It was December 7th and Kiku Honda was standing in front of Alfred F. Jones just before the Pearl Harbor attack. He failed in stopping his country's government, so all the Personifications of the countries of the World were gathered in secret.
They knew about it all, you see. Every attack and plan involving the war went through them. The Personifications told each other but not the other world leaders. They act it all out. They reflected the people. All they did was deal with and take the damage. They have no control over it. Something like this, however, gave them the strength to resist this instinct and act on their own. While they always feel the emotions of their people, disasters like this give them scars. Alfred would feel this attack and it would hurt him... a lot.
Kiku hated it. His people were attacking innocent and unsuspecting people. He knew that something had to be done, his people needed the oil, but this did not meet his approval. This was stabbing them in the back while they weren't looking. It was a low blow and dishonorable.
The first wave came and Alfred screamed, the pain blinding him and making him collapse. Kiku caught him and went about treating the slash wound that was dangerously close to the American's heart. The wound disturbed him deeply. It was too similar to a katana slash.
The second wave saw Alfred weeping like a baby. He felt everything his people were feeling. He felt the terror of the civilians. He felt anger of the Navy men. He felt the horror and grief of the people in the mainland once it reached them.
Kiku was barely holding himself back from acting on the will of his people. Some were sickeningly proud of the attack. Some felt nothing. He found some relief, though, when he felt that others were feeling guilty.
It took two days for the minds of the Japanese man and the American man to clear enough for them to act on their own. He said one thing to Kiku before stumbling away to let his people see the damage to his form.
"They're going to retaliate, Kiku, and when they do, I'll be right by you."
August 6th years later met Alfred on Kiku's front porch. There was no time to assemble the others. There was only a half an hour till the attack that he couldn't stop. He made Kiku lay down and then it hit. Now, Kiku was the one screaming in pain. He felt the terror, horror, anger, and confusion of the people. A bullet wound appeared on his left shoulder.
As Alfred treated the wound he felt the confliction among his people. Some felt guilty that it had come to this while others felt that the Japanese deserved it. Alfred hated it.
Alfred stayed with Kiku. The Japanese man was having trouble using his left arm. That's why Alfred was there when Nagasaki fell.
They both felt the same emotions from their people, but they were overwhelmed by their own emotions.
Kiku was filled with horrified wonder. Why would they level another city? Wasn't one enough?
Alfred was overcome with terrifying rage. They had told him that Hiroshima would be the only bombing like that. They said they only made one and if it failed or they didn't surrender, they would attack the mainland bases. They lied. They made more than one and intended to use as many as necessary. They lied to his face, playing him for a fool.
Alfred stayed with Kiku for a while after the war. He let his country take care of everything for a while, letting them flounder a bit before returning. That was all he could do, really, without causing another civil war.
After everything, though, Alfred and Kiku made a promise. They would be the first ones at each other's sides in disaster whether their people helped each other or not. And they kept that promise.
None of the other Personifications really knew that World War 2 was The Cause of The Promise. "I'll always be right there. No matter what."
