Me no own Hetalia! And Internet is bad, so sorry, can't say much more!
"Mmn…?" Li forced her eyes open, waking herself from the bizarre dream of blackness and Kuzon and Ru. Her vision was blurry, eyes reluctant to work, but she could make out several figures standing over her. One was Germany: next to him was a man with white hair and red eyes that Li recognized from the meeting earlier. And, looming on the opposite side of her bed…was Russia.
"Good morning!" The nation chirped cheerfully, the childish smile Li was learning to expect from him plastered across his face. "Did you sleep well?"
Li's mind flickered back to her dream-vision-thing, then deserted her altogether as she stared at the imposing nation-personification. A tiny part of her giggled inwardly at the phrase (Nation-personification, it rhymes, teehee!) while the rest of her just blanked out. Not that she wanted to look like an idiot, staring at a man who was well over half a foot taller than her—probably three-quarters of a foot, if she got down to it—with wide eyes and a mouth hanging slightly open.
Yeah, their estimations of her intelligence level must be so high right now.
"I have water!" Hungary announced triumphantly, entering the room. Salvation! Li thought, thankful she wouldn't have to answer the question now. "Oh, Li's awake? Thank goodness! I was getting worried! Li, how are you feeling?"
"Huh? Um—I'm alright?" Li forced herself to look away from Russia's creepy stare, which was harder than it sounded. The sheer intensity of his gaze—which was currently giving a serial killer-esque impression—was fixating. It made Li feel like a trapped jackalope, staring up at the saber-toothed moose-lion or platypus bear about to eat it. And she hated feeling like that, mostly because it seemed to be a very common state to find herself in lately, whenever she fought one of her many enemies in the Tóngyī ShÌjiè.
"Oh, that's good! Here, I brought some water. There's warm water in case you were cold, but I don't think you'll need that now, and a pitcher of ice-water if you're thirsty." Hungary deposited her armful onto the vanity, and turned to face Li. "Lithuania should be along in a little bit with some more pillows and blankets—we didn't know how long you were going to be asleep, so we thought you might be more comfortable if we added some blankets."
"Um…I'm fine, thanks…" Li's mind still felt woozy from whatever had happened, and she wasn't sure she could keep up with the present moment. It wasn't that she was tired—no, she felt very awake. The closest thing this could be compared to was the effects of Shirshu poison, which numbed the body and mind while keeping the victim mostly aware. Though there seemed to be a small amount of loopiness as well that was similar to the time Li had accidentally consumed cactus juice. For the record, she blamed the Avatar. Everything had been his fault, as usual.
"So," Russia sat down on the bed, and Li involuntarily flinched away. Everyone else looked uneasy too, but Li was probably feeling worst out of all of them. Especially because Russia leaned in somewhat before continuing to speak. "What did you dream about?"
Li stiffened, automatically shrinking away from Russia. What did she dream about? What sort of question was that? Did he…did he have some way of knowing what she was? Who she was? But how? How could he know? Would they throw her in jail? Torture her? Nausea rose up in Li's stomach, accompanied by an icy pang of terror. She…was she going to be killed? Die, before Ru had a chance to find her, to save her?
"Russia, perhaps you should go end the meeting." Austria suggested before Li could panic and attack somebody again. "We've already covered most of the major topics, and we'll be having another meeting in a month anyways. There is no need to continue." Russia looked disappointed for a second, then rose and strode out the door without another word. He did pause at the door, however, and looked back at Li with a happy, sadistic, little-child-murderer smile that made her shudder.
"Thank you thank you thank you." Li gushed towards Austria when she was positive Russia couldn't hear her. "That was scary. Really scary. Thank you thank you thank you. Um, do you know why he asked that? It was creepy. And scary. Really scary. Um, I said that already, didn't I? Sorry, but that was really weird and I'm not grasping things very well at the moment and I'm babbling aren't I? Sorry." She fell silent, trying not to breathe heavily from the adrenaline shooting through her veins. Her hands had clenched into fists, twisting the sheets, and she hadn't even noticed.
"Um. Calm down, please." Germany advised, almost laying a hand on Li's shoulder before thinking better of it. He opted instead for propping a pillow up behind her. "You should lay down. Even if you feel fine, you collapsed suddenly for no good reason."
"Um. I think there was a good reason." Li said without thinking, then cursed herself mentally and stopped her hand before it could cover her mouth. There was no need to get them suspicious! "I…I saw a ghost. Seems like a good reason to pass out to me." Had Lithuania seen what happened after his scream? When she had whirled to see what the sudden noise was, his eyes had been scrunched up, closed, as his mouth issued the piercing, surprisingly feminine sound. But he could have opened them again. He could have seen. And he could have told them…
"So, just what happened?" The white-haired man with red eyes sat himself on down on the side of bed, almost mirroring Russia by leaning in towards Li. She inched back, determined to keep him out of her space bubble, too rattled by her dream to think of allowing anyone to get close to her. "You look pretty shaken," the oddly-colored man continued, not paying attention to her attempt to put more space between them. "Have a bad dream?"
