This is my first Hetalia fanfic. Up to now, I've been typing just Rune Factory fanfics and a Hetalia crossover. So… review 'prease'? *w*
I thought of this idea when I was revising for history exams. Japan was engaged in many wars against many countries: China, Russia, Korea, America, Manchuria, Indo-China, Southeast Asia and many others. So I decided to make this collection of Japanese wars. Also, this will also help me in my history exams, even though it's just a little, it's still worth it. Two birds with one stone~
Yeah, I know… I lied… for those who know ;) Those who don't… don't ask…
Italics=The past events
First Sino-Japanese War (1 August 1894 - 17 April 1895)
China sighed as he sat at his porch under the moonlight. He didn't know where he went wrong; he didn't even know if he made any mistakes, and he didn't know what changed his beloved Japan…
He slowly brushed a hand over his wounds, wincing from the slight stinging pain. The wounds he received during the Opium Wars and the Sino-French War were still in the process of recovering. He looked at his still recovering wounds and sighed. Of all times, Japan chose this time…
Leaning against a pillar, he looked up at the night sky and saw the beauty of the full moon. How long had it been since he spent time together with Japan looking at the moon? Far too long… It was too late for him now… And China blamed himself for everything…
Sweet memories floated back to China. The memories of the time he first found his beloved Japan, all alone in a bamboo forest…
A lone figure walked through a dense bamboo forest. It was a beautiful spring morning. The birds were singing and the earth was dotted by colorful plants that popped out from the ground after a long, harsh winter. He had no idea where he was going and no idea of his motive to wander in the lush green bamboo forests. The political issues had caused the man to have a lot of weight placed on his old shoulders. The soft breeze blew through the leaves of the bamboo and created a soothing atmosphere, slowly calming the man down.
Just when the man was enjoying the serene environment, he heard the crunch of snow under someone's feet. Jolting from his relaxed pose, he followed the sounds and made his way through the bamboo forest again.
What he saw surprised him: another lone figure, hardly bigger than his beloved panda, was standing in the middle of the forest. After a closer inspection, he found that the small figure was a young boy who had shiny black hair and little brown eyes. The young boy was wearing an oversized blue kimono and small pants.
Something about the young boy caught his heart. He felt the need to take care of this boy. The boy looked so fragile, so adorable and he was all alone in this big, scary world.
Slowly, China went closer to the young boy. The young boy noticed him and looked into China's golden eyes with his brown eyes. Smiling, China greeted the young boy. "Hello, you must be a new country. You're so tiny, aru."
The boy looked at him with an expressionless face and unamused eyes. After seeing this, China continued. "I'm China. You can also call me Wang Yao."
"Konnichiwa," said the young boy, speaking up for the first time. "It's nice to meet you, China where the sun sets. I'm Japan, where the sun rises."
China was stunned by the young nation's words. It was their first meeting and he was already acting so rude. "Aiyah! You're so rude, aru!" he yelled.
Even while China was yelling, Japan didn't flinch. Finally, China stopped and dropped to Japan's level. "It's okay," he said. "I forgive you. Just try not to be so rude in the future." Knowing his little mistake, Japan gave China a bow to ask for forgiveness. "Gomen nasai. I'm sorry Yao-kun."
China looked at the small nation. He may seem small and frail, but with proper training and the correct guidance, he could be a skillful warrior. China smiled. He wanted to be the person to guide Japan down the right path. After thinking about it for a while, he made his decision and proceeded to ask Japan.
"Japan, would you like me to be your guardian, aru?" he asked the small nation. Japan looked at him with those same emotionless brown eyes and answered. "I'm fine with it, Onii-san."
"Onii-san?" asked China. He wondered why would the young boy whom he had just met request for him to be his elder brother. "I want you to be my big brother," said Japan as he hugged China.
China smiled at Japan's little request. He gently picked Japan up and walked out of the bamboo forest and towards his home. As he walked, Japan nuzzled against his deep green Chinese military uniform. It was then when China realized something. "Japan, do you have a name, aru?"
Japan looked up at China and slowly shook his head. "Right, how about we give you a name now?" He looked about and caught sight of a flowerbed full of blooming chrysanthemums, then a thought came to his head. Smiling, he turned to Japan and asked. "How about Kiku, aru? Honda Kiku?"
