. He turned and faced Vash, who had a shocked look on his face. Tino suddenly felt self-conscious. Did I really do that bad? he thought. I mean, I didn't expect to be good, I just... Tino cleared his throat. "Um, how'd I do?"

"I've never seen anyone do that before..." Vash muttered.

"Um, Vash?"

Vash shook his head, trying to clearing his head. "I'm sorry, Tino, just got in thought. This was your first time with that right?"

Tino shuffled his feet. "First time with any firearm, actually."

"You're a natural!"

Tino beamed. "Really?"

Vash nodded. "Wait a minute, I'll get your target and show you." No one else was there, so it was safe for Vash to go down and retrieve the paper target. "Look, all in the center." Sure enough, all the hole in the target were in the center.

"That's good?"

"Extremely good. You've got quite the aim."

Tino felt his smile widen. It felt so good to be great at something! He didn't have a particular skill set at home, which was one of the reasons his father was marrying him off early. He had to show Emil. Wait...where was Emil? Tino smacked himself in the forehead. He wandered off without Emil!

"Tino, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine! I just realized that I wandered off without my cousin."

"Who's your cousin?"

"His name is Emil."

"He doesn't sound familiar."

"Well, we aren't exactly from around here. We came looking for his brother Lukas."

Vash blinked. "Lukas Bondevik?"

Tino sighed. "Apparently so."

"Have you tried Havana Lounge? Mathias works there. It's at the opposite end of the strip."

"Havana Lounge... wait what time it?! I'm supposed to be there at five thirty!"

"It's three thirty now. It'll take an hour if you walk and not get distracted. Not to sound rude or anything, but you seem like the type to be easily distracted."

Tino scratched his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm new to this whole thing."

"It's fine. Listen, I can walk with you halfway. My sister works at Florida Style."

Tino's eyes lit up. "That's Mei's store!"

"You know Mei?"

"Yes, her brothers pulled my cousin and I out of the ocean. We got clothes from her store."

"That's... actually not the weirdest thing I ever heard."

Tino tilted his head in confusion. "It's not?"

"You don't know my extended family. Trust me, they're a handful."

Tino decided not to ask what that meant. Luckily, he didn't have to. Vash carefully placed the guns back in their respective cases and turned to him.

"Well," there was an awkward pause. "Are you coming or what?"

Tino gathered his thoughts. "Yup!"

Vash ushered him out and locked the door behind him.

They almost walked the entire way to the store in complete silence. Tino took a deep breath before saying, "So, how long have you been shooting?"

"My whole life. My dad taught me when I was five. He said if anything happened to him and my mother, I would need to protect my sister. I don't hunt or anything, just target practice."

That was about the most emotion the guy had shown all day.

Vash continued. "The thing I value most is peace and I'm willing to fight for it." He blinked and turned to Tino. "Why'd I just tell you that?"

Tino shrugged. "I'm just easy to talk to, I guess."

Vash made a noise of affirmation. "I guess so."

They walked the rest of the way in peaceful silence. There was a small girl with a purple ribbon in her blonde hair standing outside the store. Her eyes lit up when she saw Vash.

She waved at him. "Brother!"

"Hello, Lili. Are you ready to go?"

She nodded and turned her eyes toward Tino. "Who is your friend?

Tino smiled at her. "My name is Tino. I'm new here."

Lili smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Tino!"

"It is very nice to meet you too!"

Vash put his hand on his sister's shoulder. "Come, Lili, we'll be late."

"Okay big brother. I'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Tino!" She waved as her brother led her away.

Tino waved and smiled. "What a nice girl," he mused.

"TINO!"

He turned to see Emil and Leon running toward him.

"Where were you? I thought I'd lost you too!" Emil said angrily, though his voice had a slight quiver.

"No, no, I'll never leave you. I'll always find you again," Tino said, with a kind smile. He knew Emil couldn't bear to lose him after he had lost Lukas.

Emil huffed. "Don't do that again."

"I won't, promise."

Leon coughed. "Hate to break up this heartwarming moment, but we should be getting to the lounge soon."

"Is it that time already?" Tino questioned.

Leon nodded. "Come on." Tino started to follow but stopped when he noticed Emil wasn't next to him.

"Emil, what's wrong?"

"What if its not him?"

Tino offered his cousin a small smile. "Then, we keep looking and we won't stop until we find him."

"Thanks Tino."

Tino's smile grew brighter. "That's what family's for."

Leon coughed. "Hate to interrupt, but we should get going."

"Is it that time already?"

Leon nodded. "Its time."

