A/N: After much time of no writing, I have decided to actually write. And, as usual, this fic is In Progress. Unusually, though, I do have a completed fic that I'm uploading once I format it. :) Anyway, this is my...second Hetalia fic. It's an AU. There are many pairings, including USUK, SKHK, Japan/Taiwan, Italy/Germany, and many others. Though, obviously the main pairing is Rochu. If you dislike it, I would suggest running away and quickly.

That being said, I hope you all enjoy! Reviews are always appreciated ^_^

Yao looked down at the piece of paper in his hand, then up at the building in front of him. A hurried businessman ran into him, apologizing quickly but profusely as he continued running. Yao, used to the hustle and bustle of large cities, shrugged and said, "It's all right." Granted, the man didn't hear him, but it was still polite to answer. He looked back up at the building and sighed, blowing a piece of hair out of his face.

With a deep inhale and a firm hand on his briefcase, he walked up to the doors and entered. The first thing he noticed was that everything was crisp, clean, and white. A woman was behind a counter, looking down at a computer and occasionally typing into it. Yao smiled slightly and walked up to her. She didn't look up.

Yao cleared his throat. The woman looked up, moving a headset to the side and saying, from what Yao could understand, "Be right back, need to actually work." Then she closed something on her computer and looked up, smiling. "Hello, sir," she said. "How can I help you?"

"I have an appointment with Kiku Honda," Yao said, handing her the piece of paper in his hand. She glanced over it and nodded slowly. "Yao Wang?" she asked. Yao nodded. "Okay," the woman muttered, writing something on the paper.

"Oh, I'll need some proof—I trust you brought identification?"

"All forms of it."

The woman looked up from the paper to find a variety of IDs and records spread across the counter. She reached over and picked one up. "…Is…this a secondary school ID card?"

"…I like to be efficient."

The woman shrugged. "That explains why he picked you," she muttered, finishing up her writing. "You can put all that away, now. Follow me."

Yao packed up all of his stuff and organized it back in his briefcase. He followed the woman down a hallway, just as crisp as the foyer. He saw tired looking men and women in offices, some looking up from their work momentarily before going back to it.

"I'm Mei Feng," the woman said.

"Hm?"

Mei turned to him. "I'm Mr. Honda's assistant. He's very particular about who he hires, so…"

"Oh, we're lucky, then?"

Mei grinned and started walking again. "Yes, very lucky. You especially."

"How so?"

"Well, Mr. Honda asked for you specifically, didn't he?"

Yao made a small dismissing gesture. "I was one of his professors when he went to university. His parents were friends of mine—you know how it is."

Mei let out a small chuckle. "Yes, of course," she said, walking into an elevator. Yao walked in after her. Mei took a key out of her shirt pocket and put it into a keyhole in the elevator. She pushed the button with a "B" on it and Yao cleared his throat. "So, we're going to the basement?"

"It's where Mr. Honda told me to take you."

Yao nodded slowly. "Okay. Erm…do you have any idea why he called me? Aside from our being best friends, like really, we were the best of friends—"

"No idea. You'll have to ask him yourself."

Yao narrowed his eyes at Mei, who looked straight ahead. He nodded. "Okay…"

The elevator stopped and the doors opened to a dark hallway, just as crisp as the upstairs hallways, but far more creepy. Mei continued down the hallway.

They came across a door with a keypad next to it. Mei typed in a code, pressed her thumb to an identifier, pressed her face to an eye scan, then inserted another key into the door. When it opened, Yao blinked at her. She shrugged. "It's a very important project."

They walked into another hallway, which led to the flight of stairs that led into the workroom Kiku was in. Yao looked around. There were firm glass walls everywhere, as well as medical sculptures and scans of human anatomy. Yao raised an eyebrow at them and continued to the office at the end. Mei knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for an answer. Yao saw Kiku hovering over what looked to be a surgical table with safety goggles on his face and a pad of paper in one hand. He looked at the item on the table, then took down a note.

"Mr. Honda?"

Kiku looked up and took off the goggles, setting the paper on the table.

Yao stared over Mei at the table, trying to make out what was on it. "Is…is that a person?"

"Yao," Kiku said, bowing slightly. Yao bowed in return. "I'm glad to see that you accepted my offer."

Yao grinned. "Of course I did! You obviously invited me because we're best friends…right? Practically brothers!" He looked at Mei. "I taught him everything he knows…"

There was a long pause before Kiku cleared his throat.

"Uh….right," he said, as Mei stifled a giggle. "I actually invited you BECAUSE you taught me all you know—and I need more."

Yao tilted his head to the side, confused. "I don't understand."

"Perhaps it would be better if we spoke in my office?" Kiku said, pushing everyone out of the room and closing the door. He motioned to the small room beside it and Yao entered. Mei went to a file cabinet in the corner and Kiku sat behind his desk, motioning for Yao to sit.

"Now, my project is confidential and—"

"I don't understand," Yao said, again.

"…I…haven't explained anything yet."

"You took a good five minutes to agree with me! That we were brothers!"

"We aren't brothers."

"We practically were!"

"But we aren't," Kiku said, giving Yao a tired look. "Can we focus on the matter at hand?"

Yao crossed his arms, giving Kiku a pouty look before nodding. "Fine."

Mei snorted, then apologized.

Kiku shot her a look. "Yao…my project is confidential…"

Yao nodded.

"And that's why I invited you here…"

Yao nodded again.

"Because you're one of the best scientific minds of our time…"

Yao laughed modestly. "You're so nice." He turned to Mei. "Isn't he nice to me?"

"And I started a project with A.I. that I'd like you to look at…"

Yao nodded then stopped. "Wait…artificial intelligence?"

Kiku stood. "What I'm working on…is a robot that can mimic human emotion and thought…"

Yao blinked. He laughed. "That's ridiculous—how do you plan to go about that?"

"That's why I need your help."

Yao frowned. "So…you want me to…"

"Help me create a totally conscious, humanoid robot."

"Why?" Yao whispered.

"Because it would be an incredible breakthrough in robotics."

Yao shook his head. "This is…something that no one has ever successfully completed—"

"But you've studied it."

"Well, I—"

"You're the one who taught this to me. You and my parents theorized on robotics."

Yao stammered for a moment, looking to Mei for an answer. She was poking through the file cabinets.

Yao sighed. "I just theorized that it was possible—I never actually thought that it would HAPPEN. Not to mention it has to be an…extremely expensive project…"

"Well, I just happen to be the heir to the largest robotics manufacturing company in the world…"

Yao sighed again. Mei finally got the file out of the cabinet and gave it to Yao, who looked down at it without opening it. Kiku nodded at him. "This project…could bring your theories to life…"

Yao stared at the file.

Kiku held out his hand. "Do you agree?"

Yao looked up at Kiku's hand. He smiled slightly and took it. "Well…how can I deny my brother anything?"