China thought about it. Kiku does sound nice; it's the name of chrysanthemums in Japanese and Japan does look like a little chrysanthemum. Honda does sound like a nice surname too; it sounds almost similar to Nihon, which is the name of Japan's country in Japanese. Japan seemed satisfied with the name looked back at China and curled his lips upwards, giving him a genuine smile. He received a smile in return from the older nation.
Honda Kiku… China liked this little boy, and vowed to protect him at all costs. He would treat him like how an elder brother should treat his little brother and would lead him down the right path…
China mentally cursed himself. He swore that he'll lead Japan down the right path, but look what Japan's doing now: fighting in a war to take over his own brother, Korea. He wondered how war had changed Japan so much, how could it make the shine in Japan's eyes fade and how could it change Japan into someone who will betray his own family.
Sure, Japan and South Korea didn't get along very well, but a family is a family. Japan can't just hurt his family like that, no matter how much he dislikes South Korea. South Korea may be a handful, but family members should love each other, no matter what…
A gust of wind blew at his face and memories suddenly came flowing back from the summer when he took Japan's younger 'siblings' in. He could still remember how cute Taiwan was and how hyper the little South Korea was and how quiet Hong Kong was. Slowly, his lips curved up and he smiled for the first time in a long time at the memory…
"Kiku, I'm home, aru," said China. He heard the sound of little feet making contact with the floor as Japan emerged. He was about to jump into China's arms before he realized that they had company.
Beside China were a young girl and two young boys who seem younger than Japan. He gave China a questioning glance before China knelt down and introduced them to each other.
"Kiku, this is Taiwan, aru," he said as he patted the girl. Japan looked at the girl. She had long brown hair and brown eyes. A curly strand of hair stuck out from the right side of her head. She wore a peach colored qipao with long flowing sleeves and had a pink flower at the side of her head. She looked at Japan and smiled. "I'm Taiwan! You can call me Meimei too! Who are you?"
"…I'm Japan... But you can call me Kiku… Honda Kiku…" said Japan quietly. Taiwan looked at Japan and seemed to take interest in the young boy. After noticing that Taiwan was checking him out, Japan's face flushed a deep crimson red. She smiled at him and giggled. "I like you; you look so cute when you blush."
Japan tried to look away from Taiwan before another boy went over to him and grabbed his 'breasts' from behind. He squealed and ran off to hide behind China.
China laughed at Japan's first 'encounter' with South Korea and patted his head. "It's okay Kiku, that's South Korea, aru." Then he looked over at South Korea and said sternly. "South Korea, you shouldn't do that, aru, especially to someone you just met."
"His breasts belong to me, da-ze!" yelled South Korea in protest. Then he looked behind China and greeted Japan. "Hi! I'm South Korea da-ze! But you can call me Im Yong Soo! You're Japan right? Or should I call you Kiku da-ze?"
"…You can call me Kiku…just Kiku…" said Japan as he observed South Korea. He had brown hair and brown eyes. He also had a flyaway curl with a face on the right side of his head. He was wearing a white and navy blue hanbok with long oversized sleeves.
After a while, Japan tried to ignore South Korea and looked away. While doing so, he caught sight of the other boy standing in a corner. He had dark brown hair and light brown eyes. He wore a burgundy duangua with oversized sleeves and dark brown trousers. He also has thick eyebrows which seemed to amuse Japan.
China noticed Japan looking at Hong Kong and smiled before nudging Japan to go over to the idle Hong Kong. "Kiku, this is Hong Kong. Hong Kong, this is Japan or Kiku."
Hong Kong just looked over at Japan with an expressionless face and Japan did the same. China's smile wavered a little. Hong Kong and Japan seemed to have the same quietness. They might have trouble getting along…
"I'm Kiku…" said Japan quietly. "Nice to meet you…?"
"... Jia Long… Wang Jia Long…" answered Hong Kong as he looked away. Japan did suit and China sighed. Japan needs to get closer to his younger siblings…
China smiled a little at the memory. Japan had a little trouble adapting to his new siblings at first, but after a while, he got used to them, even though he and South Korea may have a little problem with each other.
"No…"China thought out loud as he shook his head. "It's not just a little problem… Kiku is having a war with Yong Soo. How can that be a little problem, aru?"
After a while, China looked up to see the sun rising in the horizon. Even though it was a beautiful dawn, China couldn't help but frown sadly. "Japan… where the sun rises…" he whispered softly to himself. "Honda Kiku… my little Kiku… This is my entire fault…"
Slowly, he stood up and went back to his house. He walked down an isolated hallway and entered a room.
