Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 10

Malaysia heard the words that came out of France's mouth, but it couldn't be true. Switzerland rushed to the computer, probably to read the report himself, but Malaysia kept his eyes on France.

"No," he said. "Japan… We're friends now. H-he wouldn't…"

"I'm not accusing Japan," France said. "That is not what I'm doing. I said it's similar to what his people used. It could easily be a terrorist organisation or… Someone else."

"You said 'warfare'," Germany said. "Not 'terrorism'. Why would you say that if you didn't mean 'warfare'?"

"It's just the first word that occurred to me. I'm sorry. But anyone with an internet connection and enough time can find out what the Japanese did. And many people with a degree in biology and chemistry would be able to weaponize something like this."

"But to make it absolutely clear, you think that it could be no accident for this to end up in Malaysia's water supply?"

"…No, I don't think it's an accident. I think someone deliberately did this, but I don't know if it's a terrorist or a soldier that could have done something like this. If it's a terrorist, then things are simple. If it's a soldier…"

"Then this could be a declaration of war, and a war crime!" Switzerland snapped. "What happened to the days when wars started with England and France having an argument?"

"I'll have you know that we haven't started a war in almost two hundred years!" France huffed. "Anyway, Malaysia, do you know who might have reason to start a war with you?"

Malaysia frowned and shook his head.

"The only thing would be territorial disputes," Malaysia said. "And about half those nations are in this room."

Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia cleared their throats.

"I think it's safe to rule them out," Germany sighed. "This isn't helping. We're only growing paranoid and suspicious. We should wait until we have more information."

"And how many people will die in the meantime?" Singapore asked. He turned to Malaysia with a pained expression. "Someone deliberately made him sick, and he's suffering. What's going to happen if this is an act of war and Mal ends up in a coma because of this?"

Malaysia flinched. So, Singapore knew. He placed his hand on his abdomen, where he could feel something spasming. If his country became caught up in a war and he was unable to help…

He remembered being strapped to an operating table, having incisions cut into him while his people were dying. He was too far away to help them…

He shook his head. What happened then and what was happening now didn't have anything to do with each other. Alright, so the last time he felt sick was when Japan and his people injected him with those pathogens to see how long it would take his body to recover. But they didn't…

You will forget everything that happened.

Malaysia's eyes snapped open. When did they close? Was that another memory that came to him, or was it his imagination?

I don't need anyone to know about any of this. You will forget. I found you in one of the camps. You were severely injured. You recovered in my home. You will not remember what really happened. You will tell no one.

Malaysia trembled as the words echoed through his mind. He didn't realise that people were speaking around him. He closed his eyes and tried to remember everything he'd forgotten.

He saw Japan, standing over him. Japan's torso was wrapped in bandages, and Malaysia's head felt heavy.

You will not tell anyone about any of this.

"Malaysia!"

He gasped as his eyes snapped open again. The face in front of him was blurry, but he could recognise the voice. It sounded like… Singapore…?

He flinched when a hand pressed against his forehead, and a Malay swear informed him that, yes, it was Singapore in front of him.

"He's getting hot again," Singapore said.

Singapore moved away, and through blurry eyes, he could see yellow. Blond hair… France or Switzerland. He winced when the person pushed something in his mouth, and his tongue moved the thermometer underneath it.

"I think we should stop discussing this now," France said. "He's just growing upset."

"S-Singa…" Malaysia gasped. "Please, I want to tell Singa something. Alone. Please."

"Malaysia, you're growing…"

"Please!"

France sighed, and Malaysia watched as everyone left. Singapore took Malaysia's hand, and Malaysia took a deep breath as he removed the thermometer.

"What is it you want to tell me?" Singapore asked.

"I… I remember," Malaysia said. Tears were gathering in his eyes. "The one who experimented on me… It was Japan."

"…I know. I confronted him. He said he didn't know what his people were doing to you. He only found out near the end."

"He lied. He was there when they took me there. I-I don't know how long I was there, but… W-when Japan took me from there, I-I think it was when they lobotomised me. Japan… he wanted me to forget about everything. B-but I remember everything. I remember… He was there for a lot of the experiments."

Singapore's hand tightened around Malaysia's.

"Japan… lied?" Singapore whispered. "Was he scared to admit responsibility? Was he trying to avoid trouble?"

"I think so," Malaysia said. "But there's something else. Japan was at my house a while ago. He was… just visiting. He stayed for two days."

"…How long ago?"

"I don't know. I can't… I can't remember. I don't want to think that he did this to me, but… I-if I'm in a coma, I-I just want you to know. A-and I want you to take care of my people if I can't."

"Mal, you won't end up in a coma. We're not going to let that happen."

"But how are you going to stop it? You can't just make me feel healthy again. A-and if Japan's the one that did this… I-I mean, he did this before. W-why wouldn't he do it again?"

