Hey guys! :D

Sorry I've taken so long to update! :( Aside from dealing with finals, looking for a second part-time job, as well as the general chaos of the holiday season, this chapter was just hard to write in general. I'll be honest, I don't have the best grips of Kiku and Yao's characters, nor am I good at writing the denial mindset. Hopefully the next stages are easier to write (spoiler: Artie boy's going to be in the Despair Stage, and I am planning to really make him suffer, mwahahahaha!).

I'll also take the moment to thank you guys for all your amazing support, whether it's reviewing, following or favoriting this story! I also want to immensely thank the wonderful sweetheart known as Black Rookie for beta-reading this story! It means so much to me! I love all of you! (kiss) 3

Without further ado, here it is!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. It's the baby of Hidekaz Himaruya. I do own Kenna though.

The First Stage: Denial

The first stage of grief is denial. When the news of tragedy reaches their ears, the person won't believe it. They deny it is there, that this is happening to them. They shut it out, and reject the reality of the situation.

This will only lead to disaster, as the evidence will continue to present itself, and soon, this little wall of ignorance will break.

He still didn't want to believe it.

Kiku did not want to acknowledge the simple fact that Alfred was dead.

He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he was (partly) responsible for it.

And he didn't want to acknowledge the fact that he would probably never be able to right his wrongs.

He couldn't deny one thing however.

That nightmare he had over three weeks ago still haunted him. It chilled him to the very core, and no matter what Kiku tried, it wouldn't leave his mind. That girl in particular disturbed him. He had never seen her before, yet felt like he should know who she was. He didn't know why either, and that, in a way frightened him.

And if that girl herself wasn't unsettling enough on her own, there was also her and Alfred's words to him in that nightmare. How they forced him to wear that awful mask that robbed him of his mouth. All he could do was scream even when it wouldn't let him.

He didn't want to let those words get to him; acknowledge them even.

He would not let them get to him. He would hold his head up high and continue on working and going about his days as if nothing was wrong.

He also tried to ignore the cruel irony of that action.

As Kiku did his routine email check, one caught his eye – an invitation from a fellow Nation. He was surprised to say the least. After Matthew revealed what happened to Alfred, no one wanted to talk to him anymore. His siblings hated his guts, and even Herakles refused to look at him anymore when he found out and told Kiku to (in his own words), "go fuck himself."

Kiku tried not to let that hurt him.

It looked like the message was important though; otherwise, why would anyone want to contact him unless they really had to now? He opened it.

Kiku scanned the short email, which said that a meeting was being called to take place two days from now, and all nations that could make it absolutely had to come. The matter seemed urgent enough, and the nation calling for it was Canada himself.

Kiku did have to admit, he really did not want to come if Canada was the one calling for this meeting. As much as the Japan personification loathed admitting it, Matthew Williams had every good reason in the universe to despise him for what he did.

But then Kiku looked at it from a logical standpoint – Matthew would not call a meeting for every nation to come for a stupid reason. And Matthew himself grudgingly admitted that the possibility of getting revenge was not possible for him.

And the worst that could happen would likely be just being shunned and glared at by the others.

Kiku sent out an RSVP in a reply, and decided to get ready.

When Yao looked at his inbox, he was shocked to say the least. Him, get invited to something? Well, okay, it was actually just a meeting, not a party or something like that, but the fact that the invitation stated that it was very important he make an appearance. Something Canada deemed important enough that it was imperative all nations come to this meeting.

He honestly did not want to go. He hated the way his old friends and family members refused to associate with him anymore, how his one mistake turned him into a total pariah. He did not like being reminded of it at all.

Of course, Yao knew why. Of course he knew what he did was terrible, and he felt guilty. He wanted nothing more than to go back in time and prevent it. He apologized for it, but no one accepted them. He was a cast off.

He would've rejected the invitation if it wasn't for a strange nagging feeling he had that he should accept.

And so Yao decided to accept the invite, if only because he had nothing to lose.

Two days later...

As Matt looked around, he was pretty surprised at the turnaround the meeting had generated. Aside from the nations he knew would come (Katyusha, Elisabeta and Roderich, and countries he was known to have good relations with like Netherlands and Australia), he also saw the nine nations that he honestly wished wouldn't be here, but had to be. The Scandinavian countries were here as well, along with much of the South American nations.

What really surprised Matt the most however, was that nations that America was never on the best of terms with (several Middle Eastern countries, for starters) were downright disgusted with what happened, and gave Matt their sincerest regards to him for the loss he endured. It seemed what The Nine did was something even the Middle Easterners wouldn't wish on their most hated "enemy". Some were able to make it, feeling rather out of place here, but trying to get comfortable, and curious as to why this meeting was called.

The Canadian personification also noticed the ostracizing as well. Aside from Katyusha, Natalia was also completely ignoring her once beloved brother, who was sitting at the far end of the table, awkwardly trying to start a conversation with Yao. Yao barely seemed interested in any of this, especially when the other Asian nations only viciously glared at him and Kiku, letting them both know they were not welcome any time soon.

Once he was sure everyone that could make it was here, Matt began to walk towards the podium at the front of the table, standing there and he began to speak.

"As you all know, over a month ago, my brother, Alfred F. Jones, personification of the United States of America, took his own life after nine people he thought he could trust betrayed his faith."

