Taming the Polar Bear Ch 19

Main Pairing: Rochu (Ivan x Yao) | Genre: School, Romance, Humour, Drama | Rating: PG-13

Characters: Rochu-centric with many side pairings, supporting characters and cameos from other nations

Synopsis: In Hetalia Gakuen, Ivan, a notorious school bully, meets & falls in love with Yao, a student councilor who resolves to tame him of his bullying ways. Hilarity, chaos & fluff ensue as Yao braves Ivan's romantic but perverted pursuit to take him into hand.

All characters (C) Axis Powers Hetalia & Hidekaz Himaruya. No part of the story is related to any country, political ideology or real event.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 19: Of Bribes and Threats

Yao never knew that teaching could be such a chore. He had only taken the Chinese Studies sophomore class for a week and already, he felt as though he had aged by a decade. He supposed he could have fared better if not for the presence of a certain wild polar bear by the name of Ivan Braginski. For better or worst, Ivan had failed to show up at a couple of his classes, which relieved, yet annoyed him. Whenever he did turn up, he would not only ambush him to "show him appreciation for teaching him" in front of the entire class, but also kept interrupting his lectures to ask stupid questions that a pre-school grader could have answered.

Fortunately, his stressful week had come to an end and he was all geared up for his reward. This evening, Kiku was treating Yong Soo, Xiang and himself to the latest, most-anticipated horror flick in town. They would then enjoy a hearty dinner to make up for getting freaked out for two hours, during which he would take the opportunity to pour out his grievances to Xiang and Kiku who were good listeners. With such cheerful thoughts in mind, he trotted buoyantly towards the school gates where he had arranged to meet them.

The school gate was crowded with students gathering to go out for the evening, but Yao had no difficulties spotting the people he wanted to see. Along with the person he most did not want to see.

Ivan, with his prominent height and winter gear, stood out from the crowd. A void of space encircled him as students near him stood as far away from him as they could, save for Kiku, Yong Soo and Xiang, who milled around Ivan, looking agitated. Yong Soo, especially, flapped his bulky sleeves so vigorously that he looked confrontational. Concerned that Yong Soo was bothering Ivan, Yao widened his strides and marched over to the foursome as quickly as he could.

"Is everything all right?" Yao asked.

"Aniki!" Yong Soo squealed as he waved a CD in Yao's face. "You won't believe this but Ivan got me this limited First Press edition CD, personally autographed by Rain himself da-ze!"

Yao frowned in puzzlement. Ivan did not come across as the sort of person who would be nice to others, let alone give them presents.

Yao grabbed the CD to get it out of his face, inciting a yelp from Yong Soo. "Watch it, aniki! If you even scratch the cover, you won't be able to repay for the damage even if Aunt and Uncle sell off all their property around the world da-ze!"

Yao snorted derisively. "He's just a celebrity."

"Just a celebrity?" Yong Soo looked indignant. "He is Korean. And he dances better than I do da-ze!"

"Anyone can dance better than you," Xiang deadpanned, although the corners of his mouth had curled upwards slightly.

"Hey, I'm older than you are. Just because you no longer need us to help you complete your Bruce Lee movie collection does not mean you can be rude to me," Yong Soo crossed his arms huffily.

"I was just stating a fact," Xiang said stoutly as he folded his own arms. Yao spotted the video tape case that Xiang hugged against his chest.

"Wow! Isn't that the elusive Bruce Lee movie that we've been searching in all the antique movie shops for the past years?"

"Yes, but Ivan managed to find it," Xiang replied as a rare smile graced his usually aloof face.

Ivan returned Yao's frown with a dazzling smile.

"Since I'm your boyfriend, it's only right that I give presents to your family da?"

"You're not my boyfriend aru!" Yao said snappishly. Turning Yong Soo's newest treasured acquisition over in his hands, he said scornfully, "For all we know, you could have signed this yourself. And we can't even tell if the Bruce Lee tape is authentic since we have never seen the original content. Don't think you can bribe my family with counterfeits. They may be naive, but I'm not."

His haughty retort was met with protest from said naive family members.

