This chapter is considered "Safe For Work."
***Warnings: Foul Language, Violence. ***
***Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia nor the characters in this chapter. The plot is mine.***
Belarus had never been happier to not see someone.
The rest of her time in the room had been peaceful and the nurses had even taken away the damn bear. As for her treatment, it went smoothly as every few hours they would change her blood bags. The medical workers sometimes looked over at her with confusion, surprise even. She responded with a blatant stare, not really interested in their presence as they were with hers.
Normally, she'd be glad to stay in the little room alone but with time abundant and problems present, her mind began wandering again. Her thoughts never strayed from the circumstances which brought her here and the distress she felt upon hearing of misfortune falling her brother. She would replay the message in her head, sometimes rephrasing words and others times altering the tone or pauses. In either case, by this time the messaged was morphed beyond recognition. That was always the case when one thought too deeply on things.
The nation ground her teeth before shoving the pillow over her face once more. It had been a day since the other nations' visit and her release was eminent. When the treatment was completed, she had tasted freedom before hearing a third party would have to check her out. Belarus began to argue then stopped, remembering the promise to return to her world as long as she complied. Home was within her grasp and she could not release it just yet.
She removed the pillow from her face, looking to the window across from her. The sun signaled late afternoon and the light danced across the landscape. She felt herself smile a bit before sitting up and stretching. Why should she worry so much? It's strange, really. Everything really was-
Belarus's smile dropped and she smacked her cheek, returning her to reality. Was she sleeping again? No, this was skin under her fingertips. She couldn't afford to lose her sanity here of all places. Then again, everyone was insane at one point or another.
Her train of thought became interrupted as the door opened. She glared at the visitor, ready to send a barrage of insults until he raised his hand and threw a package into her arms.
"Change into that," Germany commanded sternly before leaving once more. As he closed the doorway, Belarus barely had time to mutter a single profanity. She grumbled to herself, settling for looking inside the package.
Inside, a whole attire had been prepared for her. It was not her attire but at least it wasn't this crappy hospital gown. She stood and drew the curtains, changing into it as quickly as possible. Finished, Belarus looked around for a reflective surface before shaking her head. She had examined this room so many times already. Instead, she pieced together what she could from her natural line of sight and touch: a cream cardigan that ended at her mid thigh, an alabaster shirt underneath which hugged her torso just so, and dark jeans that had the stiffness of any recently store bought denim. The bag had also prepared a pair of flats and a chiffon newsboy hat which had she put on with confusion. In her mind, the Japanese man had dressed her up like a doll and if he were present, he'd feel her immediate disapproval.
A knock came from the door. "Are you done yet?"
"No," she replied to spite him.
"Hurry it up. We've got places to go."
"As if I'd go anywhere with an asshole like you."
"Would you prefer I call Honda to drag you out there? I'm not sure he'd be as polite."
Belarus frowned for a moment before pulling the door open. She narrowed her eyes at him as he squinted at her attire. "If anyone were to do something like that," she threatened, "I would skin them with my bare hands and use them for doormats."
"Great imagery," he replied curtly. "But I wasn't interested in the first place." Germany stared at her attire for a couple more moments before muttering under his breath.
"What?" Belarus interjected.
"It's pretty damn creepy how well Honda can tell clothing sizes." He shook his head and moved down the hallway. "Come on. You've been in that room way too long for my liking." Finding he wouldn't turn back, she followed reluctantly, her shoes clacking against the linoleum floors. No words passed between them and they made their way out of the hospital.
The fresh air hit her and she took a deep breath, letting out a grateful sigh. Germany glanced back at her in annoyance and grabbed her arm. She pulled away, teeth bared at him. He sighed.
"Listen, I need to keep an eye on you because the situation's changed." She scoffed at his statement and he turned her to him. "Listen to me, Arlovskaya, do you honestly think I would be here if I didn't feel I needed to be? Well, I am here and if I let you out of my sight something you do might fuck up this world so much there's no way you'd be able to escape. This has become very serious." He gripped her wrist. "Now don't stray off."
She pulled her hand out of his grip, smacking his hand away when he reached for her again. "I am not a child, Ludwig. I can handle things myself." The German frowned but nodded, signaling her to follow him once more.