Malaysia could feel the heat building, and he hoped that he was coherent. He didn't want to think that Japan was the one responsible for this, but at the very least, he needed Japan to answer for what he'd done in the past.

"I'll ask someone to come with me," Singapore said. "And then we'll speak to Japan. But, Mal… You know that you're making a serious accusation, right?"

Malaysia didn't answer. He just smiled and closed his eyes. He was tired. He needed sleep.

…

Singapore watched as Malaysia's eyes slipped closed and his hand went limp. No one fell asleep that fast, so perhaps Malaysia passed out again. Singapore put his hand on Malaysia's forehead and winced again. It didn't feel safe to leave him like that.

"France!" Singapore called.

France rushed in soon afterwards, and he made his way to their side. He immediately started to examine Malaysia.

"He told me that Japan was the one that experimented on him back then," Singapore said in a low voice.

"I know," France said, his voice equally low. "He told me too."

"Mal said that Japan was there when they first brought him. But Japan told me that he only found out at the end what they were doing to Mal. So, either Mal remembered wrong, or Japan lied to me."

"And that complicates things. If it turns out that Japan lied about what happened in the past, then it would reflect badly on him now. It would make it more likely that Japan infected Malaysia, but why?"

"I promised Mal that I would speak with Japan. Should I do it? Would it actually help?"

"Possibly. If you want, I can go with you now. Turkey came to relieve me of my duty. I can get some sleep now, but I'll come with you first, if you need it."

"Thanks." Singapore looked back towards Malaysia again, and he stroked Malaysia's hair one more time before he turned around. "Let's go."

The others were still waiting outside, and Singapore saw that Turkey had indeed arrived. The others had obviously filled him in on everything new they'd learned, and he turned to Singapore with a grimace.

"How is he?" Turkey asked.

"He passed out," France said. "His fever spiked again. Could you just keep an eye on him?"

"Sure. Anyway, enjoy your sleep."

"I hope to see you in two hours," Switzerland said with narrowed eyes.

"Oui, of course," France said. He pulled out his phone and did something with it. "There. I've set an alarm for an hour and fifty minutes. I will not be late."

Switzerland nodded. Now that Singapore actually looked, he could see the bags under his eyes. The same with France, and the fact that Turkey didn't even put on his mask again allowed Singapore to see that he was in a similar state. The three of them had been working hard for Malaysia's sake. He didn't actually realise how hard until that moment.

"Thank you all for your help," Singapore said. "I appreciate everything you do for my brother."

"We just hope he gets better," Turkey said. "I'm really starting to get worried about him. He doesn't look good at all, and he looks to be suffering."

Singapore smiled and nodded. He turned around and started walking with France at his side. He turned around again when he heard the others following.

"France and I need to do something together," Singapore said. "Why don't you guys get some dinner or something?"

"What are you up to?" Philippines asked, crossing his arms.

"…You're going to confront Japan, aren't you?" Thailand asked.

Singapore flinched. Was he really so transparent?

"He lied to me earlier," he said. "I need to know why."

"If he lied, do you honestly think he's going to tell you the truth now?" Philippines asked.

"…I just need to know. I promised Mal."

The others slumped. They understood the seriousness of Singapore's thoughts. Whether or not they approved was a different matter.

"We're coming with you," Philippines said.

"Non," France said, shaking his head. "If there are too many of you, then Japan will be less likely to cooperate, and it might just make him resistant. It should only be Singapore and I."

France grabbed Singapore's arm and started to drag him along.

"Do you know which room is Japan's?" France asked.

Singapore nodded. He had seen it the previous day, when Malaysia had stormed in to vomit. He had taken note of it, just in case he needed to speak to Japan again. He had been worried about Malaysia, and…

Was it worry? Or was Japan just eager to see the effects of whatever he was doing to Malaysia in person? No. Singapore had to stop thinking like that. It was too early to say that Japan had anything to do with this. It was the worry that made him paranoid. He wanted something concrete that he could blame for Malaysia's condition.

"I hope this doesn't take too long," France said with a yawn as they stepped into the elevator. "I don't even get a full two hours of sleep."

Singapore winced.

"Sorry about this," he said. "Have you ever had to deal with anything like his before?"

"No, not in the last century," France sighed. "Just a few mild conditions through the years. And if there's a disaster in the countries. Remember that tsunami that hit Japan over a decade ago? It was during a meeting, and Japan got really sick then. Of course, this isn't the same thing. The closest I can say is when China contacted SARS, along with Hong Kong and Macau. The three of them were not the best patients."

The elevator stopped, and Singapore led the way. He looked at the room numbers as they passed, taking note of the room they were currently staying in. If they reached Malaysia's old room, then they'd gone too far.

