This chapter is considered "Safe For Work."

***Warnings: Violence, Blood, and Coarse Language.***

***Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia nor the characters in this chapter. The plot is mine.***

Eyelashes fluttered open as she became conscious once more. Her body felt heavy and ached. Slowly, she forced her muscles to function once more. Her fingers were the first to respond, twitching erratically. After a few minutes, Belarus had regained control of her arms. She pushed herself up, stretching upward and outward to loosen her muscles.

"It's like I just woke up from a dream I couldn't escape..." Sleep terrors, right? She rarely had those now a days but she had a fair share of them. With the exclusion of the metal taste in her mouth, this feeling was spot on. Her fingers pressed against the cool floor as she tried to regain memories of what had happened. "Right... He..." Belarus placed her hands on her lap. "He tried to help me..." Her eyes stared blankly at the floor before raising to the familiar spot on the wall. No ghostly arm waved to her. "It seemed like it worked."

Her eyes narrowed. "Speaking of the bastard, where is he?" Where was anyone for that matter. The hall oozed silence and the hall light was off. There was a possibility they just left her on the floor but to let her sleep through the whole meeting? Someone would have noticed... Wouldn't they?

Tired of asking herself unanswered questions, Belarus pushed herself to her feet. She swayed unsteadily at first but forced herself to remain standing. Slowly, she made her way down the hall to the entrance. Her heels clacked against the cool wooden floor, echoing off the walls. The building seemed sadder at night but more comforting. Shadows danced off the walls and Belarus watched as they scattered as quickly as they came.

She came to the front doors, testing them at first. They refused to move. Annoyed and not in the mood to try elsewhere, she pulled out a hairpin and proceeded to pick the lock. Her struggle became fruitful after a few minutes of wiggling and poking. At the click, Belarus opened the door, feeling the cold night air rush in.

Surprised at the time of day, she walked out to the front yard, looking up at the sky. The full moon was at its zenith, shining its pale rays over the Earth. Another cool breeze swept over her as she stood in the moonlight. A deep calm passed over her, something she always felt at night. Taking filling breaths, Belarus let her eyes close. The silence was beautiful.

With the breaking of a branch, icy eyes flew open and scanned the dark surroundings. They fell upon a man who had his foot crunching the branch even more. He had broken it deliberately. The stood tall despite his short stature, each step steady and firm. As he approached leisurely, Belarus could see the outline of a face and the shadow of bangs falling over his face. What caught her most were his eyes. A shade of red she could only describe as a glowing rubies.

He stopped only a few feet away, examining her closely before giving a smile. She frowned in response, causing him to raise his eyebrows. "Ms. Belarus, I do think that is you." He dropped the smile, procuring an annoyed frown. "And I don't take well to intruders."

Belarus jumped backwards, stumbling a bit. She cussed at the sight of a strange weapon in his hands: a long pole with a blade attached to the end. The man sported an amused grin, pleased he could play with her for a little longer. He stood tall as he rested the end of the weapon on the ground. Belarus reached under her skirt, drawing out a knife for each hand.

Her opponent raised his eyebrows in surprise before shifting to a fighting position. He seemed to be beckoning to her. Make the first move.

Belarus surveyed her opponent, judging how to attack. After a moment of contemplation, she surged forward. The man shifted to the side, attempting to cut her inner arm. She pivoted in the other direction, his blade barely nicking her. With a toss, her knife flew towards his shoulder. He dodged just as easily as she had.

He jabbed forward again, only to watch her jump up and deal a swift kick to his face, bringing him to one knee. She landed gracefully, remaining at a distance as the weapon swung in an outward arc. Belarus straightened, watching as the man nurse his cheek before standing up himself. He glanced at her before giving a pleased laugh, relaxing his grip on his strange weapon. In response, she too let her daggers fall to her side but did not put them away.

"You are most definitely not Ms. Belarus."

Her eyes narrowed. "Who exactly are you to claim I am not Belarus?"

The man gave a dramatic bow, sweeping his arm to his chest and bowing his head low. "I am Honda Kiku, representation of the country of Japan."

Belarus crossed her arms. "Nice try, bastard, but you are no Japan." Despite looking almost exactly like him.

