The atmosphere in the room was somber and defeated, contrasting harshly with the gloating smirks on the faces of the American representatives. The biggest of those grins was worn by Mr. Hero himself, Alfred F. J ones, the nation of America. He was is energetic and full of life, drunk on the confirmation of his superpower status. As the negotiations were coming to a close and papers were being signed, America finally noticed that his fellow nation, Japan, was absent from the proceedings. That would not do, as he was the one he wanted to gloat to the most.
"Hey, you Emperor guy! Where's Japan at? Isn't he supposed to be here with the rest of you, acknowledging how amazing I am!" said America in his most obnoxious voice.
A forced smile curled the Emperor's lips after a terrified interpreter relayed the message. He muttered apologies and explained that the defeated nation was very sick, but would see him if he so wished.
"Lead the way then, dude! I wanted to share my plans on Hamburger Sushi with him as soon as possible, so that McDonalds can start mass producing!"
The Japanese leader closed his eyes with a wince and called for some servants.
America was lead down a dark corridor toward a room on the end. When he entered through the traditional Japanese sliding doors, his nose was immediately assaulted by the smell of antiseptic and death. There, laying on a futon with just a small candle illuminating his face, was Japan.
Except it wasn't the Japan that America expected to see. With rising horror America observed what had become of his fellow nation.
His breathing was coming in sharp rasps that barely managed to pull in enough oxygen. His skin was shiny with sweat and darkened by blood dripping out of the open wounds on his exposed torso. But his face was the worse. It was covered with discolored boils and swellings, with blood dripping out of the open sores and the only thing recognizable were his feverish dark eyes that opened when America came in.
He didn't seem to be able to recognize him at all, even as America dropped to his knees next to his bedside. His breathing worsened and his mouth seemed to be forming words, but no sound was coming out. But America realized with dismay that he could read the other nation's lips perfectly.
"Kill me, kill me, kill me, kill me…." over and over again, Japan was repeating those words, more of his skin breaking and bleeding.
"No…"was the choked reply, before tears started wetting Japan's bedside. In that moment, news broadcasts in the USA showed the population the havoc that the Atomic bomb had wreaked on the Japanese people. This was the moment that stopped the celebrations of a war well won and opened eyes to the horrors it had left behind. The world was changed by the realization.
And in one darkened room, a victorious nation slowly gripped the ravaged hand of its defeated counterpart and wept.
The world spun on.
America stayed until the boils disappeared and the wounds had scabbed over. He was the one who supported Japan the first time he went out into the sunshine. After which, he of course took him to a newly built McDonalds for a Hamburger Sushi (because some things never change and debts must be paid).
At the next world meeting, Japan walked in right beside America, head held high and back straight, his remaining limp covered up by America's loud personality. He then proceeded to agree with everything America had to say and left with him right after the meeting was over. He took no notice of Germany's worried looks and Italy's enthusiastic greetings. It would be a few decades until Japan was comfortable enough to converse with either of them and even then he felt America's watchful gaze on his back like a reminder.
America seemed undamaged by the experience of war. In fact he actively entered quite a few more over the years. He watched over Japan fondly and was proud at how quickly the nation was able to grow strong again. The Japanese accepted his music, his food and his Hollywood and in turn, Japanese comics and cartoons gathered a large following in the USA, Japanese horror films were remade with more gore and sushi became a popular food.
It wasn't until years later, on a certain September day, when his chest was constricted and burns and slashes were appearing on his skin that America thought about Japan and the war and couldn't help feeling that he had failed.
My first time doing any Hetalia fanfiction and it's depressing like whoa. Ah well.
Sooo historical background: on August 6th and 9th 1945 the USA dropped Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Afterwards Japan was occupied by American troops and the Emperor Shigemitsu signed the formal surrender on 2nd September 1945 on the USA military ship USS Missouri. Approximately 200 000 people died in the bombings, many more were injured and there are still many cancer victims in the area, whose illness is a result of the radiation. My story idealizes the response of the world to this incident, as the media in the US and in Japan very effectively covered up the range of destruction caused by the bombs. People were horrifically injured and dying and the world couldn't give a fuck.
After the war, Japan was occupied by the USA for a while (who were the richest and most powerful country at that time), but they eventually withdrew and the Japanese economy made astounding progress and became one of the leading economies in the world by 1880.
A certain September day, of course refers to the September 11 attacks in 2001, where the World trade center building in lower Manhattan was completely destroyed by a hijacked plane. The attacks are attributed to al-Qaeda, a terrorist organization based in the Middle East.
Though the incidents are incomparable in terms of historical background and number of casualties, they are nevertheless similar in the mental impact they made on the world. After the bombings, the world eventually realized (mostly!) that Atomic weapons are not just pretty mushroom clouds, but in fact a pretty big no-no. And the 9/11 attacks shattered the American feelings of supremacy and started the War on terror in earnest.
Notes on the story: My head-canon sees nations experiencing the same difficulties as their people, therefore Japan got very very hurt. Apologies.
Also you may have noticed that the story is not happening on a ship. I imagine it happened somewhere before the formal surrender, perhaps in the initial occupation.
Thank you for reading!