"I've seen enough Bruce Lee video tapes to be able to tell the difference between the authentic ones and the fake ones," Xiang said curtly.

"This is definitely Rain's signature! I can even smell his favourite cologne on the cover da-ze!"

"You're only saying this because you want them to be real aru," Yao said patiently. "If you were really impartial and wise, you would not accept them at face value. Don't you agree, Kiku? Kiku?"

Yao looked around and found Kiku standing behind him, eyes glued to his Nintendo DS.

"I don't think he'll come back to Earth until he succeeds in getting Heracles to date him da-ze," Yong Soo smirked.

"He what?" Yao demanded, wondering if he had heard him correctly.

"Heracles, a character in the game Boy's LovePlus da~" Ivan explained smilingly. "Kiku wanted a male-version of the game LovePlus. How coincidental that I knew someone from the company, so I got hold of a beta version for him~ It's not even out in the market yet~"

"What! How dare you lead him astray! Do you know that he nearly failed his finals last year because he spent so much time gaming?" Yao cried. "And you, Kiku! Stop playing these dating sim games. It's unhealthy! Get yourself a girlfriend... or boyfriend aru!"

Kiku grimaced as he replied distractedly, "Hush, I'm trying to remember what his hobbies are. Don't distract me."

"Kiku! Listen to me aru!"

"Yao~ Stop worrying da? He's just having a bit of fun. As an adult, he can take care of himself!" Ivan coaxed as he cast a meaningful glance at Yong Soo.

"That's right, aniki! Stop treating us like children," Yong Soo rallied. Turning to Ivan, he said, "We'll be on our way now. We kept our word and got aniki here for you. I want DBSK's autograph next da-ze!"

"Here are your movie tickets," Xiang pressed a pair of tickets into Ivan's hand. "Would you happen to know anyone who sells old Bruce Lee posters?"

"I'll keep a lookout for both of you~" Ivan said congenially. "Enjoy your CD, Yong Soo, and your movie, Xiang~"

"You too," Xiang nodded. Carefully avoiding Yao's eyes, he tugged Kiku's arm and urged, "Come on, let's not impose on Da Ge and Ivan. You can continue playing when we get back to the dormitory."

"A bit more... almost there... " Kiku muttered, eyes still trained on the small screen.

"We need to get out of here before Da Ge blows up," Xiang hissed.

"You might as well be talking to a tree da-ze!" Yong Soo sighed as he hooked his arm around Kiku's to steer him forward. Xiang took hold of the other arm and they took their leave, Kiku shuffling awkwardly between them, hands still not leaving his machine.

Yao stared after them, thunderstruck. He wanted to yell at them, to shake them, to blow up at them like Xiang had feared. But he could not find his voice, and his feet were deeply rooted to the ground, preventing him from movement.

"Da~! It's just the two of us then~" Ivan beamed. The joyful expression on his face turned to concern when he saw Yao's eyes misting over.

"What's wrong?" Ivan's smiling face filled with concern.

"My kin, my brothers whom I cared so much for..." Yao stammered as he choked on tears of disappointment and anger, "They swapped me for a lousy CD, a mouldy video tape and a perverted video game aru! What am I? A piece of meat?"

"Don't be sad~ If you're a piece of meat, then you're a delectable and pricey piece of meat~ Those things didn't come easy da~" Ivan put his arms around Yao and cuddled him in what he felt was a consoling manner. Yao squealed in protest and pushed him away.

"This is all your fault!" Yao said hoarsely. "You led them astray to your own advantage! How despicable! Don't think I'll go on a date with you because you lot tricked me into it. I'm going back to give them a piece of my mind and you can watch the movie all by yourself aru!"

"Aww~! Don't go!" Ivan grabbed Yao's arm as he turned to leave. "They had your best interests in heart too! They only agreed to help me because they were touched by my dedication to earn their friendship. They said that only a devoted man like myself was deserving of you~ Wouldn't you agree with them?"

"My foot! You bought them over with material goods. This is nothing more than an underhanded commercial exchange aru!"

"Ah~ Kiku was right when he said that you're a difficult person to win over," Ivan smiled, undaunted, as he felt around his coat searchingly. "Maybe this will persuade you da?"

