Hey guys, I'm sooo sorry this took forever to upload. I've been really busy with moving and stuff. My mom just got out of the hospital, so I have to be careful, and I have to take care of her. This chapter is quite short, I'm sorry...but I felt it necessary to do something from Romano's point of view. I had a hard time coming up with a title though, and I figured that was the best I was going to come up with. Please disregard spelling mistakes. I didn't really have time to run it through a spell check.

Thank you for your time and patience. I do hope you enjoy this chapter.
X X X X X X X X Y X X X Y X Y X Y X Y X Y X Y X Y X Y X

Rewind the Hands of Time

Chapter 12: A Talk with Fate

I heard him sigh as I used the showerhead to run water over him. Veneziano was cut up in all sorts of places...how long had he been fighting that thing?

"...You remember anything yet?" I asked, hopeing he had remembered at least something. I was disappointed when he shook his head slowly.

"...everything's still all jumbled..." he replied slowly...his voice holding a tone that I hadn't heard in years. I let out a sigh...why was his voice so childish right now? Had his memories been pushed that far back? Shit, that wasn't good...

"...It's alright..." I said. "Hold your breath, I'm gonna run water over your hair. Gotta get all that blood out." He did as he was told, and in the reflection I saw him squint his eyes closed. I quickly ran the water over his hair then grabbed some shampoo and started to lather it up in my hands.

There was a knock at the door, causing me to jump a bit and let out a soft string of curses. Veneziano looked over his shoulder at me, and I quickly gave him a...strained smile as I got up and wrapped a towel around myself. I tossed one to him, watching as he fumbled for a moment before doing what I did. Once we both were covered...decently, I walked to the door, peaking out.

"What the hell do you wa-" I started, then stopped myself when I saw who it was. "Oh. It's you Japan..."

"Hai...I...May I?" he looked sheepish and tired, so I really didn't argue with him, just opened the door enough for him to come in.

"We ain't exactly decent though." I said, inwardly laughing as his face brightened a few shades. Surprisingly though, he didn't say anything about it.

"I just wished to come and help with bandaging up Ita-kun..." he said softly.

"...Ita-kun? Who's that?" Veneziano asked suddenly, still sitting on the bathroom floor. I watched Japan's face twist a bit.

"That's you, idiot." I replied, thankful he didn't wince away from me when I said it.

"Oh...okay." was all he said, and I watched Japan's face twist even more. I sighed, walking over to him, getting the showerhead back in my hand.

"Just let me finish up his hair...it's so caked in blood..." I muttered, then turned to Veneziano. "Lean back, let's try not to get that towel wet." He did as I asked without question and I...as gently as I could, washed the blood out of his hair.

"...You are very kind to your brother, Romano-san." Japan said suddenly, causing me to almost jump out of my skin. I had forgotten he was there.

"Yeah...whatever." I replied, trying not to show my skittishness.

"...Romano? You're tugging my hair..." Veneziano suddenly said, and I immediately let go. Shit, had I been hurting him?

"...sorry."

"...it's okay..."

I tried to finish up as quickly as possible, getting him dry and half-clothed. While I had finished up with Veneziano, Japan had actually washed the blood from his clothes...for which I was grateful. Japan was pretty good with his hands, I'll admit. He must have had a lot of experience with getting blood out of clothing...

I tossed the Asian a roll of bandages and ointment and we each got started on different wounds. There were a lot of them, and I noticed that there were...others too.

"...god Veneziano..." I muttered, looking at all the scars that littered his skin. There had definitely not been that many scars when I saw him last. One on his chest really worried me; it was so large...and right over his heart too. Some of them, especially the one on his chest, if I even touched them; he drew away...almost as if they still hurt...

"My apologies, Ita-kun..." Japan was saying, since Veneziano had drawn away from his hands when one of the wounds was touched.

"...Veneziano...do...does this one still hurt?" I asked softly, reaching forward for the one on his chest.

"...no...but it feels weird..." he replied, shivering under the touch. "It's like...I can...feel everything about your hand when you touch it..."

"...hyper-sensitive." Japan muttered, "You probably forgot about it during all the events. Do you remember what happened with that one, Ita-kun?"

"no..." Veneziano shook his head and I sighed.

"Do you remember who Japan is?" I asked, and Veneziano turned to look at me with a frown.

"..." He didn't say anything for a moment, his face furrowed in thought. It was obvious he was trying to remember. After a few moments, his face brightened slightly. "Mr. Japan's my friend!...right?" He suddenly looked unsure, but both Japan and I's smiles seemed to calm him.

"Yes. That is correct." Japan said, looking a bit relieved. "I'm glad you remember, Ita-kun."

"...ve..." was all he said, as he went back to thinking.

I sighed, slowly wrapping bandages around his arm, where there was a long gash. He let out a small whimper, his arm tense as if he was going to draw it away from me, but he didn't. I was surprised. His thresh-hold for pain had risen quite a bit since the last time I had seen him...and I supposed that was understandable...but still...

