The Good Son
Part 1
China had a list. Not an official list of course, but it was still a list. He'd started it a few centuries ago when it seemed that a few of his family members had an avid interest in his life. And not in a good sense either. Various names had occupied the number one spot over the years. Not once had Hong Kong occupied it, though. It looked like his list was past due for revision. "Hong Kong, I really think you need to put down the knife aru." Despite the blood soaking his pant leg, he managed to dodge the explosion to his left. "And the firecrackers aru!"
"Firecrackers are so pretty, aren't they? All light, and noise, and sound. And then nothing. Have you ever wanted to be a firecracker, Shifu?"
The list definately needed revised. And some fast thinking needed to be done. Who'd have thought that in a modern era of guns and weapons of mass destruction that his greatest threat would be a knife and a fistful of firecrackers? The irony was not lost on him. "I do not like firecrackers that much...Korea invented them after all, aru."
Hong Kong chuckled at the joke. "If he heard you say that, even in a jest, he'd be thrilled. But I'm not jesting."
The firecracker was too close, even though he dodged it the sparks burned his skin. "What are you trying to accomplish, aru?"
"It's really simple, Shifu. You should know, because you wrote it." When the other nation didn't respond, Hong Kong smiled a cold smile before elaborating. "Kill one to warn a hundred."
China dodged another firework, and nearly missed that it was a faint. He brought his arm up in time to block the blow to his chest, but the knife dug through skin and muscle until it hit bone. "Aru!" Tears of pain blurred his vision. Ignoring the pain in his leg he used it to kick blindly at his attacker. A grunt of pain told him the attack had not missed, though. He ripped his arm free of the knife, placing a safer distance between them as he blinked through the tears to clear his sight. "What exactly is my death a warning about, aru?"
The kick had not been his best, but he was pleased by the pained expression on Hong Kong's face as he snapped the kneecap back into position. "You were too close to him. You...I never thought you were who I had to worry about. But suddenly you were too close, and I won't allow it!" He pointed the knife forward again.
"Too close to who, aru?"
Hong Kong lit another firecracker, and in the darkness around them the sparking light of the flame as it ate it's way slowly down the wick made him all the more malevolent. "England. Nobody's allowed to be that close to Daddy but me..."
And as the events of the past week suddenly made all too disturbing sense to him, China realized the likelyhood of escaping this encounter had just gotten frighteningly low.
To Be Continued...
This is being de-anoned from the hetalia kink meme.
"I don't normally do horror" would be an understatement, as my regular readers can attest to I'm sure. I've never done horror, ever. But when I read the prompt, I instantly thought of the opening scene you've just read and made myself go for it. I don't watch hack and slash films. Never seen a single one in my life. My experience with horror is fantasy/paranormal based (The Lady in White? Twilight Zone? Alfred Hitchcock Presents?) or suspense book-based (Utopia? The Good Husband? Timeline?).
Which means they were more psychological than blood and gore. Probably comes across in the fic, as my attempts to give the Requester the blood and gore they said would be "appreciated" is really quite lame. However, all and all, I'm proud of this fic. Both the work itself, and the fact that I accepted the challenge to step out of my comfort zone and try a genre I never would have before.