The room was red as dark as blood and was adorned by many military weapons. Sighing, China went over to a particular chest and took out a long, curved sword which glittered in the early morning sun rays that filtered through the windows. He never thought that he'll ever use that sword, but now's not the time to be thinking about such things…
He sheathed his sword back into its sheath and changed out of his casual clothes and into his deep green military uniform. His panda whom just woke up looked up at him with sleepy eyes. China couldn't help but give it a smile, even though his eyes had dark rings as dark as his panda's due to the sleepless night he had.
After making the necessary preparations, China took a deep breath and exited his home without looking back…
xxxxx
China slashed his way through the Japanese and Korean soldiers, causing blood to pour in every direction. He couldn't believe that he would kill so many lives in just fifteen minutes. He may regret about this later, but right now, there are only two things in his head…
Japan and South Korea…
Both of his brothers were fighting somewhere in the battlefield and China was desperately trying to find them while killing his way through both the Japanese and Korean soldiers. His muscles ached and his throat burned, but he continued on without looking back…
After an eternity, China finally found the two brothers in a fierce duel. South Korea looked like he was about to fall while Japan looked like he could still go on without getting tired. It was obvious that Japan would win; he had more combat experience compared to South Korea while South Korea had little to no experience. China was amazed by the fact that South Korea was still able to keep standing.
At the corner of his eye, China caught sight of a Korean soldier with a rifle, ready to shoot Japan through his heart. Even though Japan may be the one who caused blood to be shed, China didn't want his beloved brother to fall in front of him. Charging at the Korean soldier with his sword raised, he cleanly slashed the soldier's head off. "Leave my Kiku alone!"
Unfortunately, Japan noticed him and snickered before kicking South Korea down. "It's so nice to see you here Yao-san," he said in a dangerous tone of voice before stepping on South Korea. Even though he was being stepped on, South Korea made no move to fight back. He just lied there on the blood-covered ground, clawing at the brown earth. "You're just in time to see me end Yong Soo's life here." When China gave him a horrified look, he smiled cruelly at him and continued. "Don't worry, you'll get yours later." Then, he turned back towards South Korea and raised his sword, ready to slice South Korea's head off.
China's first instinct is to look away from the murder scene, but he mentally slapped himself. His beloved Japan is about to kill his own younger brother! How could he look away now? Drawing his sword, he blocked Japan's katana which was just a few centimeters from South Korea's neck.
"Kiku! How can you do this, aru?" he yelled over the noise of the battlefield. "He's your brother, aru! How did you sink so low? Is it my fault for not raising you properly?"
Japan did nothing other than withdrawing his katana and looking away, avoiding China's golden eyes. China wasn't satisfied with his response and pulled Japan to face him again. "Kiku aru! What happened to the sweet little Kiku I've known?"
"… That 'sweet little Kiku'… is no longer here…" said Japan in a low voice before walking away. Then, he changed his mind turned to give China a cold glare. "You interrupted my kill…" he said while unsheathing his katana again. "You need punishment… Onii-san…" Then, he pointed the katana dangerously at China.
China didn't seem to be frightened by Japan's actions. Instead he said in a bold voice. "I raised you, aru. I fed you, I took care of you, I sang songs to you to sleep every night, I tried to guide you down the right path… and this is how you repay me?"
As if China's words had got through Japan, he placed his katana down and said softly. "… You're right…" China smiled as he thought that Japan would end this war and that peace will return to their family. "Thank you Kiku, aru," thanked China.
But he spoke too soon. The minute China turned his back to help South Korea, who was down the whole time China was trying to knock some sense into Japan, he felt an unfamiliar sensation of something just ripping through his back. He jolted his head back to face Japan, and to his horror, Japan's katana was raised and stained with blood from his back.
To Japan, the feeling of his katana slicing through China's back like that is just like slicing bread with a breadknife. He was so used to torturing people that it was normal to him. He tried to hide his evil smirk, even though he knew that betraying and hurting the person who raised you was wrong, he couldn't help but feel pleasure from hurting China.
Blood shot out of China's back like a fountain. He screamed from the pain tearing through his back. It wasn't just the pain from the wound that hurt him; it was the pain from his broken heart… he was feeling pain because the boy he had loved so much actually prided in hurting him…
China toppled onto the ground beside South Korea, weak from the blood loss. Japan knelt beside his guardian and pressed two cold fingers onto his wounded back, making China scream from the pain from the contact. Then, Japan leaned in and whispered in China's ear. "I'm so sorry Onii-san… But this has to be done…" With that, Japan went over to South Korea and kicked his seeming lifeless body.
