The first time America ever killed someone he was six years old. Granted, that was in Nation years, which were sporadic and confusing, so America was actually much older than that, but when it came to his maturity level, he was on par with a small child. He did not kill the man to be evil. He didn't really have a choice. But then again, the man really didn't either.

It was the young colony's first winter alone since before he was taken in by England who had recently been called back to his European island. America and the colonists were not faring well at all. Nobody knew how to farm or hunt, and as the nights got colder, the people became more and more hungry and sick. America could remember a time when only three men were healthy enough to bury the dead. People were so hungry that they resorted to eating cats, dogs, and rats. For one man, the hunger became so unbearable that he did the unthinkable: he was caught cooking and eating his pregnant wife. Despite the growing desperation of the colonists, this was one act that could not go unpunished.

The man screamed and begged for forgiveness as the colonists built the large pile of debris. He cried as they tied him to the post. By the time they lit the torch, he was silent. America watched with morbid fascination, unable to take his eyes off of the shaking figure. Once the pier was ready, the tiny colony was handed the torch. Everyone had agreed that it was to be his responsibility to enact the first act of justice in the new land. America cried and refused but the colonists insisted, and, when it came down to it, forced him. With tears rolling down his cheeks, America stepped up to the trembling man. The man looked up, his frightened eyes meeting with the colony's watery blue ones. America turned his head away, then lit the fire.

AVAVAVAVAVAVA

There was not one Nation that enjoyed killing. They all had to at some point in their long bloody lives, but they did not find solace in it. Taking away life, whether it be that of a human or another Nation, pained them as much as a much as a regular person. However, Nations were stronger than most, and they could survive the pinning of thousands of murders before they cracked. Some did crack. Their sanity slipped away as they witnessed the cruelty of man. The other Nations saw those who were no longer completely sane and they vowed never to end up like them. Each had different methods of avoiding the pain that came with mindless killing. America used planes.

It was much harder for him before they were used. The worst was the Civil War, which, in America's opinion, had no right to be called "civil". There was nothing about any war that was civil. But, as the leaders of the countries continued to say, war was necessary. No amount of reasoning from the Nations could convince them. According to the leaders, simply existing as a potentially immortal superbeing for hundreds of years gave them no credibility. So the wars, as awful as they were, went on.

The second World War, and the one remembered by all as the worst in history, was one that America tried to remain uninvolved in. After the first great war, he saw the new weapons the humans had created to kill each other and it scared him. He did not want his people to be blown apart by bombs and gunned down by machine fire, but most of all, he did not want to be the one delivering the bombs and shooting the guns. And so, for a long time, he did remain directly uninvolved, only providing help to the allies through indirect trading agreements. When Japan attacked however, America had no choice but to enter the war. As angry as he was at Japan, who up until then he considered a friend, America was not looking forward to marching into battle and facing those he intended to kill. This is why he jumped at the chance to join the Air Force.

When America was in the air, he didn't have to watch his enemies die. He could pretend that there was nobody else in the planes he shot down, and that the levers he pulled did not release bombs on hundreds of people. This indirect way of fulfilling his duty as a Nation allowed him to push all of his bad thoughts to the back of his head. He could forget that everything he did was wrong because he didn't have to look into the frightened eyes of his victims. This level of forced ignorance satisfied him for the duration of his time in the Air Force. At least, until Hiroshima.

He should have known beforehand. That's what America told himself. He knew that this bomb was going to be bigger than the others. After all, they spent months dropping those leaflets all over Japan telling the people to surrender or evacuate. They had never actually warned an enemy about their plans before. But at the time, it was nothing more than another part of his job that America would rather not think about.

But it was not like the others, not at all. The earth shaking BOOM and subsequent flash of light jolted America as he flew the plane out of range. He looked over his shoulder and felt his heart drop at the sight of the colossal mushroom cloud. All of the anger he had felt for Japan in the last few years quickly melted into panic.

Dear God, he thought, what have I done?

There was no ignoring his actions anymore. America could no longer deny the awful truth that he had since before pushed into the dark recesses of his mind. Suddenly, another thought occurred to him: this was only the first bomb. America felt the need to find Japan and beg him to end the war, but he knew that there was no way for him to get to him in time. He could only hope that the older Nation would reconsider his stance.

AVAVAVAVAVAVAVAVA

Meanwhile, Japan was sifting through the rubble of what was once a bustling city. At first, the aftermath of the booming light was eerily quiet, but now, screams and sobs rang through the air. The bodies that were not immediately vaporized by the blast now lay in the streets, no longer resembling the people they once were. The survivors wandered aimlessly, not sure where to go. Japan felt ashamed. Why didn't he take America's warnings seriously? After Germany and Italy surrendered, they gave him a chance to follow and save his people from this fate but he refused. Japan decided that he would rather die than surrender. Now he knew that the suffering of his people was due to his own pig-headedness and the very thought made him wish that he was as susceptible to the bomb as a regular human. The only choice he had left was to convince his boss to surrender lest America drop another bomb. Hopefully, his leaders would listen.

AVAVAVAVAV

They didn't. Several days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. This time, America was not piloting. Instead, he opted to fly the planes full of aides into the destroyed cities after Japan's leaders finally surrendered. The first trip he made was the hardest. He arrived in the wasteland of Hiroshima and stood with General MacArthur in front of a crowd of thousands of Japanese citizens. As he looked out at the faces of the broken people, when he looked them in the eyes, he was reminded shockingly and painfully of the first man he killed. The expressions, full of fear, guilt, and a plea for mercy, haunted America.

After the war officially ended and Japan's occupation ceased, America left the Air needed to take a break from flying.

Author's note:

Fun Fact History Time! The very first person formally executed in the American colony was actually the guy in the beginning of this chapter, which is why I decided to use him. Kinda creepy if you ask me.-.- Also, I have claimed artistic license on America flying the plane to Hiroshima. This is obviously not what happened in real life. If you or a loved one is personally offended by this, you should really get your priorities straight.

I like to think that Japan in the present day has more or less forgiven America for the bombing, while America has yet to forgive himself. I say this because in the U.S., there is still a lot of collective guilt over the bombs and plenty of debate over its justification (if any) while in Japan (or so I've heard) the bombs are not really a huge deal anymore.

Once again, if you have any chapter suggestions (or questions for that matter) leave them in the comments!