Ohayo, minna-san!

Now this was a pretty easy chapter to write for me, largely because I've always had it planned out in my head (and I've been having more free time lately due to the semester being over). I'm still trying to figure out how to go about the next stages of grief, namely the bargaining part (for Prussia and Russia both), but inspiration should come soon for me.

Thank you again to all who've reviewed and are following my story! Your support means a lot to me! (kisses)

Disclaimer: Hetalia is the property of Hidekaz Himaruya-sama. Kenna's my creation (and if anyone wants to use her in a fic or draw fanart of her, just ask).

Also a quick note, "Asher" is the human name I'm using for Australia. He'll appear more in this fic in some future chapters.

Interim: Sorry is Not Good Enough

When Arthur saw her, he knew she was it.

His second chance.

She was so beautiful, as to be expected with the personification of the USA. She had a very different aura to her than Alfred though. Whereas Alfred was vibrant, full of life, and always ready to be everyone's friend (even though he could be a bit obnoxious about it at times), this little girl, Kenna, was a bit more cautious, guarded and only stayed by Matthew's side. She only interacted with a handful of other nations, female ones mostly as well as the countries Matthew was known to be good friends with. She didn't look timid or shy by any means, but he could tell she was practically born yesterday.

He needed to get her somehow. He just knew that her existence was a sign and a blessing most of all. He needed to bring her back with him to England and raise her properly. If he could avoid the same mistakes he made with Alfred when raising him, then he knew it would be what could redeem him.

He would not, could not let this opportunity escape from him.

"So Kenna, how do you feel?" Matt asked her.

"I'm alright, Matt," she told him. She had to admit, it was a bit annoying that Matt was being so overprotective over her. She understood his reasons, but she wasn't defenseless.

"How do you like the other nations?"

"I like plenty of them, they're nice people. I like Asher the most though. Asher's really cool."

Matt smiled, happy that at least Kenna was warming up to the other nations. He knew she would have a hard time trusting most of them, given what happened before. He had also hoped that she would be more well-liked personally than Alfred had been in a way. Alfred, though a nice and good-hearted guy, still had his occasions of being a bit loud and obnoxious and it had left Matt himself with having to deal with the consequences. He certainly didn't want Kenna to be a wallflower, but at least she seemed to be on the right track.

The meeting was called to a close, and most of the occupants had already left to go home. Whoever stayed behind was chatting with old friends, catching up in general.

"Well, I can't think of what else to do," Matt admitted as he looked at the rapidly dispersing crowd. "We should be getting home soon."

Kenna nodded, and then said, "Well before we go, I want to go to the bathroom before we leave. Is that ok?"

Matt replied, "Of course, Kenna. Meet me at the front door when you're done, alright?"

Kenna smiled and ran off to the bathroom.

Matt waited patiently at the front door, and some minutes had passed. He was starting to get worried.

Matt noted, "Kenna shouldn't be taking this long to just take a trip to the bathroom. What could be going on?"

Katyusha added, "I know, it's not like her. I hate to think the worst has happened, but something could be wrong."

Suddenly Elisabeta ran in and said, "I've just seen something else. England's car is still here. He hasn't left yet. He might be with Kenna right now."

Immediately, horror and worry hit Matt harder than a freight train. Fear gripped him as all kinds of scenarios of the worst case began playing through his mind. If he knew Arthur as well as he (hoped) he did, he knew his former caretaker was probably the reason why Kenna wasn't here yet, and Matt knew Arthur could do something awful to that poor girl.

"Everyone," Matt commanded, "split up and look for them. I don't like where any of this is going."

"No, stop it! Let me go!" Kenna pleaded as she desperately tried to free herself. It was fruitless however. Arthur kept a very tight grip on her wrist; her hand felt like it was going to fall off.

Arthur did have a feeling she wouldn't take immediately to him, but he never anticipated this kind of struggling. Why?

He had to placate her somehow.

"Look, sweetheart, I know you aren't excited about going to England with me, but I promise I won't hurt you," Arthur reassured. "I'll take very good care of you and once we get to England, I promise that I'll get you whatever you want."

Kenna angrily replied, "I'll tell you what I want – I want to be with Matt!"

Arthur persisted, "He's not fit to take care of you. I cannot let this chance slip past me. I need to make things right."

Kenna was utterly frightened now. She did not want to go to England with this asshole who did what he did to her predecessor, and though she was young, Kenna could easily tell Arthur wasn't seeing her as a person, just Alfred's replacement. Not to mention, the way he insulted Matt like that made her blood boil.

She knew she had to think fast. Anything physical was out of the question, and Arthur clearly wouldn't listen to logic. She would have to strike at him emotionally. This was her only shot. It was a risky shot in the dark, but it was one she was willing to take.

And so Kenna took a deep breath, and screamed at the top of her lungs, "I hate your guts, you lying rapist asshole!"