"...Damnit, you're such an idiot..." I muttered, and he winced a bit. I let out a loud sigh, my head going forward to rest on his shoulder. "...why...why'd you do this shit?" I asked, figuring that he wouldn't have an answer for me. I asked anyways, though. I wanted to get the question out there, I didn't want to keep it bottled up for once.

"...I had to protect everyone."

Veneziano's voice surprised me. I hadn't expected an answer, and I looked up at him. His eyes were downcast. He almost...looked sheepish.

"...what do you mean, Ita-kun?" Japan asked softly, placing a hand on the other's shoulder. Veneziano shrugged.

"I...don't know..." he muttered, and I felt my rising hopes crash down. "...I...just know that I felt like I had to protect everyone...even if I can't remember everyone...I'm sorry..."

"No, it's quite alright, isn't that right, Romano?" Japan's sudden direction at me left me a little stunned, but I huffed.

"Yeah. Whatever." I replied, turning away.

"...I'm going back out to the others. I shall tell them you'll be a bit." Japan said suddenly, getting to his feet. "The others will want to know how Ita-kun is doing." I nodded absently.

"I need to finish getting the grime off of him. Geeze Veneziano, why'd you let yourself get so dirty?" I asked as Japan left, closing the door behind him silently. Once he was gone, I took a sponge to my brother's arms, cleaning the areas where there were no bandages. "...So, do you remember anyone else? Other than Japan and myself?"

Veneziano was silent, and I could feel his eyes watching what I was doing. I rubbed, and scrubbed, trying to get the dirt, grime, and caked blood off of him...but it seemed impossible. There was so much of it; I didn't know where to begin.

"...I remember grampa..." Veneziano suddenly said, and I looked up at him. He looked a little confused. "and...I remember having to stay with Mr. Austria."

Wait...what? Mr. Austria? Why was he referring to that piano-bastard like that? I looked at him, and he squirmed under my gaze. I looked away.

"...anyone else?" I asked, not pushing the subject. I didn't want him to get upset, and forget everything all over again.

"...I think...I think I remember who I came here with..." he muttered, and I watched him hold his head out of the corner of my eye. He let out a whimper and I immediately turned to him, pulling his arms away from his head.

"...stop." I muttered. "Don't hurt yourself trying to remember. It won't help."

"...i-it's not that...whenever...I think about it...my head starts hurting so badly..." Veneziano's small voice replied to me, causing me to frown.

"Just tell me who's in this place. That's all you need to remember right now." He nodded slowly, blinking up at me, and I was amazed at the amount of pain that was shown in his eyes.

"I...I came here...w-with everyone the first time..." he started." b-but then I had to go back..."

"...what about this time?" I asked, giving his shoulder a half-gentle squeeze. "Who did you come with this time?"

"...This time?" he asked before closing his eyes tightly. "...I...I came with...Mr...Japan and Ho...wait...no...Mr...Mr. Germany?"

I paled slightly, knowing exactly what he had started to say. Holy Roman Empire? I thought to myself...then I started thinking. Veneziano had mistaken that potato-bastard for the Holy Roman Empire? I supposed they did look alike, but if he did that...then his mind...

"...Your mind has set itself waaaay far back Veneziano..." I muttered, shaking my head. He opened his eyes and looked at me.

"...is that bad?" he asked innocently and I let out a laugh.

"I don't suppose so, but it might make things difficult." I replied, giving him a smirk. He hesitantly smiled back at me. "But Do you remember anyone else?" His smile vanished as he started thinking again.

"uh...Mr...Prussia?" he asked, and I raised an eyebrow.

"I can't tell you if you're right or not." I said, and he pouted.

"b-but...how will I know I'm right if you won't tell me?" he asked, scooting forward a bit. I rolled my eyes.

"You'll know you're right." was all I said, which made him pout even more. "...anyone else?"

"I...don't know..." he answered me and I sighed.

"Well, that's alright. I'm almost done getting the grit off of you, so we can go see how much you know..." I said, finishing up his arms and back. All I had left to do was his legs, and they were in pretty bad shape. His feet were so calloused...he'd normally never let that happen...Veneziano let out a whimper when I touched one of the blisters, and I muttered a quick apology before bandaging them up. "It'll feel a little weird with your shoes, but you'll have to deal with it."

"Okay..." Veneziano muttered without question, watching me work. When I was done, I helped him stand, steadying him as he wobbled. "...it hurts..."

"Yeah...I know..." I replied, letting out a sigh. I led him towards the door, then remembered I needed to get his jacket back on. I left him for a moment to grab the folded jacket and then helped him into it. His arms were stiff, and bandaged, he was having trouble moving them.

Once his jacket was on, I turned to him, standing in front of the door.

"...you ready?" I asked and he looked at me.

"...I...I guess." he stuttered, frowning. I frowned as well. He really didn't look well...

"...you sure? You can take a little bit more time, if you want..." I started to say, but he shook his head.

"No...I'm okay...I shouldn't keep everyone waiting...its bad manners." he muttered, and I felt my frown deepen. This really wasn't like him, he kept talking like he was younger...

"Well, whatever. Doesn't matter to me." I said, twisting the doorknob and opening the door.

I just hoped that he wouldn't get too jumbled up talking to everyone...he really needed to rest.