Disclaimer: I do not own Axis Powers Hetalia.

Because I Love You

Prologue

The hollow sound of the heavy door closing echoed loudly throughout the empty house, resonating off the walls and the high ceilings. When the deafening sound died away, it left behind a deafening silence in its' place. A silence so dense with the sense of nothingness, that it could provoke one into losing one's sanity.

And losing control was exactly what happened to Wang Yao. He was just barely able to keep himself together as his knees hit the hard floor, his hands thrown forward. Palms pressed down into the bamboo flooring, his fingers clawing the wood. White fury blazed in his fiery eyes and he gritted his teeth as his entire body shook viciously. For a long moment, Yao remained there on the floor of the oversized room, taking large, ragged breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth. Again, the room echoed with every intake of air and every exhalation. The sound filled Yao's ears and when he thought his ears would split from the awful ringing, he threw his head back, squeezing his eyes closed and released a loud shout, the roar ripping from his lungs into the empty air.

The silence was still there. All at once, the anger Yao had felt dwindled and now he only registered a deep feeling of grief and loss in his torn heart. Strength literally bled from the fresh wound on his back, rapidly sucking away his energy. Hanging his head, Yao opened his eyes a fraction, his vision blurred from the tears which were filling his eyes and descending to the floor. Everywhere he looked he could see a ghost, a ghost of someone who was now gone. Everything he touched, the air he breathed, the scents left behind, it was all a cruel reminder of the absence of the one so special and so precious to him. The one he loved.

Honda Kiku was gone.

Overwhelmed with disbelief, denial and detriment, Yao cried out again, though this time his voice was much weaker as though he were squeezing out the last drops of energy that were left inside.

"Why Kiku? Why?"

There was no one there to give him any answers. He couldn't understand. He didn't want to understand. All Yao wished was for Kiku to be back with him again right here beside him, then everything would be okay. It would all go back to the way they had been. The way they had been before Kiku…

"No, no…"

Yao's forehead now rested against the bamboo flooring. Blood drenched his clothes, weighing them down, irritating the gaping gash which ran from his left shoulder all the way down to his right hipbone. The mark would most definitely scar his skin and would become a stigma, a stain of shame, dishonour and infamy—Kiku's stain, not his.

Because it was Kiku who was the betrayer, wasn't it?

"No, no…"

Whispering the word repeatedly to himself, Yao clenched his fists and heaved his body up. The long, dark strands of his hair fell over his eyes like a veil, the roots moist with perspiration. Right now, more than anything at all, Yao just wanted to go after Kiku and bring him back. Then he could hold Kiku close again. He would never let him go.

But, Yao knew that it was too late for that. Kiku was gone. Maybe he had been gone long ago and Yao just hadn't noticed. Even if he had been physically present, was it possible that his heart had long left this place?

"No, no…"

Yao's head was beginning to fog from exhaustion and pain. Left, unable to figure anything out, unable to take any action. He might as well treat his wound since it was screaming for attention, though he cared little for it. Honestly, it was the least of his worries now.

However, with nothing else to do, Yao lifted a shaky hand and pushed his hair out of his face. It was then that his eyes caught sight of a shadow, dark against the light illuminating from the lanterns placed in the corners of the room. It took a moment for Yao to recognise what it was in his state of fatigue. It was…

A gasp escaped Yao's lips. Instantly, all sense of pain was forgotten and Yao leaped forward, staggering toward the table which stood in the centre of the room. His eyes widened as he drew his face closer to the object sitting atop the table.

There, stood a magnificent vase spilling with hydrangeas. The beauty of the flowers with their many petals was so great that they appeared to almost melt in Yao's eyes. Lowering his gaze to the vase, Yao's breath was stolen at the sight of chrysanthemums, floating amongst a flurry of jade leaves painted exquisitely against the transparent porcelain of the vase. Due to the transparency of the vase, the water inside was visible through the porcelain, making it as though Yao were looking upon a tiny, glistening river. Who could have possibly produced something so perfect, so…magical?

Yao froze. Yao only knew one person who painted like this. Anger began to boil again, robbing Yao temporarily of the joy he had gained from the flowers and the artwork. His first thought, driven by the anger he was experiencing, was to rip the flowers to shreds and smash the vase apart into millions of shards. But as he stared down at the hydrangeas a thought crossed his mind. Hydrangeas, hydrangeas…

Hydrangeas, a symbol of gratitude, enlightenment and love.

Against his initial intentions, Yao could not bring himself to harm the vase of flowers before him. Tears continued to slide down Yao's face and the shimmering droplets fell into the vase and vanished into the water inside. Tenderly, Yao wrapped his fingers around the rounded surface of the vase. This was a gift, Yao realised, a gift from him. From his dear, beloved Kiku.

Then why, why had this all happened?

"Kiku!"

::O:::O:::O:::O::

NOTE: Hi! So, after writing some AsaKiku fics, I really wanted to write a ChuNi again! There's been no actual Kiku in the prologue but lots of him to come in the next chapters!

Was the prologue okay? I hope you enjoyed it!