"Um…you might say that…" Li's memories of the dream, still fresh from only moments ago, bubbled up to the surface of her mind, and she felt herself beginning to shake. Ru. Ru had been here, she had been right here, and now she was gone, dragged off by some unknown force. Her Ru had found her, but now her Ru was gone again.
Ru.
Was.
Gone.
AGAIN.
"C-can I be alone?" Li requested softly. Her throat started to close on itself, and she didn't dare risk another word, for fear she might break down and cry before these people she barely knew. And that was unacceptable.
Because she was a Princess. Because she was strong. Because the only person she allowed to see her cry was Ru.
"She's such a happy child. Do you know, I have never seen my daughter cry?"
The nation-people left her room, most of them giving Li puzzled or pitying looks. America insisted loudly that he should stay to protect her in case the ghost came back, but Hungary hit him over the head with a frying pan and dragged him out before he could say anything more. Thank goodness. Li was starting to feel an overwhelming urge to break something, to destroy something, anything, and America was just as good as the next thing. Actually, he might be better, since hearing whatever she was abusing scream might make Li's rage dissipate more quickly.
But thankfully, they left her alone in her room.
Alone. Without Ru.
"Ru…" Li moaned, low and pained, throwing herself into the pillow Germany had propped up behind her. Her hands gripped the sheets more tightly, and actually began to tear the fabric as she clenched her fists more tightly. A ripping sound came from the cloth, and her fingernails began to dig into her palms, hard enough to draw blood. Small drops of red started to color the bedding, but Li didn't care. She welcomed the pain in her hands as a distraction, a distraction from the pain in her heart.
Ru had come. Ru had found her. Like she always did, Ru had found her way to Li. But then she had been snatched away, kicking and screaming most likely, torn away from the one person who needed Ru more than she needed to eat, sleep, or breathe.
What was Ru to Li? Ru was safety, comfort, a rock in the turbulent waters of life that sheltered and protected her. Li had almost never been without Ru, almost never done anything purely by herself. Oh, there had been a few things she had needed to do without Ru, and of course the necessary facts of life that would be embarrassing with Ru's presence. But never before in Li's life had she been apart from Ru, from her protector, from her rock, her best friend, for so long. Never before had Ru been snatched away so suddenly, especially after such a long time of being apart. Yes, several days translated into a long time for Ru and Li to be apart. Because they were never apart.
But what was Li to Ru? It was a question Li had never asked before, partially because she thought she knew the answer already, partially because she was scared of the answer being different from what she thought.
Because Li hoped that Ru depended on her as much as she depended on Ru. Look at her—alone, scared, almost helpless without Ru to stand at her shoulder and keep Li safe. Oh, not that Ru would allow Li to be weak: Ru had told Li countless times that she was, in fact, capable of surviving without Ru. But without Ru, what was the point of surviving? Without her rock, constantly within shouting distance, without the person who had held her as a child when she wept in deserted halls and rooms so that none would see her weakness, without the companion who had followed Li all over the world on a mad quest for someone who didn't even care…
How was Li supposed to survive without Ru?
No. No, she could do this. Ru had prepared her for this possibility, one of many, where she was in unknown, possibly enemy, territory and had no Ru to guide her. If Ru had foreseen this, planned out options for Li to take and then drilled them into her mind, she had darn well better use them!
So. What did she have available to her? The apparent kindness of semi-spirit beings, who had already offered her shelter, a way to make money, and alternative options to that if it didn't work out. Several of the nations seemed to trust her already, although Lithuania might have been somewhat off-put from her after what he had seen…
Ru…
"Li…" Kuzon whispered, looking lovingly up at his elder sister. Li stared at him in shock, heart and mind racing, arguing, contradicting each other with what they knew. Her little brother was dead…but he was standing right in front of her!...but he was dead…but he was right there…right there!
"Ooh…" Lithuania moaned, and Li heard a thump coming from the bed. He had fainted. But Li wasn't paying him any attention, and the fact disappeared from her mind as soon as it registered. Because Kuzon…her darling little brother…her little dragon…he was alive.
Kuzon was alive.
"Ku—!" Li's voice choked off as she surged forward, arms spread to pick up her beloved younger sibling. "Kuzon—!"
