~Tortured Souls Prologue: The Games~
"Kiku... Kiku... Come out and play, da~ze," his taunting voice calls. I shudder involuntarily, pressing further backwards into my hiding place. I must be careful not to make a sound, I remind myself.
"What's wrong, shorty? You scared of us?" she chimes in. "Is that the problem, you're too much of a coward?"
I whimper quietly, terrified of what they will do to me, the "games" they will force me to play, if I make a stupid mistake and dare to show myself. Kami, please, let Aniki come home early. Save me from them, I pray, my lips moving along with the words that couldn't be heard. Please, Kami, don't let them find me!
"Come on, Kiku! Stop hiding! We won't hurt you, da~ze."
He is telling the truth. They would never hurt me. Mentally scar, yes, but never physically harm. If Yao ever catches them hurting me... well, the phrases "hell hath no fury" and "mother bear and her cubs" spring to mind. Our parents? We may as well not have any, considering how often they are actually around. They do not care about us at all; they most certainly are not going to save me. They'd probably encourage my tormentors, if anything. I am only five years old, hiding from my own siblings. Our house is in the middle of the woods, out of earshot of our neighbors. No one ever calls the police, ever comes to rescue me, because we are so isolated. Aside from my siblings, who either cause the pain or are threatened into silence, no one can hear me scream. Mental scars do not show outward signs, so Aniki either has no idea this is going on or does not have any proof. Yao may be protective, but he is by no means unfair. That leaves me helpless, unable to defend myself against them.
"Kiku, come out already! We made up a new game for you to play with us!" she calls. My breath catches in my throat and my heartbeat races at an almost impossible rate. She is far too close, she can find me any second if I make even the slightest of sounds.
"Aniki, please! Please hurry!" I whisper, my voice too quiet to be heard. "Kami, make them go away!"
"He's not in here, Yong Soo!" she whines, the sound of her footsteps receding as she walks away. "Maybe he left."
Cautiously, I poke my head out to see the room. It is empty; I am alone. The window... perhaps, if I am lucky, I can make a run for the window, visit Aniki at work...
"Help me search the bathroom, da~ze. There are too many hiding places in here," Yong Soo calls. Seizing my chance, I race across the room and to the window, shoving it open. As I clamber out, I hear rushed footsteps returning. I do not have much time!
"He's in the yard!" I hear her yell from somewhere behind me.
"Then don't just stand there, Min! Catch him, da~ze!" Yong Soo screeches at her in response
Knowing that they will catch me if I keep up this pace, I force my already-aching legs to move faster, dashing into the forest at the edge of our yard. I dart amongst the trees, staying out of their sight, before finally growing tired. Knowing them, they are probably still chasing me, so I hurriedly climb the first tall tree I come to - the nearest hiding place. Soon, I am comfortably situated on a sturdy, strong branch high enough that I am hidden, but low enough that I can still see my siblings as they come to a stop in the clearing below.
"Drat!" Min pouts. "He got away."
Yong Soo comes up behind her and places a hand on her shoulder. "He's quick and tiny, not to mention smart and agile, like a cat. We'll just have to look harder next time, da~ze," he says, his voice louder than necessary considering he is standing right next to Min. Now that I think about it, they are both speaking louder than they really need to. Yong Soo glances around, lowering his voice before continuing. "D'ya really think it'll work?"
"Of course it will! If he doesn't come home, Yao'll have to go looking for him. We both know he hates having to look for us because we got lost in the woods," Min declares, her voice smug but quiet.
"Unless Ji tattles," Yong Soo points out.
Min just smirks. "He's far too... busy to be a tattletale at the moment."
Two hours after Yong Soo and Min left me sitting alone in the tree, too scared to climb down in case they were hiding nearby, I hear a familiar voice calling in the distance.
"Aniki!" I call, relieved. I jump to the ground, landing on my feet, and race back towards the house, towards the voice of my beloved older brother. When he was finally able to see me, the worried look on his face melts away; he seems to be on the verge of tears as a relieved look floods across his face. When I reach him, I hug him as best I can.
Min lets out an indignant cry, catching everyone's attention. Even Ji and Niran, both of which had just come out of the forest (probably from searching for me), turn to stare.
"We'll talk about this later," Yong Soo hisses, clearly frustrated by something Min has said or done.
Yao sends them an odd look before ushering us all inside. Just before the two of us walk inside, he pulls me off to the side to talk, kneeling down to look me in the eye. Despite the fact that I am half his age, my head only reaches his hip.
"Kiku," Yao whispers, kneeling down and looking me directly in the eye, "if they're doing anything to harm you, in any way, tell me right away, aru. Can you do that for me?"
I nod, knowing I can never tell him. They are not hurting me; not physically, anyway. "I will, Aniki. I promise," I reply softly.
He smiles and ruffles my hair before going inside. I am certain he knows, but does not have proof, that Min and Yong Soo are doing something to me...
His smile never reached his eyes that night.
I know, Taiwan (Min, suggestions for a last name are appreciated. If I don't get any, she'll just be Wang Min) and South Korea (Im Yong Soo) are terribly, painfully out of character, and I doubt China (Wang Yao, Aniki to Japan) is so uber-protective of Japan (Kiku Honda), but it's a STORY. So... all OOC-ness is an artistic license.
I'm sorry, Taiwan and South Korea! You were the first ones I thought of when I thought of the Oriental nations, and I needed someone with a verbal tick so Kiku's tormenters could be differentiated! South Korea's "da~ze" was the first thing to pop into my head other than China's "aru" but he I know they would never be so cruel to Kiku, but... *sobs*
By the way, DISCLAIMER TIME! I don't own Hetalia, borrowed the human names from Writer of a Thousand Colors's story, Log of the End of the World. I own this story, the OOC-ness of the characters, and the FFN account.