Finally, they stopped in front of room 435. This was Japan's room. Singapore took a deep breath before he knocked.

They waited for some time. Singapore wondered if Japan was even in his room. Before he could knock again, however, the door opened. Japan's hair was wet.

"Sorry," Japan said. "I was just getting out of the shower." He looked between France and Singapore. "Is something wrong?"

"Japan, we would like to speak to you for a moment, if that's alright," Singapore said.

Japan looked between the two of them again, and it might have been Singapore's imagination, but he could have sworn he saw a brief hint of fear in Japan's expression. He eventually nodded and stepped aside, allowing the two of them to enter.

"I assume this has something to do with Malaysia?" Japan asked as he went for one of the chairs.

"Yeah," Singapore said. "He remembers a few things. And you lied to me."

Japan had reached for a bottle of water on the table before he froze. He turned to Singapore with a blank look.

"Pardon?" he asked.

"You lied to me," Singapore repeated. "Mal remembers. He said you were there from the very start, and that you did a lot of those things to him. You told me that you only found him near the end."

"You said it yourself, he had an episode of delirium. He could simply have confused a nightmare with a memory."

"I don't think so," France said. "We performed a brain scan on Malaysia. There is definite evidence of brain damage that doesn't look like brain degradation. I also happened to see that there's a scar along the side of his head. I wonder, if we were to do an x-ray, would it show that his skull has an old fracture at the same place? The damage to the brain and the scar I found look a lot like someone drilled into his skull. Singapore, didn't you say that Malaysia remembered a lobotomy?"

Singapore felt nauseous, but he nodded.

"That's right," Singapore whispered.

"Wounds inflicted by other nations take longer to heal," France said. "And they sometimes leave scars. If humans had performed the lobotomy, then there would be no trace of it. But if a nation did…"

Japan looked between France and Singapore. He was fiddling with the bottle of water. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed.

"You're correct," he said. "I did take part in these experiments. They wanted to find a nation to compare the human results against, and if I didn't have a subject, they would have used me instead. Malaysia had been recently captured by my soldiers, so I took him."

Singapore swallowed. He could taste the bile.

"Mal said that you wanted him to forget about it," he said. "You tried to make him forget. How? And why?"

"It was when he was healing from the lobotomy," Japan said. "It takes a nation longer to heal from a lobotomy than it is to revive after death. About a week, more or less. While he was like that, I used gaslighting and hypnotic suggestions to convince him to forget what happened. The war had ended, and my country was already dealing with all of the war crimes becoming public. If I could pretend that they were just my rulers, just my army, just my people, I would be fine, but if anyone learned of what I did to Malaysia…"

"So in other words, you decided to be an irresponsible coward?" Japan flinched at the words. "Mal's memory is coming back, and they're all coming back at once. Do you have any idea how many times he's had a nightmare since he first got sick? I suppose you know the things you and your people did to him the best."

"…I do. I suspect that the high fever is triggering his memories. Most of the diseases he had been infected with had fevers."

"And what about now?"

"…What do you mean? You don't… You don't think that I'm the reason why he's sick now, do you?"

Singapore bit his tongue. This was not the best way to approach this, he knew, but he needed to know…

"They managed to find the cause of the infection," France said. "The water supply is contaminated, but that's not all. They managed to find shards of porcelain, like…"

"Defoliation bacilli bombs," Japan whispered. "Or, something in that vein. But…" He paused, his eyes widening. "A few months ago, there was a fire at one of my government buildings. The fire did a lot of damage, and a lot of documents went missing. What if… What if some of those documents were, in fact, stolen?"

"And why wouldn't you mention it earlier?" Singapore snapped.

"Because some of those documents are top secret. In fact, the fire itself is top secret. We don't want anyone to know about the fire in the first place. As far as the public and the police know, the building doesn't exist."

"And why would you have a building like that?" France asked.

"…Are you seriously going to tell me that you don't have a building like that? A place where you store some of the more unsavoury things you'd done to your colonies while you were an empire?"

France cleared his throat.

"…D'accord, I see your point," he said. "So, what would you have stored in a place like that?"

Singapore's eyes widened.

"You could have stored the details on the experiments you'd done to Malaysia there," Singapore said. "Am I right?"

"…As regrettable as it is to say that, you are right. Details on Malaysia's experiments were there. Even if I hadn't been an… irresponsible coward, I wouldn't want the public to know about those experiments. As you know, the public at large isn't fully aware of the existence of nations, and…"

"And having something like that out in the world would be bad," France said. "Do you have any idea who could have stolen it?"

Japan shook his head. He placed the bottle back on the table and stood.

"I will get in touch with my Prime Minister," Japan said, "and I will find out who is responsible. Because if the idea of infecting Malaysia's people came from those documents… They know how to create bombs filled with pathogens. And they would not stop there."