"Li, no!" A voice yelled, and Li froze, face slowly morphing from one of exuberant joy to one of puzzlement and hope. She stared at her little brother as his face also changed, from childish adoration and joy to rage and anger and hatred, directed not at her, but at someone just behind Li, to her left side.
"Ru…?" Li barely dared to whisper the name, but suddenly arms caught her up in a fierce hug, and she turned and returned the grasp as desperately as she was being given. Her eyes closed as tears started to well up, but that was okay, for once it was okay, because…because…
Because Ru was here too…
"Li." Ru said her name only once, but it contained so much relief, so much joy, so much pain that Li's eyes widened. Was this really Ru? She sounded so…so emotional, so un-Ru like, that it was hard to believe her stoic guard was really here. "I'm here…I've found you…"
"I know." Li managed to speak through her rapidly-constricting throat. "Ru, I never doubted you would find me. It just took you a few days, that's all."
"What?" Ru jerked back, and clutched Li's upper arms firmly as she stared at her charge. Her yellow-gold eyes were almost entirely circular, staring at Li in what seemed to be…confusion? What? But Ru was never confused! "Li, it's been maybe an hour since your…accident. I drank the spirit water, just now, and…and now I'm here."
"What? No way!" Li protested, ice forming in her gut. "I…I…Ru, I dreamt about that last night! There's no way you just drank the spirit water! It-it can't be…what's…what is this…" Her head began to threaten a headache, that dull, anticipating feeling that always precedes a migraine. "Ru, I've been here three days, almost four, by now."
"What? No, impossible!" Ru gritted her teeth. "That spirit. Whoever it was that sent you here, whichever spirit it was that did this, must have screwed with the passage of time. I'm gonna have a few words with whoever they are the moment we find them."
"Violence isn't the answer, Ru." Li felt her lips start to curl at the beginning of the old joke. "Nor is it the question."
"I know." Ru sounded dead-serious, but a glint in her eye—almost unnoticeable, unless you knew her as well as Li did—betrayed she remembered the past laughter over this overused, worn-out saying. "It's merely a very fun method of explanation."
"There you go." Li giggled, then leaned her forehead in to touch Ru's briefly before withdrawing it and giving Ru her brightest, most sincere smile. "Now. You've found me."
"I have indeed." Ru almost chuckled, then grew serious. "Now, Li…about your last actions…?"
"Oh." Li suddenly felt like prey in the predator's sights. "Um. Yeah. About that…see, Ru, I—"
"IDIOT!" Ru shrieked, pulling Li closer to her. "I-DI-OT! Do you have any idea just how incredibly, horribly, terribly stupid you are? Did you even once think about what you were doing? What it would cost our team? Our nation? ME?"
"Well, um, I—" Li began, but Ru cut her off again.
"I thought you were DEAD! I thought I had FAILED! Failed my duty, failed my family, failed YOU!" Ru's face began to turn red as blood rushed her head. "What in the spirits' names were you THINKING, you stupid, foolish, idiotic—! Did you even ONCE consider the people who NEED you? The people who NEED you to be a leader, a friend, a soldier, a symbol, their flaming HOPE? How are we going to pull off our rebellion against the Tóngyī ShÌjiè if you're dead, if the FIRE LORD is DEAD? And what about our team, what about Team Avatar, huh? Ever think about your FRIENDS, the people who've fought alongside you and for you and with you EVERY DAY SINCE THIS NIGHTMARE BEGAN?" Now Ru paused, panting, taking in air to continue yelling. Li saw her chance, and tried to take it.
"Ru, I couldn't let you die—" The scared Fire Nation Princess began, but Ru regained her breath and sent Li a glare that froze the younger woman solid.
"You. Couldn't let ME. Die." Her voice adopted a sarcastic edge, and Li realized she'd said the wrong thing. "You…just who is it that's sworn her life to serve you? Protect you? Keep you safe when the entire flaming WORLD is against you? And you couldn't let ME die? It's MY life for YOUR life, remember? That's the vow I swore the day you were flaming BORN! That's the reason I've LIVED MY ENTIRE LIFE! FOR YOU! And you…" Pain tinged Ru's voice, and Li could almost swear she saw tears in her friends eyes as Ru continued. "You tried to let yourself be killed. For. Me."
"I told Meiko to heal you first…" Li whispered. "I'm sorry, I didn't know what she would do…I, I thought she'd heal you THEN kill me, not do what she did…and even if it did cross my mind, I-I was gonna die anyways, wasn't I? I figured I might as well do what I could, save who I could, so you could at least have a chance at a happy li—"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT!" Ru shoved her face close to Li's, invading Li's space bubble more drastically than she ever had before. "Don't you DARE say I'd have a happy life! Because without you, I can't LIVE at ALL! And I don't care if you thought you were going to turn into a Sky Bison and fly off into the sunset, DON'T YOU EVER DARE THINK OF DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!"