He lifted his head from his bow but kept his torso in place. "Now what are your qualifications to say such a thing?" His body straightened and he leaned the weapon inward to get a better look of the blade. "And I detest liars much more than I detest intruders."

"I am the Republic of Belarus." The Japan imposter raised an eyebrow.

"Human pseudonym?" She hesitated for a moment, perturbed by the thought of giving him her name. He chuckled. "It's Natalya Arlovskaya, isn't it?" Belarus cringed, making him chuckle once more. "Such an interesting situation we have here. Now, I have some questions for you and you will answer them."

Belarus pursued her lips. "And why is that?"

"Because this." He stepped forward, catching her off guard. She stepped back but the Japan imposter steadily kept it under her chin. He raised it slightly, letting her feel the coolness of metal. The Asian man tsked. "Caught off guard with a strange man in a strange place. Such a big mistake." He tapped her chin with his weapon. "Drop the knives. All of them." The man then tilted his head. "Or maybe you wouldn't mind dying? It takes quite a bit of energy but regeneration doesn't usually take long. Especially a little knife wound to the throat."

Her eyes widened. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Psh. Stop playing dumb. I know you're a nation so you obviously have the abilities of one. You should be able to regenerate as well as tell that I am a nation. Now drop the knives." She glared at the man. This mad bastard had his head screwed on too tight. At this rate, her death was inevitable. Better to go down fighting.

Pulling her right arm back, she prepared to throw her knife. The Japanese man moved instinctively, shifting his blade to the left and wounding the inside of her forearm. The blade dug in deep at such close range. She fell to her knees, dropping both of her knives. The Japan imposter sighed, holding the weapon at her cringing figure.

"Being overdramatic is so cliche." He motioned to the wound with the tip of his weapon. "It'll heal. Just give it a minute." She looked up at him angrily, holding down the wound the best she could with her hand.

"I don't know who you are and how you know about countries… But these ideas you have shoved into your skull are insane." Her eyes went back to her arm and the blood steadily flowing over her fingers. She grabbed one of the knives from beside her, starting to cut out a wrapping from her skirt.

The Japan imposter watched her, shaking his head. Wasting such a good dress was a shame. He kept his blade at her, in case she got other ideas about her knife. "I don't know why you're making such a big deal out of it."

Two minutes passed as Belarus finally finished wrapping her wound. The blood seeped through in a matter of seconds. Death by blood loss. How messy. She wondered if her ghost would be stained with it.

"Hey…" She looked up to see the man above her slightly shaking. "It should have healed by now… Why are you still bleeding?" His pupils dilated, eyebrows furrowed, he started to lower his weapon. "You're a nation. That shouldn't still be there."

Belarus glared at him menacingly. Her arm had been tingling for the past few minutes and her vision was starting to get blurry. "I'm a nation. Not invincible."

The man threw his weapon to the side, wrestling off his jacket. He knelt, wrapping it around her wounded arm in a hurry. She stared at him in shock. "What the fuck are you doing?"

He kept his eyes on the wound. "Pale," he muttered to himself. "Dazed eyes. Increased heart rate. Signs of irritability, though it seems to be a character trait. Class two blood loss. My guess, hopefully only a liter." The man pulled the jacket tighter around her arm before looking her straight in the eye. "Making sure you don't die."

Two arms lifted her up and the man rested her head against his shoulder. Belarus growled despite feeling faint. "Put me down, shit-face."

"No way in hell." Her head bumped up and down on his chest, feeling extremely faint. Un-familiar fabric rubbed against her cheek as her body seemed to be rising and falling rapidly. Her eyelids fluttered as he came to a halt, fumbling for something. She felt herself hurriedly dropped into the car and the wind of a door slamming. Consciousness flowed in and out of her as she heard the blurry noise of a car engine.

"Hey. Stay with me now. Can you hear me?"

Belarus let her head fall to the window as she let out a groan.

"Come on, talk to me. We need to keep you conscious."

"It's…"

"Yes, what is it?"

"…Really… Cold…"

"Natalya! Natal… talya… Nat… ya!"

With that, her eyes closed in hopes of something better.

Author's Note:

It took FOREVER to find information about Japan's weapon. Not to mention the blood loss. I stressed so much over this despite needing to do other things. Reviews about the fighting and injured stories would really help.