It worked perfectly. Arthur let her wrist go, and slapped her across the face, sending her falling to the floor. As much as her cheek burned, Kenna was glad. She did indeed have a way with words.

Arthur, as soon as he realized what he did, was overcome with shock. Now that nightmare made sense, and he had just proven her right.

Before he could do anything else, he saw the last thing he wanted. Matthew, Elisabeta and Katyusha had found him and they witnessed everything.

Arthur was about to say this wasn't what it looked like, but Matthew literally beat him to the punch. He delivered a mean right hook to Arthur's cheek, knocking him over, and would've done a lot more had it not been for Elisabeta holding him back. The Hungarian personification, once a feared female warrior that made could make Prussia cower, was just barely able to restrain him though, as Matt screamed curses and death threats to his former caretaker. Katyusha meanwhile helped Kenna up and took her away from the scene before returning to calm Matt down.

After several tense minutes, Matt finally cooled down enough that he didn't need his fists to express his rage. But he had words, and lots of them.

"Just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower, just when I thought I couldn't be more disappointed with you, you pull this stunt off," Matt ranted.

Arthur looked into the patterns of the carpet on the floor in shame. He couldn't do anything right it seemed.

Matt pressed on. "Why, Arthur? Why did you try to take Kenna away? You knew she wouldn't trust you after what you did to Alfred. And now you've only made it worse!"

Arthur immediately replied, "You wouldn't know how to raise a child! She's a complete brat! She needs someone with experience and a firm hand!"

But Matt wasn't buying it. Enraged, he yelled, "Bullshit, Arthur! I know when you're lying to me, so don't fucking try that! Now tell me the truth this time – why did you try to kidnap her?"

Arthur caved in and blurted out, "I tried to take her back with me to England because I need her! Don't you see, Matthew? She's my second chance. If I can get it right with her, I can make up for my mistakes with Alfred! That's why!"

Matt's jaw dropped at this, flabbergasted by Arthur's weak explanation. He hadn't heard an excuse for horrible actions more preposterous and stupid than...

The Canadian composed himself, and focused his rage, retorting, "So you tried to kidnap her to raise her yourself, because she's Alfred's replacement and you think that gives you the right to do whatever you want with her?"

Before Arthur could reply, Matt angrily continued. "Wake up, Arthur! Kenna is not some blank slate you can just mold and shape into whatever you want her to be! You can't, and never should force her to become some clone of Alfred just because you feel guilty for what you did seven months ago or because you're still hung up on the Revolutionary War. You never failed with Alfred; what you failed at was honoring your promise to be there for him!"

Arthur angrily retorted, "You're no different, Matthew! You weren't exactly a perfect brother towards Alfred either! I know you well enough to know that you view her as your own second chance to make things right. What makes you so special?"

Matt simply and coolly replied, "Because unlike you, I love Kenna for who she is, and I would never force her to become Alfred's clone out of some misguided attempt at redeeming myself."

Arthur was utterly silent for a moment until he managed to find his voice again.

"Why do you even care about her, Matthew? She's the result of Alfred's death, a constant reminder of your own mistakes. Why would you put so much into looking after her?" Arthur pressed.

Matt frowned for a moment before he finally responded.

"I care about her because she might be the result of Alfred's death, but none of it was her fault. She's an innocent in all this, and her hands are clean. But most of all is that I made a promise to Alfred. In his final personal letter to me, Alfred asked me to look after his successor, to guide, teach and protect whoever took his place. He didn't want what happened to him happen to anyone else."

Matt sadly turned over to the door, where Kenna was being consoled by Elisabeta and Katyusha, and turned back to Arthur, continuing on, "And when I met her for the first time, she was scared and nervous, and then I found out I was the only person in the world she actually trusts, and even then, it's limited. It just broke my heart. So I vowed I would be the best caretaker that I can be to her, and one way to be that is to never do anything that could break that trust.

"So yeah, you're right. I've never raised a kid before. Maybe I am in over my head. And I do view kenna as a second chance for myself. But unlike you, Arthur, I would never force her to be someone she's not and I would never do anything to break the trust she has in me. Kenna may have Alfred's memories, but she is not, nor ever will be him. She's her own person with her own desires and dreams.

"I'll let you off with a warning right here, Arthur – if I ever see you try to pull a stunt like this ever again, I will not hold back, and I won't let anyone or anything stop me. I'll leave it up to you to imagine what I would do to you. Just remember that," Matt viciously hissed. He turned around and walked away.

"Matthew, wait, please!" Arthur desperately cried out. He already lost one of his boys; he couldn't bear to lose another. All the while, Arthur tried to ignore that nasty, horrible voice in the back of his mind that was telling him it was too late; Matthew was already lost to him.

Matt turned around, clearly exasperated. Through clenched teeth, he demanded, "What is it now?!"

