"Feel better now?" Japan tried to keep his tone steady as he helped the shorter nation dry his hair with a towel.
"Hai!" The boy responded happily before jumping into Kiku's arms, giving the taller nation quite a surprise. "Japan seems to know everything, aru! Big brother is so wise!"
Any other nation would've pushed off the praise and told the child that he too would come to be great and wise someday too, but Japan couldn't do it. He just couldn't.
"I…I'm not." Kiku tried to avoid meeting the boy with his eyes. "I'm really not wise…I just know things."
"But you are wise, aru" The little China pushed. "Well…I say you are."
The sweat on the back of Kiku's neck began to drip down the hide of his kimono as Japan tried to wave away what the child had meant as a complement. "I-I'm really not…"
But by the time he had found the words to say, the excited child nation had already left the room, leaving Japan to wonder what could keep the little guy going for so long.
"So much energy." Kiku said with a soft laugh before standing up to follow China, pushing his worries away for the time. "…or could it just be that I'm not the one playing the child anymore?"
He found the boy in his own room, with the back of his kimono taken off again, and his hair tied up higher and out of the way.
"Japan…?" He asked with a soft voice.
For once, Kiku was afraid to respond. "...yes?"
"Do you know…" His little voice was caught up in thoughts. "…how I got this scar?"
It was only now that Japan had felt a sense of regret for taking on the responsibility of taking care of the little China. With a long sigh, followed by a pure silence, he prepared his mouth…and mind for the answer he had to give.
"It was…war." He paused to see how the boy would react.
"War?" The child's voice sounded too innocent to know of such a word. "I have been in war, aru?"
Kiku gave half a nod, "We all have." He said simply.
"Japan…?"
The taller nation had sat himself down on his knees, the very position he had been taught by the China he used to learn from so many years back. "Yes?"
"Why do we have wars, aru?" Japan was glad the boy did not ask further of the previous topic. "People get hurt in wars, don't they? So then…why even start them, aru?"
Kiku took too long to respond.
"Do we want people to be hurt, aru?" China's voice shook with the worry every nation seemed to have.
"No one wants wars, China." Japan pulled him into his lap and stroked the lengthy hair of his smaller brother in attempt to calm him, "No one wants to fight with one another."
"Then…" The boy asked as he let his head fall against the taller nation's chest, "...why do we fight, aru?"
Kiku sighed and pulled the boy closer to his chest, before closing his eyes, watching the images and memories of the many battles and lives he had fought through the years. None of them were able to give him an answer.
"Why do we fight?" He thought to himself.
The memories that flashed through his mind were not all those of which occurred during the time of war. This world alone, even without wars going on, was in enough chaos already. So then…why did they fight? What was the point of it all, if in the end, the only thing you receive is the glory of winning…and the blood of those whom gave their lives in attempt to stop you?
"We don't want war…none of us do." Japan repeated. "But when we disagree…to those with even the least bit of pride, violent acts…wars...are what we feel is the only answer."
He tried to give a weak smile, but this time wasn't his turn to give. Instead, the smaller brother wrapped his tiny arms around Japan, giving him the feeling no amount of power or guns could ever even try to create.
"But you and I both know that it isn't the only answer…" Japan responded weakly as he too pulled his arms around the little one. "Our world is just…lost."
"Yes…lost and confused. Though, with the help of the other countries, it can find its way again. It's just that…well, sometimes our nations disagree on which direction to point it in."
He paused, reflecting on some the directions he had led the world at times.
"But that is why there are so many of us." Japan felt as if he was arguing with his own self. "With so many people on each and every side of the world…we have so many different opinions and views of what can be right and wrong."
It took Japan a few moments to continue, still holding onto his 'little' brother.
"And…as long as we have each other, and the ability to forgive, we might just be able to not only point the world to a better direction…but also the nations who have seemed to fall lost along with it."
A silence fell between the two, giving Kiku the sense he had said something wrong.
"Then…" China suddenly broke the quiet before letting go of the larger nation and turning back to the mirror, spinning around to look at the red scar that had been forced upon him before he even knew why. "…I hope the one who gave me this knows that he is forgiven."
Because it's not just the world that can be pointed in the right direction…it's you and me.
A thousand apologies to those following this one! For some reason my backup failed and I had to rewrite so many things. Fortunately, this wasn't one of them - but the file was corrupt so it took a while to de-code. But again, so sorry to those of you that have been waiting! Updates from now on should stay constant!