"Get up," he commanded sternly. South Korea didn't comply; he just laid there, clawing at the earth while muttering curses at his older brother. Frowning, Japan kicked South Korea again with more force. "I said get up!" he yelled at his younger brother.
With all the energy left in him, South Korea looked up at his brother, his brown eyes meeting Japan's as he glared fiercely at him. "Why should I obey your orders, Honda Kiku?" growled South Korea. "You have no right to take over my country or torture my people. I know that we had never been in good terms, I don't mind if you hurt me, but my people and Aniki are innocent, you have no rights to hurt them!"
How dare he? Japan thought angrily as he took a handful of sulphur from his pocket and threw it at South Korea's face, making sure to blind his younger brother's eyes with the sulphur. Once the sulphur landed in his eyes, South Korea immediately yelled and tried to get the sulphur out of his eyes. Japan saw this and gave him a punch and began to grind South Korea's left hand with the flat of his katana. "This is what you get for disobeying me and talking back," warned Japan as he turned the blade and began pressing it into South Korea's hand. Blood flowed from South Korea's hand and stained Japan's already blood-stained military uniform. Seeing South Korea struggle blindly only fueled his sick pleasure as he pressed harder into South Korea's hand. He pressed so deep until he could even feel South Korea's bones crack under the force of his blade.
Japan enjoyed torturing his younger brother very much. He felt as if he was showing his stubborn brother who's the boss around here. Looking down at the ground, he saw the claw marks South Korea made on the brown earth and he smiled evilly when he thought of a way to torture his brother even more.
"Yong Soo, you seemed to be very interested in playing with the soil just now eh?" said Japan slyly as he took a handful of soil. "Would you want a taste of it?" Without waiting for South Korea's response, Japan forced South Korea's mouth open and stuffed it with handfuls of soil. South Korea gave a muffled scream as Japan continued stuffing his mouth with soil. He couldn't bear his brother's torture anymore and raised his unbroken hand to swat blindly at Japan. Unfortunately, he managed to hit Japan, but it only fueled Japan's anger.
Japan stood up and jerked his younger brother up by grabbing the back of his military uniform. South Korea screamed in pain and flailed about, trying his best to at least give Japan some damage. Japan didn't flinch from his younger brother's attempt to hurt him. Instead, he began to drag his younger brother away from his elder brother, ignoring their cries and pleas.
"Aniki da-ze!" screamed South Korea who was being dragged away. "Help me!"
China was out cold during the time Japan was torturing South Korea, but upon hearing his youngest brother's desperate cries, China was jolted awake. He tried to force himself to stand, but unfortunately, the darkness took over him.
"Kiku… please aru…" was the only audible sound made by him before he passed out once more.
Turning around, Japan saw that China had fallen and changed his mind. He roughly pushed South Korea away, saying, "I'll spare your lives… but Korea now belongs to me…" With that, he rammed South Korea's head with his boot, making South Korea pass out from the impact.
Smirking, Japan turned to look at the battlefield. Many corpses and injured soldiers dotted the field, but most of them were Korean soldiers. The Japanese soldiers outnumbered the remaining Korean soldiers and quickly wiped them all out, leaving only corpses of Korean soldiers on the battlefield. The Japanese soldiers cheered for they had won the battle and Korea was rightfully theirs.
Japan went over to his troupes and raised the Hinomaru proudly, yelling out. "Watashitachi wa motteimas katte imas!"
xxxxx
It was a beautiful mid-autumn night. The Chinese nation's yard was decorated with beautiful lanterns of all shapes and colors. The children ran about, happily playing with candles and lanterns while China sat on the ground against a tree which had leaves ranging from yellowish-brown to maple-brown. Opening a box of mooncakes, China brought a lotus-paste mooncake up to his mouth and chewed on it slowly while enjoying the beautiful full moon in the autumn night sky which was covered with millions of stars.
"Onii-san…" said a small voice. China looked down to see his beloved Japan tugging at his mandarin jacket. "Don't you want to come and light the candles and lanterns with us?"
China patted Japan's head and smiled. "You all go on ahead, aru. I'll be here eating mooncakes. You can choose a lantern for me if you want to, aru."