"I—I…" Li's voice deserted her, as she stared at her friend with wide eyes. "Ru…I…are you…?" A hand reached out to brush her friend's cheek delicately, and came away wet. "Ru…are you…crying…?"
"Li." Behind her, Li heard her beloved little brother's, and she turned to face him once again, ready to resume the joyful reunion they had been about to share before Ru had made herself known. But her brother was staring at her and Ru with fiery eyes, as if trying to kill one or both of them.
"Kuzon…?" Li heard her voice shake, and took a step back, scared—no, terrified—of the emotions she saw on her little brother's face. Her kind, sweet, gentle little brother, who would pick fire lilies and present them to her, who had pronounced that he loved his sister more than anyone else in the world. Kuzon, her little dragon, who had died after Li practically abandoned him when she should have known better, when she should have remained with him or taken him with her, who was dead BECAUSE SHE HADN'T NOTICED ANYTHING WRONG…
"Why do you always pick Ru over me, sister?" Kuzon's voice was sweet, childish, but tainted with a hard edge that Li had heard before. In her mother's voice. In her own voice. "Why am I never the first one you run to? Why don't you love me as much as I love you?"
"Oh, Kuzon, I do, I do love you!" Li protested, starting forward again only to be stopped by Ru's restraining hand on her shoulder. "Ru…? Let me go, Ru." Li turned her head slightly to look at her friend. "I…Ru, Kuzon is there…he's right there…he's not dead…"
"Li." Ru's voice came out strangled. "Kuzon is dead. You know that."
"No, he's standing right there." Li pointed at her brother in confusion. Ru nodded tersely, but her grip on Li only tightened. "Ru, let me go." Still no move to release her. "Ru, I…I order you! As your Fire Lord, I am ordering you to let go of me!"
"I'm sorry, Fire Lord." Ru pulled Li back, away from Kuzon, her eyes never leaving the boy's face. "But Kuzon is dead. And that's his ghost."
"What? Impossible!" Li scoffed, now trying to pry Ru's hand from her shoulder. "If he's dead and that's his ghost, how come he's solid? Why can't I see through him? Why isn't he…glowing, or whatever it is Huo says spirits do? Hm?"
"He was called here as you remember him, Li." Ru said carefully. "Yue was explaining this to me before I found myself here. The ties between the body and soul aren't the only ties the soul has. There're also the ties between family, the ties between friends, the ties of love…that's what's brought him here. Li, your ties to Kuzon, of family and of love, called him from the Land of the Dead to this place!"
"What? Ru, no, just…no." Li felt tears begin to fill her eyes again, but now she denied them, trying to step away from Ru but held in place by her friend's hand on her shoulder. "Don't say that. Please. He's my little brother. He's not dead. He-he's standing there…right there…please, Ru…" Her voice cracked, and Li turned away from Ru as best she could. Wetness began to drip down her face, but she refused to accept the tears, closing her eyes tightly to block out the look on Ru's face.
"Come with me, Li." Kuzon's voice suggested, and Li's eyes snapped wide as she turned to look at her brother. His hands were on his hips, and a smile that was eerily reminiscent of Meiko curved his lips. "We can play together again. Don't you want to play together?" He held out a small hand, already callused from his Firebending training, and began to look more like the Kuzon Li remembered. Happier: brighter: childishly innocent.
"Yes, let's play together." Li cried, straining to take the hand, but Ru held her back.
"No! You're not going to die! Not when I've just found you!" Panic threaded its way through Ru's voice, and Li jerked in surprise from it. The hand on her shoulder tightened, and Li felt herself being pulled back—pulled away from Kuzon.
"NO!" Kuzon roared, leaping at Li. Her eyes widened at the expression on his face: brow scrunched in anger, lips drawn back from his teeth like a saber-tooth moose-lion about to attack, an inferno of rage evident in his eyes.
Part of her registered Lithuania groggily awakening, pushing himself up from where he'd sprawled as he passed out. A small portion of her brain registered the scream, and knew others would hear it, others would come.
But most of Li was focused on Kuzon. Because even as Ru tried to shove Li behind her, to protect her, the small boy reached her, arm outstretched. She nearly screamed herself as his hand entered her chest, passing through the flesh as if it wasn't even there, to come to rest around her rapidly-beating heart. He squeezed, and the pain was worse than when Meiko had slit her throat and Bended her blood out of her body.
"You're mine, sister…" She heard him whisper before blacking out.
Li thought again of the look on her brother's face, the last thing she had seen before blacking out. Before Ru had been snatched away from her again. "Yue…what's going on here…" Li moaned, naming the one person she thought might know anything.
But she got no answer.
