Chapter Ten

AN: Last chapter of flashback, probably.

Matthew got revenge for York by burning the White House. It wasn't really enough for him, he wanted Alfred to feel the long lasting effects of what else he'd done.

Years flew by and Canada kept fairly isolated. He still hadn't settled in one spot. After the war of 1812, Matthew mostly kept to the forests of upper Canada. Anyone that was looking for him had a hard time finding him. He would occasionally wander into a town to catch a meal. While there, he would catch up on news and other happenings.

Matthew found out that a lot of ghouls had started to move to Canada. He didn't mind as long as they kept a low profile and only kill when needed. Rumours still lingered around about the ukaku ghoul protecting Canada. For the most part, these immigrant ghouls were peaceful, but there were the problem few.

Blackbird hunted down and warned these ghouls, but most of the time the warnings weren't heeded. In those cases, Matthew would stop them permanently. He started to make friends with some of the ghouls.

Almost a hundred years past and it was the beginning of World War One. As soon as England entered Canada was as well. Arthur had to track Matthew down to tell him the news. He wasn't exactly happy, but went with England anyways. The elder nation wanted him to take up a command, but Canada refused. Instead he joined the ranks of the marksmen, particularly as a sniper.

Matthew enjoyed sitting up in a tree alone on the edge of no man's land picking his enemies off. He was up in his favourite nest one day when he noticed something was off with his vision. Minutes later he couldn't breathe and was coughing. It lasted for hours and he felt like he was drowning in his own lungs. He didn't learn until later about the gas at Ypres and how many of his men died. Blackbird's own eyesight was permanently affected; he now needed glasses to read. He was lucky it didn't affect him more.

A little less than two years later, Canada was called off the field by Arthur for a meeting of the allied nations.

"Your troops are doing very well." England complimented on the way to the war room. "Their conviction is amazing, they don't back down."

Matthew nodded just listening. He was mostly thinking about getting some coffee, he was getting pretty hungry. It had been almost three months since his last meal. As they entered the war room, Canada froze. His eyes widened as he spotted Alfred sitting at the head of the table with France. His breath quickened as he forced himself into the room.

America didn't even look at him as he entered the room. He completely ignored Matthew for the whole meeting, not once acknowledging his presence. Canada kept quiet, not saying anything the whole meeting. After it was done, he left immediately to go back to the front lines. He stayed on the front lines for the rest of the war skipping almost every meeting.

-❄"I have always liked quiet people. You never know if they're dancing in a daydream or if they're carrying the weight of the world."❄-

After the war, Canada went back home and settled into his routine again, but this time he actually bought a house and settled down a bit. He was still traveling clearing out all the troublesome ghouls that he missed during the war.

The roaring twenties were filled with aggressive ghouls coming to Canada. He didn't have much time to himself between fighting these ghouls. The thirties were even worse; Matthew was weak and sick from the economy crashing. He didn't have the strength to fight. The forties weren't much better either. He wasn't sick anymore, but World War Two had started.

Blackbird went through the Second World War much like he did in the first. On the front lines, in a tree, alone, picking his enemies off. He went to more of the meetings this time around, even when America had entered the war. The American still completely ignored him and Matthew was happy enough not being acknowledged by his 'brother.'

-❄"You think this is the first makeup haul out of Home Depot?"❄ -

After the second war, Canada was so happy to be home. He had to again clear out problem ghouls, but this time there was less of them. This was around the time he stopped giving warnings. The Red-Winged Blackbird was such a prominent figure in Canada. These ghouls knew what would happen if they hunted in Canada.

A few years after World War Two he heard some of his undertakers complaining about not getting enough funding from the government to run certain parts of their business. This is the time were Canada set up the system still used today. Blackbird decided to not let his marksman skills go to waste and would take the occasional assassination contract. Soon, people were seeking him out specifically to do the hits. Every cent he made off the contracts went to his undertakers to make sure there was a steady stream of food for other ghouls. Canada gathered a small group of ghouls to help him manage the money and everything else. It was too much for him to manage all on his own.

As the seventies approached, a few nations were talking about having monthly meetings in different countries to discuss world problems. It soon became a reality, the first one being in Washington, D.C. It was the first time Matthew had been to America since burning down the White House.

The meeting wasn't that bad. America was still ignoring him, but Canada still kept quiet for the most part. He felt like he was finally starting to work past his fear of his 'brother.'

Blackbird was a little concerned about these meetings being every month. Seeing the other nations more often gave him more opportunities to slip up and reveal he was a ghoul, but after almost three hundred years of hiding it was easy for him to blend in.

AN: Fun fact, the most effective sniper in WWI was a Canadian man named Francis Pegahmagabow. He lived in Parry Sound, Ontario which is where my most of my family is from! Also, lil bit of a problem, well not actually a problem, but anyways I have completely finished writing another fic on top of the three I'm already currently posting. I'm not really sure when to start posting it.