When Ivan produced the most adorable Hello Kitty doll, the size of his own hand, clad in a panda suit from his coat, Yao felt his mind go blank. All he could think of was how much he wanted to cuddle it and see it on his own shelf, among his inexhaustible collection of Kitty-chan dolls.

"Aiyaaaa~ Kitty-chan~!" Yao lunged himself at the doll, but Ivan raised his arms, lifting the doll well out of Yao's reach. Missing their intended target, Yao's hands found themselves on Ivan's chest instead. Yao blushed furiously and hastily retreated several steps. Ivan smiled more brightly than ever, knowing that he had nailed Yao's Achilles heel.

"Where did you get that from? I've never seen it before!" Yao said accusingly, as though it was a crime for anyone to own a Kitty-chan item that he did not have.

"It's custom-made da~ There is only one such doll in the world~" Ivan hugged the doll and look at him with a teasing grin.

"I'll buy it from you! How much is it?" Yao demanded.

"It's priceless da~ I'm not selling it. Unless you can give me something priceless in return~" Ivan fiddled with the panda hood, causing it to come off. The tiniest little panda peeked out from behind Kitty-chan's ear, seducing Yao to play peek-a-boo with it. Yao emitted a little scream of excitement.

"What do you want in return? I'll try my best to get it for you! Please aru?"

This time, it was Ivan's turn to feel his brain turn to mush as Yao looked up at him earnestly, amber doe eyes filled with plea. He almost gave in before he remembered why he had put in so much effort to secure this precious article.

"Da~ You can give me yourself!" Ivan responded without an ounce of hesitation.

The amber eyes flamed with rage as the rosy glow on Yao's cheeks deepened.

"How dare you! How dare you! How dare you!" Yao shouted as he attacked Ivan all over with his bag, drawing curious and amused glances from several students around them. "I'm not going to sleep with you for a stuffed toy aru!"

"Yao~ Calm down! You misunderstood me!" Ivan cried as he tried to take cover under a bush. "I meant that I would give you the doll in exchange for your company. I only had a movie and dinner date in mind. Nothing indecent. I swear on my water pipe!"

"Oh," Yao's bag froze in midair. A wave of relief rushed over him, closely followed by embarrassment at his own dirty thoughts and guilt for having maligned Ivan when all he harbored were innocent thoughts.

"Don't say such misleading things," Yao muttered as he lowered his bag. A deeply relieved Ivan emerged from under the bushes.

"So you will go on a date with me da? For Kitty-chan's sake?" Ivan held up the doll and moved it's paw up and down. Yao squealed in delight.

"Ooh! Kitty-chan! How can you be so cute aru?" Yao cried as he reached out for the doll. Ivan pulled the doll behind him out of Yao's reach. Yao puffed out his cheeks and pouted.

Oh Yao, how can you be so cute da? Ivan sighed to himself.

"No date, no doll~!" Ivan said firmly.

Yao frowned. The last date with Ivan had been a disaster that not only resulted in him being accused of hypocrisy, but had somehow earned them both the label of school couple. Although Ivan promised that he had nothing more than a date in mind, Yao had a feeling that the Western idea of date could be vastly different from what he himself had in mind. He shuddered at rumours he had heard about people bedding each other on their very first date. Besides, Ivan, for all his moe-ness that was comparable even to Kitty-chan's, had proven to be a wolf in sheep's skin who could still feign innocence right after taking liberties of him. He bristled with anger at that thought.

"Kitty-chan~ Yao doesn't want you da~ Looks like you'll have to go home with me tonight. It's ok though, I'll be a good owner to you. Kolkolkolkol~" Ivan chuckled, pressing the doll so hard that the fur on the mouthless face began to sink in prominently at various spots.

Yao cried out in alarm, "Don't hurt Kitty-chan aru! I agree to your request!"

"Da~! I'm happy to hear that!" he stowed the doll back into his coat. Yao watched longingly until Kitty-chan's white face vanished under Ivan's tan coat.

"You are definitely going to hand her over to me?" Yao asked anxiously.

"Of course I will at the end of the date~ Since when have I ever lied to you da?" Ivan responded sweetly.

