Kiku Honda, a young man from the mountains now mangled physically and mentally had decided to go back to the mountains. He left with everything that man had given to him, leaving behind also what had been taken away from him. The destination changed because of fear being founded and now it was a large forest far from the mountains, a forest where he would wait his destiny.

Kiku's eyes rose from a dead deer he was devouring up and was mildly amused that he had just hunted it down. His eyes didn't show anymore any kind of humanity, they now knew only laws of the wilderness. They have seen destroyed dreams and how the world always assaulted the weakest of humans. His eyes moved from the nearby nature to the mauled deer full of wounds, blood running from them. Desire for warm and cooked meals had gone like yesterdays wind and anything that moved and was consumable were suffice enough for him. He felt how blood was streaming slowly down his chin and droplets of blood fell almost silently on his previously light shirt, it was now dark from being outside through day and night. Maybe it would be always dark and bloody, but he didn't care about it. He dragged his metallic hand over his mouth and chin, most of the blood was gone now and he moved his piercing blue gaze to look far in forest, listening voices.

This would be the last one of these bizarre sudden blackouts when he was finally able to look with his own eyes and hear what the world was saying.

''They truly changed their color'' Ludwig breathed those words quietly, but Kiku heard them perfectly like he hadn't even whispered them out.

You're an animal, grown up to be used and you'll die on his behalf, his brain repeated same thoughts over and over again like a broken machine. He had no power to fight this urge to break these chains, he looked into his eyes looking for an answer that didn't come no matter how long he would stare him.

Suddenly the thought cycle broke and he jumped clumsily on this man shouting ''You murdered me, you made me an animal!''

Ludwig pushed him easily onto the floor, he stood up enraged taking Kiku's wrist twisting it to luxate it, ending up doing the same on the other wrist.

Realisation flashed through his face and soon he was holding Kiku in his lap, pressing his head close to his chest hoping for him to forgive all these corrupted actions ''Forgive, please forgive me!''

He nestled his face into Kiku's dark hair, trying to not cry, he pleaded silently ''A strong hound shouldn't lunge at his keeper...''

Kiku didn't even hear his words, he was concentrating on the suffocating pain in his wrists.

''Für deinen Beste...'' And so the darkness was again his only friend.

He was sure about this feeling, something was in the forest and that one was causing unbalance in atmosphere, causing to most of the animals leaving the nearby area. Kiku still decided to go search out this something, he left the dead deer carcass there and started running in agile movements towards that something. The feel of wind hitting his face was relaxing and calming, but it didn't get his attention from his objective. The forest contained still these same scents that changed every day, but this scent was different and a little bit familiar. It broke the same old scents and was annoyingly putting him off. He got closer and closer and every step gave him more confident about this thought. He - The hunter was here, his scent has changed a little bit, but they always change through times and it had been a long time since the last meeting.

Ludwig took gauzes off from Kiku and giving Kiku to breathe through his nose, leaving only gauzes on his eyes and ears. Kiku's mouth was dry from breathing so long through his mouth, making him immediately close his mouth when the chance came. He took a deep breath and suddenly sneezed loudly when he took his first breath. The air didn't smell like it usually did, now it had dozens of weird scents, making his head dizzy. In the air lingered the scents of wood, faint smell of food, many others and the strongest one was the him who was in front of him, so he concentrated on his scent. He started to realise what Ludwig was doing, he wanted to change him to be his hound. A thought of it was murdering him in his head, especially when he had trusted this person.

When he would meet him, he'll rip his throat open with these teeth. He continued running towards the scent, it grew stronger step by step, but it was still far away. He snarled and his canines showed for nothing. These canines wouldn't show up if Kiku talked like normal humans did, but he could easily break someones skin off and bite into muscle, causing damage. These teeth weren't still from fairy tales, they were like human's canines were, only sharper and now every teeth was sharper from their original shape, unfortunate to him wanting to be normal.