Every nation in the room became solemn and it wasn't lost on Matt when he saw Alfred's attackers, off in their own little corner at the end of the table, flinched. And it made Matt glad in a way; he would not let them forget what they did. They hurt him and betrayed him as well, and took his brother from him; no amount of pain he inflicted on them would ever match the emotional scar they left in his heart. But he pushed that feeling aside for now and stayed professional, continuing on.

"But even though my brother is gone, he is not forgotten, and his legacy does live on. Ten days ago, I received news that a child appeared at the White House lawn, asking specifically to see me. And when I met her, I knew she was the one. Ladies and gentlemen, Nations of the world, meet the new personification of the United States of America, Kenna Emily Hope Jones."

Several nations actually gasped at this, surprised at Matt's story of meeting a new personification, and particularly of the fact that her last name was the same as Alfred's. Chatter started up again as they wondered what she must be like, some hoping she was a sign of good things to come and others being more apprehensive about her.

Matt yelled out, "Everyone settle down! She is coming right now, and this is her first appearance. Let her speak first, then ask her your questions if you have any."

A few seconds passed, and no one came through the door. Matt scowled and then changed his expression to something much more tender and gentle as he walked to the double door entrance and said, "Kenna, come on out now. They're all waiting to see you."

After a short conversation including Matt reassuring her it was okay, Kenna finally came in with him.

As Kenna entered, she scanned over the room, biting her lip in a nervous anxiety. Her stomach felt like it was about to lurch out and she would begin vomiting all over the place. There were so many nations here, some that she recognized from her memories from Alfred, and others she wasn't so sure of.

She could see that reactions to her were mixed, to say the least. Some, mostly the female nations, cooed at how beautiful she was, which made her blush a little. Others were more shocked if anything, mainly by the fact that she was female and a young child on top of that.

Alfred's attackers meanwhile had the most curious of reactions. Arthur looked shocked, but that was replaced by an expression that no one could seem to decipher. Francis, Feliciano, Ludwig and Gilbert cringed back, clearly looking scared of her, Feliciano most especially, who looked like he was about to scream. Ivan just seemed to be engrossed by her, staring intently at her face as if she reminded him of someone he knew from a long time ago.

Kiku and Yao had particularly strange expressions. It was as if her merely being here was a complete and utter shock to their systems. She really had no idea what was going on with them, and tried to ignore them. She did not want to look at any of their faces; she wasn't going to let them get to her. They didn't actually lay a hand on her themselves, but she still felt a burning hatred towards them for what they did to her predecessor, and the horrible memories they had to leave her to deal with.

Her throat felt tight and all she could manage to croak out was a quiet little hello. She swallowed, trying to get rid of the dryness, the lumps and everything else in there to finally talk coherently.

"Like Matt said, my name is Kenna Jones. I'm the new personification of the USA. I can't really describe how I came into the world; I just appeared and woke up in the middle of a field. I found Matt and he has been looking after me ever since. I hope that I can do a good job, and be able to fill out the shoes my predecessor left behind. I know a lot of you probably won't like me a lot because I'm Alfred's successor, but I promise that I'll be different, but just as strong. Thank you."

Kenna turned away and ran back to Matt and Katyusha, almost hyperventilating. At least that part was finally over and out of the way. All she wanted was for this to be over as soon as possible.

Matt stood at the podium again and said, "As you can all see, since she's still a child, she won't be directly involved in any meetings. I still will be filling in the spot as both Canada and the USA in all affairs until Kenna's of age and knowledgeable of all protocols and dealings of Nations. Thank you for attending, every one of you. I sincerely hope for better things to come."

When Kiku and Yao both saw Kenna, neither could believe it. Not only did a new nation come into existence, but one for a country already established, and coming into the world as a young child for that matter.

But that wasn't why they were shocked.

This girl was complete solid proof of it. Her very existence was proof that Alfred really was gone, forever. He was dead, and it was their faults.

Seeing her in the flesh was like a big slap in the face, a wake-up call telling them to stop living in denial.

For the personification of Japan, several different emotions hit him like a ton of bricks, the biggest of which was grief. And then there was immediate guilt and horrific self-loathing that consumed him.

Kiku betrayed his friend, pushed him to the edge of despair and now left this innocent child here to take up a job she wasn't ready for. Alfred was gone, and there was nothing he could do to lie to himself about it any longer. The lies and denial were a comfort he did not deserve to feel. The truth was painful, and he could feel it, like a boot viciously and ruthlessly stomping down on his face, forever.

Yao on the other hand, just felt the full weight of what he had done sink fully into him. Sure, he knew what he did was wrong, but he still didn't want to take any responsibility for it, until now. He could recognize Kenna moreover; she was a much younger version of that woman he saw in that nightmare. It was surreal how this shy, innocent and rather sweet looking little girl could be the same person who gleefully watched him get sodomized and then eaten alive. Her existence itself felt like a punishment, a living reminder of his sins. He deserved no sympathy.

This was their reality.

They couldn't deny it any longer.

They did this to themselves. They only had themselves to blame.

And most of all, they knew they deserved it all. The hatred, the scorn, and everything else.

All they could do now was learn to live with it.

I know, it was very short. _ Like I've said before, it was hard to write both Kiku and Yao's characters, as well as what it feels like to be in denial. I hope I got their initial stubbornness and the "wake-up-call" feelings aside. Black Rookie was a good help in kinda filling out certain parts like Kenna's own perspective, the other countries attending and their reactions, and stuff.

So sound off your thoughts, and I promise once the semester is all done for me next week, I will be getting the next chapter out sooner. And I promise it'll be awesome. ;)

Love you all!

- Kizuna