Privately, Yao felt that Ivan never had the need to lie, or keep promises to have things his way, but all the same, he asked, "Do I have your promise that this will just be a simple dinner? No touching or kissing or any form of hanky panky?"

"Can I at least hold your hand? That's what people do when they go on dates~" Ivan gazed pleadingly at Yao, his purple eyes glowing with anticipation. Too lost in his fervent gaze, Yao found his head nodding before his brain could consider the implications.

"Yay!" Ivan cheered. Eagerly, he ungloved his hand. Taking Yao's small hand in his large palm, he swung their arms energetically while beaming from ear-to-ear. Yao could not help suppressing a laugh.

"Aiya, does holding my hand delight you so?!"

"Of course! Because it's Yao da! I don't mind holding any part of you other than your hand though!" Ivan quipped.

"Well, my hand is the only part of me that you can hold for now aru!" Yao said warningly. Then he wondered why on earth he had bothered adding 'for now' at the back.

"Anything you say da!" Ivan said candidly as he led Yao out of the school gate.

"I must admit, if I'm wearing a hat now, I'd take it off to you. How did you manage to get hold of so many limited and valuable items? How did you even know we like them aru?" Yao voiced the question that had been bugging him since he saw Ivan's presents.

"Indeed, it was one of the greatest challenges in my life," Ivan said solemnly. "I spent many sleepless nights, making inquiries, traveling around and even venturing out of the country," Ivan paused to yawn widely, causing a pang of guilt in Yao. "But seeing your happy faces, especially yours, makes me feel that all my efforts are worthwhile da!" Ivan smiled sappily at Yao, causing him to go scarlet red.


*     *     *


Several nights ago, Eduard was on MSN when someone on his 'Please Leave Me Alone' contact list initiated a chat.

Yao-Is-Mine: Eduard, are you good with computers?

Coolest-Geek: Ivan?

Yao-Is-Mine: ^J^v

Coolest-Geek: I spend loads of time on mine, so I guess I'm pretty good.

Yao-Is-Mine: Great. I want you to hack into these people's computers and online accounts. Wang Yao. Wang Xiang. Im Yong Soo. Honda Kiku. Find out as much about them as possible, esp. their greatest weaknesses. I want the info in half an hour.

Coolest-Geek: O_o

Yao-Is-Mine: Is that a no? You know I'm right next door da? Kolkolkolkol

Coolest-Geek: I'll get on to it now.

You have received a nudge.

Yao-Is-Mine: Done?

Coolest-Geek: Sending files to you now.

Yao-Is-Mine: Ok, don't go away yet. I may need your help again.

Coolest-Geek: #Fu^c&k##U*%!

Yao-Is-Mine: Excuse me?

Coolest-Geek: I accidentally put my elbow on my keyboard.

Yao-Is-Mine: Eduard, the Kimchi Retard is dying for an autographed Rain CD?

Coolest-Geek: That's what he said in his email to his Mum.

Yao-Is-Mine: Who is this Rain?

Coolest-Geek: Let me google that.

Coolest-Geek: Some Korean pop-star who dances very well.

Yao-Is-Mine: So where do I get this autographed CD?

Coolest-Geek: Most people would find such a thing on Ebay.

Yao-Is-Mine: What are you waiting for then?

Coolest-Geek: Am I suppose to look for it? O_o

Yao-Is-Mine: What do you think? Kolkolkolkol

Coolest-Geek: Am on it now.

You have received a nudge.

Yao-Is-Mine: Found anything?

Coolest-Geek: I'm sorry, I've searched everywhere, but I can only conclude that if someone is indeed selling it on ebay, Yong Soo would have snapped it up.

Yao-Is-Mine: In other words, you lied to me when you said "Most people would find such a thing on Ebay"? Kolkolkolkol~

Coolest-Geek: Noo! Ebay really has everything, but I didn't realize it was so rare. I really can't find it. I'm so sorry! (≧ロ≦)

Coolest-Geek: ?

Coolest-Geek: ?

Coolest-Geek: Ivan? If there's nothing else, I'll go to bed first?