Why it was so dark, why it hurts everywhere on my body, these thoughts ran slow like ink was poured on white paper. Kiku's body was numb, like he was waking up from centuries sleep. Soon he felt a warm touch on his cheek briefly, and shortly his mouth was freed from something, that might have been a cloth. He felt how fingers were forcing his mouth open and Kiku realised a taste of blood in his mouth, he swallowed in panic, trying to get rid of this alarming feeling.

''Für deinen Beste...'' He heard those words faintly and knew who had said them, Ludwig.

Fingers let his mouth be free and Kiku's tongue searched a wound in his mouth. He didn't find any wound, but something had happened to his teeth. His canines were now sharp like beast's, up and down canines had been changed. He tried in his numb state to ensure this information with his tongue rubbing against them, only to get more taste of blood in his mouth. What was happening?

The scent has changed its course, it meant that he ran past it, or the hunter knew he was here. Kiku slowed his pace and walked in a hunched pose silently towards the scent. Animals from this area have are already left it, even if there were many of them, now only a few birds were singing, alarming their fellow ones. Suspicion of hunter bringing his loud companions was obvious and he tried to listen if this was true, only it to be in vain. He jumped like an animal over a stone and felt how metal leaved marks on it, but the scent was close so he didn't care about it. A wind wouldn't be a problem, humans weren't capable to smell like animals did - Like Kiku did. His look turned on a person walking silently, this person was the source of the scent. The hunter, it was him. A jacket was still the same green colored one and he carried a shotgun meant for hunting, a hood covered his head and he knew how mosquitos were trying to get blood from him. He squeezed his metallic hands in fists.

Why did he agree on this, this thought ran through his head many times on that day. These gloves had caused bleeding, when sharp metallic pieces were sinking into his skin, breaking it in the end. Ludwig tried to calm him, holding Kiku close to him, like he was a puppy and bandaging his wounds with gauzes to avoid new wounds to appear.

''Für deinen Beste...'' Ludwig muttered these words and gave a swift kiss on his crown, making him think he was a hound waiting his reward.

He then left him alone for a moment to make some tea for both of them. Kiku hadn't understood what he had said, but he recognise it to be his native language and believed that these gloves were only a huge joke. He lulled into this thought, giving him comfort and soon he was drinking tea. Tea has been always the one to get him calmed and relaxed, but who would have know that tea would advance the orders that were given to his friend.

A leap and he was on a hunter's neck, the gun flew into the undergrowth, disappearing somewhere in twigs. Kiku sank his glove's sharp claws into hunter's shoulders, but soon the land met them and it met them hard, it still didn't matter when they were fighting for domination. Kiku didn't give up and soon he was on top of him chocking him with one hand and one hand was holding his shoulder to stop him prying like a fish. The wounds were already bleeding, now coloring the jacket around the wounds. For Kiku's surprise, he didn't meet hunter's sharp blue eyes, but he met red eyes with tints of violet, like somebody had poured a little bit of blue in them. He recognised him as a hunter's brother, he had only heard a few things about him, like he was albino looking and you'll know if he's nearby with his attitude showing sometimes a little bit too much.

He wanted to choke him to his death as a message to hunter, he was opening his mouth to verbally abuse him, but this man decided to give his speech first ''Checkmate!''

A strong foot collided on Kiku's right rib and he automatically ended up in a hunched pose in middle of twigs, only to be realising who came from, where the wind went, giving him a reason to this unpredictable assault. He looked how he helped his brother up and he gave his own look of you're only a prey on Kiku.

''Ludwig...'' Kiku said it with voice wavering a little bit, he was unaccumosted to speaking, in the forests there was no need to speak.

He didn't even want to talk, only kill this man standing here.

A request was sudden one, but it was clear one. Ludwig asked him to be his hound for hunting. Kiku questioned the meaning of this request and he explained as it would be only him looking for good places, where animals would be, like he had done it on the mountains. He accepted this, because Ludwig gave him a chance to live in his house. For his surprise Kiku got equipments for being ''a hound'', a clothes that could withstand any weather and weird gloves, if you could even call them gloves. They looked like they were stolen from a knight's armour, they were metallic and otherwise normal. Only that they looked like a beast's paw with sharp claws, like he was the true beast from fairy tales.