Japan then ran off to join his younger siblings who were playing with candles and lanterns. He pointed at a Hello Kitty lantern* hanging on a tree and said. "That lantern should be perfect for Onii-san."
Taiwan on the other hand shook her head and pointed at a panda-shaped lantern*. "No, that Panda lantern is cuter than that Hello Kitty one."
"That one must be the best one for Aniki da-ze!" shouted South Korea as he pointed at a Pikachu shaped lantern*.
"I object…" said Hong Kong as he pointed at a traditional red lantern*. "That one should be for Yao …"
The children continued bickering for quite some time before China went over and stopped them. "Now, now, aru," he said quietly. "It's a festival to celebrate. Why is there need to fight? It's okay, I don't need a lantern when I have you little lanterns here to celebrate Mid-Autumn festival with me," said China as he smiled at his younger siblings. They laughed and jumped at him, bringing him into their group hug. China laughed as his younger siblings giggled and laughed while sitting on top of him.
After a while, they went over to China's porch and sat down, eating mooncakes while gazing at the beauty of the full moon.
"Look," he said as he pointed at the moon. "The rabbits are making medicine and mooncake on the moon."
Nibbling on his green tea paste mooncake, Japan shook his head and corrected China. "No, they're pounding mochi on the moon."
"No!" yelled South Korea, tossing his red bean mooncake away. "They must be making kimchi on the moon da-ze!"
Hong Kong and Taiwan just sat there silently eating their lotus paste mooncakes, not wanting to join their brothers' debate.
"Yao!" cried a voice. China felt someone placing a towel on his forehead and crying softly. Slowly, he opened his golden eyes and saw a pair of tear-filled brown eyes looking back at him. "Yao! You're awake! Jia Long! He's awake!"
"Meimei? Where am I?" asked China as he tried to sit up. But when he did, pain shot up his back and he gave a cry of pain before lying back down.
"…Yao…" said Hong Kong as he placed a hand on China's shoulder. "… Don't try to get up… you'll just hurt yourself…"
"And you're at home Yao, it's okay," said Taiwan as she gave her brother's hand a gentle squeeze.
Groaning, China tried to remember the events that took place before he passed out. "Kiku…" was all he said when he finally remembered. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks as he remembered how his beloved little brother betrayed his own family.
Sensing that China was thinking about Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan tried to calm him down. "It's okay Yao…" said Taiwan softly.
"…Kiku betrayed us…" said Hong Kong softly. "…Let's just forget about that ungrateful brat…"
Hong Kong's words hit him like a ton of bricks. How could he forget about Japan? Sure, Japan betrayed his own siblings, his own family, but how could China forget about him?
"Sure, but Jia Long, Kiku is still part of our family da-ze," said a voice. Everyone's heads turned to the source of the voice. South Korea was sitting on a wheelchair at the doorway, his left arm was in a sling and he was covered in bandages.
"Yong Soo aru!" cried China as he shot up like a bullet, ignoring the pain from his back. "Are you alright, aru?"
"Of course da-ze!" said South Korea with a smile. "I'm not South Korea for nothing!"
Sighing, China laid back on the bed. Tears started to form in his eyes as he allowed them to be free. In his mind, there's only one thing, or rather, person…
Kiku… My sweet little Honda Kiku…
Author's notes: I know that Hong Kong has no official human name, but the potential names for him are Wang Jia Long and Li Xiao Chun. I thought that Jia Long sounds cuter so I put it as Hong Kong's human name~
The next one might be the war between Russia and Japan (Russo-Japanese War). Look forward to it people. And please review my first Hetalia fic!
*#1, 2 & 3: Yes, nowadays, there's been lanterns of all shapes and sizes. My Onii-chan has a Pikachu lantern and my mei mei has a Hello Kitty one. Me? Look below :P
*#4: Traditional Chinese lanterns are usually red because of the 'Nian' legend. 'Nian' is a monster who will venture into people's homes and kill them during the last night of the year in the Chinese calendar. To scare 'Nian' away, people hang up red lanterns to ensure their safety. Of course, it's just a legend. If it's true, why am I still alive? XP My family do hang up lanterns, but we forgot to last year. I prefer traditional ones over modern lanterns.
EDIT #1: I've decided to edit this to make Japan a bit more sadistic, and also to improve it a little. Sorry if it's not much, I have ballet exams coming soon. Also, sorry if my Japanese is terrible. I didn't use Google translate; I just trusted my Japanese grammar and shits. My sensei hates me, do you guys know that? XD