Yao-Is-Mine: Just now, I did a search for the Bruce Lee movie that Stiff-Face wanted and the Boy's LovePlus game that Kiku wanted. But I didn't find anything. As for my little sunflower, I don't know what Hello Kitty items he doesn't already have. ( ;´J `

Coolest-Geek: Um. For such movies, you'd have better luck with the vintage and classic movie stores. Boy's LovePlus doesn't exist. Kiku just wishes for it to be made. For new Hello Kitty items, you should try Sanrio's official website but Yao probably looks it up regularly.

Seconds later, Eduard's dormitory room door crashed to the ground, the silhouette of a waterpipe imprinted on the splintered wood. Eduard froze in his chair, too stunned to react, while Raivis dived under his bedsheets in fright. Ivan marched over to the man responsible for making him mad and grabbed his collar.

"You are playing the fool with me da?" a purple haze enshrouded Ivan while a frightened Eduard was white with fear.

"It's not his fault that you're too stupid to understand his words," Raivis squeaked from under his bedsheets.

"You wait, Raivis, I'll deal with you later," Ivan bristled. Turning his attention back to Eduard, he suddenly gave a wail.

"WAAAAH! All I want is for Yao to like me~ Am I not fated to have his love? Even the heavens are against me. WAAAAH~~~~!" large droplets of tears rolled down his cheeks. Eduard, for all his dislike for Ivan, felt pity engulf his heart, while Raivis looked uneasy.

"Calm down, Ivan. You always get everything you want. This won't be an exception," Eduard said coaxingly.

"That's right. All you have to do is barge into people's rooms and swing your waterpipe at them and they'll do your bidding," Raivis quipped.

"LATVIA!" Eduard put his face in his palm.

"But Yao wouldn't like it. He doesn't like people who misbehave and use violence on others," Ivan shook his head sadly.

"But if he didn't catch you in the act, he wouldn't know," Raivis said. Eduard groaned, exasperated at the clueless Latvian's sinful encouragement.

"Raivis is right da~" Ivan promptly stopped crying. "Can you find me Rain's home address?"

"Erm, why would you need Rain's address?" Eduard asked, dreading the answer.

"So that I can barge into his house and swing my waterpipe at him and he'll give me his autographed CD da~! Kolkolkolkol~"

"I... I'll try," Eduard wiped a drop of perspiration from his brow, silently congratulating the Korean tabloids for the juicy article they would have the next day about the Korean star's assault by a fanatical male Russian fan.

"And you can do that to Bruce Lee's family too! Surely they have all his movies," Raivis nodded.

"Stop giving him ideas!" Eduard scolded.

"What's wrong with giving me ideas? Kolkolkolkol~" Ivan brandished his waterpipe menacingly.

"N... nothing!" Eduard trembled. "I just thought that this wouldn't work for Kiku's and Yao's case."

"That's easy da~ You're good with computers right? Designing an expansion based on an existing game shouldn't be difficult~" Ivan beamed expectantly at Eduard.

"But I don't know how to program computer games!" Eduard protested.

"Then learn," Ivan's huge frame loomed menacingly over the Estonian.

"Yessir!" Eduard squeaked.

"As for the Hello Kitty doll, I already have the perfect design in mind combining Yao's love for Kitty and pandas. All I need is Raivis' help to realize my design~" Ivan turned to Raivis with a childlike smile.

"Eep! Are you asking me to make it?" Raivis gulped. "But I'm terrible with craft work! I can't sew on a button without making my fingers bleed!"

"Better yours than mine da? Kolkolkolkol~"


*     *     *


"Kolkolkolkol~" Ivan chuckled at the memories behind his 'greatest challenges', emitting a chill that made Yao shiver visibly.

"Feeling cold?"

Ivan detached his hand from Yao's grip and placed his arm around Yao's shoulders. Then he took Yao's hand in his free hand and smiled gently at Yao. Yao gave him a startled glance, but made no show of protest.

"You're so thin, you should wear warmer clothes," Ivan said as he gave Yao's shoulder a little squeeze.

"It's usually never this cold aru," Yao pouted.

"Don't worry, I'll warm you up da~"

To be continued...