"I can't believe we had to walk." She only received a grunt in reply. The last thing Belarus expected was being cramped in an elevator with the German know it all after an hour's walk to the hotel. They kept to either side of the metal box, Germany taking the side closest to the buttons and Belarus on the other. The repetitive and annoyingly cheery elevator music did nothing to help the situation.
Belarus settled with leaning her head against the cool metal wall, staring at her metallic reflection. She could see Germany doing the same, though also glancing at the buttons in impatience. Turning her attention back to herself, she thought about the last hour they spent walking there. He refused to give any explanation other than the occasional mumble about how the Italian would not let him have the keys and the lack of cabs and buses. The German didn't make any effort to start conversation either so they kept in silence.
Curiosity, however, still burned inside of her. What had happened? Was her brother alright? The brother from this world, anyway. What about the Security Council? Did something happen there? And, despite her still present anger and hatred of her attacker, what had happened to him?
No matter how much these questions burdened her, she refused to speak them aloud. As the elevator finally pulled to the stop and the doors opened with a ding, Germany was the first to make his way out. She tsked at him as she followed once more. His steps were rushed and she wondered what had happened to "I can't let you out of my sight?" Not that she was complaining that much.
At the end of the hall, Germany came to a halt and turned to his right almost mechanically, fumbling with the inside of his jacket before pulling out the card key. Sliding it over, it clicked and he pushed the door open, looking to Belarus so she would enter first. She stuck her nose up at him and went in, but not without shoving him aside slightly as she entered. Her animosity towards him clearly hadn't left her and he just huffed before closing the door behind him.
This was more like a suite then a run of the mill hotel room. In front of her, she found a small living area with a couch and two arm chairs as well as a coffee table and a television set. To her right she beheld a small kitchen with a mini fridge, stove, and sink, not to mention cabinets. Further in that direction, two doors protruded from the walls. She guessed one was a bedroom and the other a bathroom. Either way, surprise riddled her being and she stared in amazement as Germany settled himself in an arm chair and leant back, hat tilted down on his face.
"Food's in the fridge," he mumbled, crossing his arms. "Honda got you sushi yesterday."
Belarus placed her hands on her hips, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. "You think I'm going to eat day old sushi?"
"No. Which is why I bought some more this morning." He used his thumb to peek up from his hat, frowning. "Sushi rolls usually stay good for four hours before going bad. We wouldn't want to send you back to the hospital for your delicate little stomach, princess."
Her face remained neutral as she walked toward him, poker faced. As she stood in front of him, he raised an eyebrow before yelping in pain. Belarus sneered at him after her strike before making for the refrigerator. After all, she was hungry.
Within a few minutes, Germany had stopped cursing and Belarus had gone through half of her meal, watching his reaction in silent amusement. He growled at her and in response she lowered her sushi roll. "Too hard for your 'delicate' 'little' dick, 'princess'?"
"Dammit, Natalia-" Rice bits covered his face and seafood spilled to his shirt. Angered, he stood up, rubbing the rice off. "Stop throwing your fucking shit at me-" Germany stopped mid rant, taking a shaky breath and rubbing his temple. "Just finish your food. I'll be back in a minute." She watched in silence as he made his way to one of the doors. The corner of her mouth lifted at his plight, finishing her meal and dumping the plastic platter in the garbage. The Belorussian washed her hands at the kitchen sink, now bored on what exactly to do.
They'll probably keep me here, she thought angrily as she wiped her hands on the towel rack. Like a little bird. Fuck, I just want to go home already. Her furious scrubbing slowed down in realization. Now that I think about it, where are the other two? Honda seemed bent on returning, despite how angry he was last time, and Feliciano appears to not trust that damn German on his own... The door opened behind her and she faced the German, who peered at her from behind a towel before drying his face again.
"Are you ready to hear what's going on or are you going to throw more crap at me?"
She felt her anger slowly returning but resisted to answer with an insult. Burying her anger, Belarus sat herself in the armchair, watching him in expectation. He let out a sigh of relief, sitting in the other. "I honestly don't know where to start so ask me a random question and I'll see if I can go off from there."
The Belorussian crossed her arms, thinking and scouring her mind for what information she may need. "What happened after your visit the other day?"
