hetalia | [fanfic-oneshot] there is no despair

Title: There Is No Despair
Author/Artist: Valkyrievamp289
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Japan -- and the other countries as well.
Rating: G
Warnings: Not much, but if you're not into emotional stuff then consider yourself warned.
Summary: A brief recollection of Japan's thoughts and feelings during the recent earthquake/tsunami.
Author's Notes: I don't really have anything to say. ^_^ Just read, comment if you like, and enjoy. :)

There was a metallic tinge in the air, which turned “breathing” into a particularly difficult feat, in addition to all the multitude of quandaries that he was forced to undergo.

Japan found himself standing in the middle of a collapsed city, watching mutely as his women wept and his men struggled. The children had grown silent at the sound of their parents’ distress, and the ring of the sirens bellowed endlessly in the background. Grief flashed across his usually aloof face, like a crack on a sheet of ice, whilst other emotions played inside his dark mahogany eyes, twisting and coiling round the others, until they became so incomprehensible a feeling that even Japan could not understand. But he had no time to dwell on his sentiments, nor did he have the right to be swayed by his despair. For at that moment, his beloved people were suffering and he needed to act.

But he did not expect this to happen.

This was not the first time Japan had received such a blow from Mother Nature, and he could still vividly remember the horrors of his earliest experience. Even as decades passed and the times changed, everything about this affair had beheld such a stark similarity with its predecessor, yet there was as much semblance in it as there was a difference.

The most recent blow was more painful for Japan than the first, for he had thought that he was prepared for it. The technology and all those years of ardent preparations… they hardly stood a chance against this predicament. He had efficiently braced himself for anymore monstrous earthquakes; but he had not foreseen the disastrous aftereffects, which came in the form of a ravaging tsunami, and the worst of them all: radiation.

The country felt like he was reliving a nightmare, for his wounds from Hiroshima was still very fresh, and the sting kept him on the edge every single day. And now, this had happened. It was a very befitting situation for that famous colloquial proverb of “rubbing salt against the wound” since there was no better salt for such wounds that he bore than this. Japan knew it was not fair to blame the Earth for this, but he could not help but feel a little resentment towards Fate, for it seemed to him that he was being constantly punished for sins he thought he already paid for.

“Kiku!”

Japan turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight.

They had come.

The arrival of help from the other countries was welcomed with an uncertain smile. America came first, an unnaturally grave expression on his usually jovial features; next came Germany and quickly followed by Switzerland, both of them looking no different from what they usually looked, except that there was a hint of pity in their anxious eyes, a look that Japan very much detested. Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, and finally, China. He grimaced at the concern on his older brother’s face, and braced himself for a long lecture from the older country, but his worries dissipated as soon as he felt familiar arms wrap around his tired and battered body. Japan was surprised at this unprecedented embrace, but he did not push away. Instead he allowed himself to lean against the other country’s frame, and for a moment just relax a little bit.

“We’ve come to help.”

He knew that, of course. Why else would they have come? But hearing it said aloud was surprisingly more comforting than he first thought. Japan gave his brother and all the others a grateful smile. Suddenly the wound had stopped stinging, and the salt no longer a threat. “Thank you,” he stated and bowed respectful at his friends. America’s face broke into a smile – he couldn’t possibly hold such a solemn expression for so long – and Japan found his hand on his shoulder. For once, the loud country did not talk, but everything that needed to be said had been said.

Much work was to be done. Japan was well aware of that fact. And despite having more than a seventy countries pledged to assist him, the country feared that his recovery would take longer than he originally planned. But he had hope.

For amidst all the emotions that played, twisted, and coiled around Japan’s heart, despair was never to be found.