Bound by Destiny | COUNTRYHUMAN AU

The start of the aftermath

"Doitsu!" I turned around, sighing as I saw Japan running up to me. Great. Just great. Can everyone stop pestering me? I slowed down as Japan caught up. "What did you do to Poland and Singapore? In all the time I've known you, you've never harmed anyone with your ability. What changed?" she asked me. I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Everyone's gossiping. They're calling you a monster. Don't you want someone to know the truth?"

"No. Besides, what the hell is the use? Anyways, I don't care what they say. They're right. I am a monster," I muttered bitterly. Japan shook her head disapprovingly as she tutted.

"That's not the attitude to have."

"You'd do the same if you were in my shoes."

"I wouldn't," Japan said but both of us knew that she was lying. When you are the child of an evil brute, the last thing you do when you are "in the wrong" is to tell your side of the story. No one cares. All it does for you is make others think you are trying to make excuses and offset the blame. You stay quiet and accept the blows and pray that it ends soon. Silence enveloped the two of us. I was about to leave when suddenly, I heard a booming voice. America. I groaned internally. He was the person I'd been trying to avoid the most. Knowing his relationship with Poland, I highly doubted that he was here to have a friendly chat.

"Ah, I've been looking for you Prince Germany," America flashed a smile and I averted my gaze. "I...I need to get to class," I muttered hurriedly. He strode over as Japan looked on, confused. He placed his hand on my shoulder and my body tensed up. "Same here Ger. We can have our talk as we walk to class," America cheerily answered, eyes curving into crescents. I gulped but nodded. Japan shot me an apologetic look, mouthing 'Good luck'. Judging by the sweetness in America's voice, I sensed that I was going to need more than just good luck.

America kept smiling until we turned around the corner. As soon as we entered the isolated hallway, his cheery facade dropped. He frowned heavily, standing in front of me. Despite being only slightly taller than me, I couldn't help but feel like a dwarf next to him. A shadow passed over his face and I swore that his eyes turned red.

"I heard you harmed Poland," America's voice was low.

"I'm sorry for hurting him."

"Are you really sorry? Maybe you harmed Poland because you want to finish what your father did. Or maybe you want to get back into Russia's good graces. I wouldn't put it past you, y'know?" America's tone was taunting and I felt my anger rise. Swallowing, I gritted out, "Russia hates me. I don't think what I did will get me into his nice list again. And I would never harm another person just to finish what my father was doing during the war."

America scoffed and shook his head. "Whatever the case is, I don't want you near Poland, you hear me? Otherwise, I'll make sure that restrictions on your ability aren't the only thing you'll get," he hissed the last bit before turning away. I stood there, dumbstruck for a few minutes until the bell rang.

"Shit, I'm going to be late for class!"

*

I skidded into class just as Prof. EU greeted the class. He nodded as I greeted him breathlessly. "Go sit next to Russia. Today's pair work," he told me. I sighed loudly but dragged myself over to the back. Russia looked bored as I set my books down. Prof. EU began his lesson as he began to talk about the first Great War. I sighed, leaning my head against the table. I swore that history classes were designed to publicly humiliate me. If I had the choice, I'd prefer not to join the class at all. At least the others wouldn't shoot me dirty looks and whisper amongst themselves.

"Now for the rest of this class, please fill in the worksheet that's being passed down with your partner. Let's see how many of you were listening attentively," Prof. EU concluded. We received a copy of the worksheet and Russia scribbled our names onto the worksheet. "What was the major cause of the first Great War?" he read out the question. Sighing, I recited the passage from the textbook and took out my pen.

"I'll write."

"Sure. You have the nicer handwriting anyways."

I wrote the answer out as Russia read through the next question. When I was done writing, he gave me the answer to the second question. We continued like this and within 15 minutes, we managed to finish the worksheet. Russia raised his hand and Prof. EU came by to collect the worksheet. Prof. EU scanned the worksheet and nodded approvingly. "Good job you two. I wasn't expecting you to finish first. You can pack up and leave first," he beamed. My classmates looked up from their worksheets as they yelled, "No fair! When we are done can we also leave?" He rolled his eyes as he told them to hurry up. They grumbled but nodded grudgingly as they returned to their work with renewed vigour. I hurriedly stuffed my books into my satchel before rushing out of the class.

"Hey, Germaniya, can I talk to you?" I spun around and stared in astonishment at a gently smiling Russia.

"What do you want to talk about?" I croaked out.

"I can't talk to an old friend?"

"You labelled me as an enemy."

Russia scoffed and rolled his eyes. "I was immature and young," he threw the words out carelessly and I found my defences coming up. Russia was not one to simply say, "You aren't my enemy anymore". You needed to gain a lot of trust from him and if you were a previous enemy, you needed to get the Tsar's approval. "What do you want Russia?" I looked at him, my shoulders sagging. Russia's smile fell as his eyes hardened.

"Why did you harm Poland and Singapore?"

I looked at him before bursting into laughter. "Why would I tell you? For all I know, you're collecting blackmail for your father." Russia crossed his arms as he glared at me. "I'm not. I'm really curious," he said. I scoffed and let out a harsh laugh. "Russia, we haven't talked since Year 3! How do you expect me to trust you? Besides, I'm a f**king hypocrite remember? If I remember correctly, you hate these people," I spat out. Hurt flashed across Russia's face, just for a split second though, then his icy scowl came back.

"People change."

"If you truly believed in that, then you would have reached out to me aeons ago."

Russia stayed silent and I knew his next answer.

Father wouldn't allow me.

"Father wouldn't allow me."

Of course. Everything had to be run through Daddy Dearest. My lips curled inwards and I was highly aware that my expression screamed hostility. Russia looked downwards as if debating if continuing this conversation was worth it. I already knew my answer. Turning around, I told the Russian, "Please don't talk to me about this anymore. The hatred doesn't need to be mutual." Then, I left for my next class. 

A/N: Hopefully this chapter didn't have too much dialogue. I'm glad I managed to post this before CNY starts so 1 point to Eli! *cheers* I can't decide if it's bad that I somehow write these chapters in a few days or is it good. My teacher wouldn't approve though I suspect. 

Question time!

1) Do you think there is any point in Russia's statement, " Sure. You have the nicer handwriting anyways."? If so, why did he say that? 

2) Why is Germany's attitude so much (kinda) bolder when he's with Russia? 

3) Writers (non writers y'all can still answer), do you plan out your stories? If so, how and roughly how many words on average are in the planning document (for those who do it digitally. For handwritten, roughly how many pages?)

All right, that's all for today! Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year to all my readers who celebrate it and I wish you a prosperous Dragon Year ahead! 万事如意，学业进步! (I pray that the first phrase is correct. And to all the students on this website, good luck in your studies!)