He shrugged, scratching his hair under his hat. "A meeting, as you already know. Honda got interrogated, four members of the Security Council were there, we found out some shit, I left the loser fest."
"Wow, so specific."
Germany sent her a glare. "Your factiousness is weak."
She responded with her own icy stare. "You know the difference? Great, well, it's sarcasm."
They stared murderously at each other for a moment or two before Germany leaned back in his chair and sighed. "Basically, Kirkland questioned Honda about what happened. He lied at first then admitted to attacking a new nation."
Her brow furrowed. "Doesn't that mean they know about me?"
"No." He grinned a bit. "Because they know that's the most inconceivable notion they've heard in a century. Do you know why?"
"No, bastard, tell me."
He leaned forward, excitement in his eyes. "Clever bastard. He called you a new country and those nations are invincible the first few years. It takes a while to wear them down but they exist. 'Course they didn't believe him but are staying along a while longer to 'look for them'."
Belarus took in the information, nodding before leaning against an arm of her chair. "So newly made nations are more invincible? I'd say that when they're the weakest in my world."
"Another difference." He removed his hat, laying it on the table. Belarus raised an eyebrow in surprise at how blonde the other's hair really was. The German sent her a questioning look which she waved off with her right hand only to cringe a bit. He stood and walked over, rolling down the sleeve to look at her arm. "Definitely not invincible. Therefore, not a new nation." He gave it a pat, getting a hiss and a kick in the shin. The German growled back at her, returning to his seat.
"What happened to my brother?"
A wave of a hand. "He was a no show. Figures since the Security Council was about to warn us about..." Here he trailed off, thinking exactly how to phrase it. "There's another meeting coming up when the Russian finally drags his ass into Japan, probably today. In the mean time, the Security Council told us to look for the new nation. I have to babysit you until we're prepared to introduce you to them."
She sat up abruptly, a bit annoyed he referred to her alternate dimensional sibling in such a derogatory way. "Why not today?"
"Because of a threat, we have to play our cards right. If we introduce you too soon and they're not convinced you come from another world, they'll dispose of you."
"I thought you said new nations are invincible? Why would they do that?"
"Exactly." He looked over to her with a blatant gaze. "They would most likely keep you in a cell until you weren't invincible. How does a concrete cell sound for your 10 year home?"
She grimaced. "Unappealing." Her mind wandered to what else she could ask about and something struck her. "Wait, you said you were almost warned about something." Belarus noticed Germany's sudden sign of disgust as he turned his head away. "What is it you're hiding?"
He stayed silent a second more, teeth ground. "What did Honda tell you about our human names?"
Taking a couple moments to remember, she lifted her head again. "Something about trying to hide your immortality, from what I remember."
"That's just the tip of the iceberg." Another useless pause, Germany again thinking. Pissed at his hesitations, Belarus took off her shoe and threw it at him. He caught it at the last moment, his thoughts keeping him a moment too long. The blonde frowned, tossing it back to her.
As she caught it and put it back in its place, she scowled at him. "What the hell are you talking about? Spit it out."
The German stood up with a passion, growling. "This is a difficult subject for any of us to admit, do you understand?! It's not to be taken lightly!"
She raised an eyebrow at the fear in his eyes, hidden behind fires of yelling. "If it is not to be taken lightly, then I must be informed at once."
"I told you it's not that easy." His hand fell to the side and he ground his teeth. He bent over, picking up the hat and staring at it in thought. Disgust once again returned and it once again slammed into the ground, the man glaring at it angrily and doing his best to restrict his ire. "Verdammit... I thought we got rid of them."
Her eyes narrowed and she picked up the hat, brushing it off. His eyes turned away, unwilling to look at it a moment longer. Belarus had not thought of this nation as someone who would withheld information. In her own mind, he seemed blunter. Seeing him in this strange state confused and infuriated her.
"Who are they you speak of?" She demanded once more, tired of his unusual carousel of resolve and indecision. They were getting no where fast and she was tired of his almost revelry and then retraction. "Tell me or stop wasting my time."
His face finally turned to her, somewhere far from commonplace fear. Hair strands fell over his maddened eyes while his face twisted in agony. Her own eyes widened with surprise before Germany realized his expression, running a hand over his face and through his hair to calm himself. His terror had shown. Internally, the man scolded himself for not knowing better.