The first thing Emil saw in the bar was Berwald. He saw him talking to a guy behind the bar with blond hair that seemed to defy gravity. Berwald saw them and waved them over. The blond guy looked over and smiled at the group. "Hey! You guys must be Emil and Tino. I'm Mathias."

Emil didn't know what to say except, "You're really loud."

Mathias burst out laughing. "I can see how you're related to Luke now! He's always telling me that! He also says I need to shut up a lot."

Berwald rolled his eyes. "That's b'caus' you're always talkin'."

"So? I like to talk! It's how I communicate with people."

"It's how ev'ryone com'un'cates."

Mathias grinned wider. "See why I like it so much!'

Berwald facepalmed at his brother's antics. "I swear yer adopted."

"Love you too, bror!"

Berwald sighed. "Let's just go b'fore I get a he'dache."

"Way ahead off you. Carlos! I'm clockin' out early today!" Mathias called into the kitchen.

"Remember you're working the early shift tomorrow, Køhler!" came a voice from inside the kitchen.

"You got it boss! I'll be here bright and early!" he turned towards his brother and the two mermen. "Let's go home."

They walked over to a red pickup truck in a nearby lot. Emil stared at it. It was different from the other vehicles he'd seen. "What's that?"

Mathias patted the hood. "This, my friend, is a pickup truck. It's a quicker way to get from place to place. Good thing too, we don't live within walking distance." He opened to door. "Hop in."

Both mermen stared at him in confusion. Berwald gently nudged them towards it. "It's kinda like the boat Cheng and Kiku found ya on, 'cept it has wheels." That calmed them down enough to get inside.

Emil fiddled with the seatbelt. He didn't like this awkward silence. He cleared his throat. "Where'd you find him? Lukas, I mean."

"Hm? Oh, Ber and I found him tangled in some fishnets on the beach. I figured he was shipwrecked or something," Mathias answered.

"How is he? It's been awhile since I've seen him."

Mathias ran his fingers through his hair. "He's good. He's been taking classes at the community college near here and he's picked up the violin."

"What is a violin? I asked Leon earlier but we had to get to shore."

"It's a musical instrument. Ber, pull up a picture on your phone."

Berwald pulled a small device from his pocket. He tapped it a couple times before turning around in his seat. "This is what it looks like."

"How does it work?"

"You pull the bow across the strings to make music." Mathias explained. "I'm sure Lukas can show you. He's really good."

"He's better than 'really good.'" Berwald added. "He's Alexander Rybak good."

"Who's that?" Tino whispered to Emil.

"How should I know?" he whispered back.

"But anyway," Mathias continued, "we're almost there."

Emil looked at the window. The were a bunch of buildings along the rocky shoreline. He stared wistfully at the waves crashing on the sand. He had the sudden urge to jump to the ocean. Emil tugged on the handle of the door and the door wouldn't open. That snapped Emil out of his daze. "Huh?"

"Door's locked, Em," Mathias said from the front seat.

Emil blinked. "My name's Emil."

"Lukas tried that one time. He almost fell out. We learned to keep the doors locked."

"Where is Lukas?"

"He's at our place. Speaking of which, we are here." Mathias pulled into the driveway. The house was two-stories with a pale blue exterior. It seemed very homey.

Berwald got out and opened the door for Tino. "Don't need ya ta fall," he said as he offered Tino his hand.

Tino felt his cheeks get hot. "Thank you."

Berwald grunted and nodded in response.

Mathias opened the door for Emil who jumped out. Mathias smiled at the younger boy. "You're excited, huh?"

Emil nodded and ran to the door and tried to open it. "It won't open!"

Mathias and Berwald were both making sure Tino didn't fall while walking up the driveway. "I've got the key. We'll be up there in a second."

Mathias never got to the door before it opened. A soft clicking sound startled Emil and he turned around as the door opened.

"Honestly, Mathias, did you forget your keys again?" the man who opened the door had blue eyes and blond hair with a wayward curl. He gasped and froze when he saw Emil. "Oh my gosh..."

Emil was sure he looked equally as shocked, even though he was mentally preparing himself for this all day. "I finally found you."

Lukas smiled softly, a small tear falling from the corner of his eye. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you again, little brother."

AN: OH MY GLOB THIS TOOK FOREVER TO GET OUT AND I'M SO SORRY I DIDN'T GET IT OUT SOONER! Writers block was a bitch. Like, I had chunks of it but it was the transitions that were killing me. I promise it won't take almost a year to get the next chapter out. It should be easier to write now that Lukas is on the scene. I don't own Hetalia.