Arthur choked out, "I'm sorry!"

It was really all he could say, and though he really did mean it, it clearly didn't resonate for Matt.

Matt just shook his head and sighed, "Sorry is not good enough, Arthur. You've caused way too much pain and damage for that one lame, little, half-assed apology to mean anything."

And with that Matt left, signifying he cut Arthur out of his life for good. As he did, Matt quickly made a mental note to himself to sign Kenna up for some self-defense classes. She would definitely need them.

Arthur slumped into an armchair nearby and mentally kicked himself. He was so stupid! What was he thinking? What was wrong with him even?

He wasn't sure if it was his own guilty conscience, or ghosts, or some other outside influence, but he could hear the voices with frightening clarity, and their malice burning into him. They all said the same thing.

You've learned nothing.

As Matt drove home with Kenna, he just couldn't help but reflect on what happened back there. An error in his judgement could've resulted in the worst kind of disaster for him and Kenna. He felt like a total idiot for not keeping a closer eye on her, and having enough faith that Alfred's attackers wouldn't try anything stupid with her. Then again, they always say hindsight is 20/20. It was just quick thinking and luck that Matt was able to stop Arthur from taking Kenna away and force her to play out a sick redemption fantasy.

He wished he could have done more than just punch Arthur's lights out. It was a beating that, as far as the Canada personification was concerned, a very long overdue one.

Suddenly, Kenna broke the silence, asking, "Matt, are you okay?"

Matt stole a quick glance at her, and sighed. He really could not bring himself to lie to his little sister.

"No, sweetie belle. I'm not okay," Matt admitted sadly. "It's all my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone."

I shouldn't have left Alfred alone.

Kenna tried to say, "But Matt, Arthur would've tried something anyway, no matter-"

"No Kenna, that isn't what I meant. I shouldn't have put faith in the possibility that one of them would have learned their lessons and not do something stupid with you. Arthur especially. I'm not going to let that happen ever again. I can't risk it."

Kenna scowled and added, "Well you shouldn't treat me like I'm defenseless though Matt. I got Arthur to let go of me and stalled him just by calling him names."

Matt turned and replied, "I know, Kenna, I know. I saw everything, and even though I didn't really like that you had to resort to foul language like that, I am proud of you for thinking fast. But also remember you're still in the body of a young girl. And I know I can't be around to protect you all time, which is why I will sign you up for karate lessons to teach you about self-defense if that sort of situation crops up again."

Kenna wasn't totally sure if she should be comforted by that. On one hand, it felt nice to know Matt wasn't going to treat her like a defenseless baby, and was willing to sign her up for self-defense classes. On the other hand, it also felt a bit condescending that Matt was still dead set on acting like he had to protect her, like she was some precious artifact.

Of course, she knew why Matt did this.

Matt made a promise to his brother not to let what happened Alfred happen to Kenna herself. And everyone could see how much Matt still blamed himself for not being able to prevent that assault on Alfred.

I made her sometimes wonder if Matt really did resent her existence, deep, deep down inside.

She did agree agree completely with Matt on one thing though.

Arthur's "sorry" was not good enough.

Not good enough to make up for the pain he caused everyone, not good enough to make his horrible mistakes forgivable, not good enough to excuse his extreme stupidity.

Not good enough at all.

Oh boy, you've really screwed up big this time Artie. You really should not have done that.

As for this chapter, I really liked writing it. I really feel that aside from delving a bit into Arthur's fractured mind (which will be even more fractured by the time the Despair chapter rolls around), I also felt like showing a sort of... darker side, I guess you could say, of Matt and Kenna's relationship. Matt really does love that girl, no question, and would do anything to protect her, but in his desire to protect her, live up to the promise he made to Alfred, and to atone for not being able to prevent the tragedy, he's letting himself go to extreme measures to keep her safe. Kenna understands his reasons completely, but she doesn't want to be coddled and despite her shyness, she still has that tough American spirit that will come into play more as she gets older.

Also, I did get a message from an IRL friend of mine reading this, and she felt Matt was being a little too brutal and unforgiving towards Arthur. But TBH, I really honestly don't see it at all. After everything he's gone through, of course I kinda think that Matt's going to feel that just saying "I'm sorry" is nowhere near good enough to make up for all the damage Arthur caused. If he wants matt's forgiveness, Arthur is going to have to give the kid his space and time to grieve properly, and step up to the plate big time.

So enough with my rambling! I'm gonna start working on the next chapter, which is about the second grief stage, Anger, starring Mattie himself, along with Romano. Also, I'm working on an MLP:FiM fanfic that's been posted on Fimfiction, which I've been pouring a lot of effort into as well. Boy I'm a busy girl!

Sound off on your reviews! Let me know what you think about Matt, Kenna and Arthur here. (Love you guys!)