"You might as well know," he finally replied, taking his seat once more. As he looked up, his eyes gave off a tired light. "What Honda told you was half true. We call ourselves by our human names because it's an old habit."
Belarus raised an eyebrow but stayed silent. She didn't want to press him to speak anymore than he needed to; in her own way, she believed he would continue on his own. Her wait was not long.
"'2000. Europe. Venice, Italy.'," he recited blatantly, trying to seemed as bored with the information as he usually did. However, a sign of terror shown on his face. There was no hiding it anymore. "'Sited at a coffee shop around noon where the representation of Northern Italy had been speaking with a local shopkeeper, along with the representation of Southern Italy, the representation of Seborga, and the representation of Eastern Germany, formerly known as Prussia. Time of official appearance: Unknown. Time of interaction: Unknown. Time of assault: Unknown. Time of termination: 0400 hours the next day.'" Through his report, the corner of his mouth twisted even more and more, horror tearing him apart internally. "That was the last time we've received a report on them."
The Belarusian intertwined her fingers together laying them on her lap. "What exactly am I supposed to take from this report?"
Germany continued to stare at the ground, eyes now lost. "'File name'," he began to recite once more, distant now, "'Reapers.'" He stopped again. The man finally looked up to her, wondering whether or not to describe them as their official definition or describe them in his own words. "'The only beings not authorized by nations to have knowledge of our immortality. Origin: Unknown. If encountered, do not confront alone. Repeat. Do not confront alone or risk termination, as is the goal of these beings.'" Germany buried his face in his hand, not able to look up anymore. Here, he was visibly shaking but did not halt. "'Cannot be killed by a nation. Cannot be seen by a nation. Cannot be identified by a nation. Cannot be noticed by a nation. Under no circumstance should a nation be dispatched to confront a Reaper.'" He removed his hand, staring at the ground. "'Official class: Nation killer.'"
Her brow furrowed and her lips pursed. A... Nation killer? But weren't these nations immortal? Well, for a time immortal? And how the hell could they not be seen by a nation? This made no sense. "You're pulling my fucking leg."
"I'm not." His tone was defeated beyond belief. He was exhausted just by giving this description. "I wish I was, but I'm not. What came out of my mouth right now was fact." He turned up, his serious face returned. Letting out a shaky breath, he snatched the hat from her hands, placing it back on his head. "Stay here. Lock the doors, the windows, and don't let anyone in who is not me, Honda, or Feli-" Germany cut himself off abruptly. "Scratch the Italian. Just me and Honda. Do not leave this room alone. If you need anything, here." He removed a note from his jacket pocket, tossing it to her. "Those are our numbers. I'll come back later with your dinner. Until then, make a list of what you need."
She stood up defiantly. "So you expect me to just sit here and do nothing?"
"No. I told you to make a list."
"I am not a fucking pet!"
Germany turned fully to her, eyes narrowed angrily. "I know you aren't but you are to stay here alone. It's the safest place for you right now."
Belarus stepped toward him suspiciously. "And how am I to know you are not a Reap-"
A gloved hand shot out at her, the palm at her forehead and the fingers wrapped around her skull. Her first reaction was to swipe the hand away, before going in for a punch. He stopped her, grabbing her wrist and twisting it behind her. She found herself bent over the kitchen counter, restrained by the larger man.
"If I were a Reaper, that grab would have immobilized you. You would have been screeching on contact. The moment a Reaper grabs your head and you are alone, you are done for." He let go of her, backing away. Belarus remained bent over the counter, catching her breath. The front door opened.
"Now stop being a bitch and be thankful you've never seen one before."
It shut with a slam.
Author's Note: Guess who wrote this instead of studying for Final's week? *points at self accusatorially and cries* Well, it gets really intense here and I finally piece together our antagonist! Yay, more plot to play with! Again, thank you readers for reading, nonexistent editors for editing, and auto correct for auto correcting and other times randomly capitalizing names and words (that last part just annoyed me). Heads up for my followers! For Christmas, I plan to post a very special oneshot based off of an official Manga Strip. The regular update schedule will not be altered. I wish those who are taking finals good luck (including myself I'll need it) and happy holidays! Until Christmas!