''Murderer, they were right!'' Kiku kept stammering over his words and made murdering glares at both of them.

Ludwig posed his hunting rifle better and made a quick glance at his brother, who was picking his shotgun from the ground and moved his gaze back to Kiku ''I've not murdered nobody or nothing, only killed.''

His brother gave a silent laugh and was back beside the hunter, now making serious look on Ludwig ''He won't understand, he would have been good at hunting, but who can fight against it if their mind just snaps in two pieces from helping...''

''Helping? You've been only destroying my humanity, you have...'' Kiku shouted, now standing trying make him look taller and indimitating than he truly was.

''I've been doing everything for your best... Für deinen Beste.''

Kiku didn't care if he now knew those words, they were now only lies.

''He speaks the truth. If other people knew your way of hunting...''

Ludwig interrupted his brother and told his own version ''Government wanted hounds for hunting, but hounds die in a few years. They requested humans... That's why this has happened to you...''

Lies, lies and more lies. Kiku shouted like a wild animal would and ran towards Ludwig, he didn't care about the consequences, he would get his peace when at least the hunter is dead. Then he would leave this forest, go to the mountains and forget this part of his life.

When he took his first steps on a gravel road from a rocky path, he saw how he was waiting there, bathing in sunlight. Kiku walked walked calmly towards Ludwig and gave a polite greeting and he greeted him back. This man, known as a cold blooded hunter was for him more than a friend, he was for him like a brother. Ludwig had respected his polite gesture to show him a best hunting places in the mountains and he had promised to keep them as a secret. He had given him a chance to live with him, so he would get to know more of the world than just the mountains. He had heard briefly about him wanting to hunt in a forest that was far away from the mountains. The thought was silent but still there - He doesn't have hounds meant for hunting, you don't need them on mountains, but in a forest they are reliable and needed.

The hunter hadn't shot animals for nothing. He had seen, read and has experience how to hunt. One human can't end his life, not even if it was a hound, a beast or mutilated human. Kiku should have remembered it, if he knew the plants from the mountains and the mountains itself like his own home, then why didn't he remember how the hunter acted with a gun. The hunter will shoot the threat. A gunshot and Kiku fell onto the ground lifeless, fast and painless way to go. Ludwig lowered his rifle, secured it and putted it on his back slowly.

''How's the government going to react to this?'' Ludwig's brother questioned and looked at him.

''They won't react to this. Our only job was to bring him back or kill him if this would fail. It's better this way, no one won't use him anymore...'' Für deinen Beste Kiku - Auf Wiedersehen.

Kiku Honda, this young man from the mountains, living there a modest and silent life. He knew the mountains, its animals and plants perfectly. He lived there in a peaceful village in the mountains, this village was isolated from the valley's village, where life demanded more than a knowledge of wildlife. He knew, this day would change something when the sun rose and he walked through this village. He stood out like ink on white paper, visible as the sun on this day. He was tall and he had light hair, when almost the whole village was opposite of him. They claimed him to be a hunter, but they labeled him as a murderer, Kiku didn't care what people were saying, he showed him politely around the mountains and helped him hunt animals when everyone else would have left him there, but Kiku stayed by his side. No one would have known that Ludwig Beilschmidt would change his life.

Notes

If you didn't understand what italics are, then read them from down to up.

Hetalia and characters are made by Himaruya Hidekaz

[Facts about hunting might be wrong, do don't use them]

I own only the plot
I don't mean to offend you, your country, beliefs, religion etc.
You can tell me how I can improve and I try my best to change it.

Edit - Thank you for the Guest for reviewing this! You made me realise that the dialogue was written in one of the worst ways possible, so I hopefully changed it better for reading. And yes, italics are meant to confuse at the start, but only to learn that Kiku is looking through his memories. Thank you again!

[This oneshot is also on Deviantart]