❝keep it steady now cause every inch you see is bruised❞
Title: Pride
Series: Axis Powers Hetalia
Words: 470
Characters: America ;; mentions of Japan and England
Rating: PG
Warnings: Hints of violence
Summary: For hetalia_contest's week 006 prompt, "bruises." No one attacks me and gets away with it.
Pride
December 7th, 1941
I was such a fool; I never even saw it coming.
He remembered it almost photographically-a series of still shots plastered into his memory. One moment, the ocean was clear-blue as the sky above it, calm and peaceful. The next minute, both sky and ocean had grown dark with the shadows of enemy forces. Instants later, there was nothing to be seen-the world had exploded around them.
Men, my men, running for their lives, screaming.
The sound was overwhelming. Screams of fright and surprise, shrieks of pain and terror. The cries of young wives as husbands rushed for weapons. Sonic booms ripped through the naval base as buildings and airships exploded with frightening speed. Everywhere there was the sharp, deliberate ting of bullets slicing through the air. The din was monstrous.
The chaos was deafening; there was no time for me to register what was happening.
He could taste blood in his mouth, going down his throat, choking him. It was iron and salt, bitter and sweet all at once. He knew that it was the blood of his men and the taste of their lives, and yet he was strangely detached as he noticed one death after another-the taste filled his senses and kept him from noticing anything else-not even the men dying at his feet.
If I had known, could I have stopped it?
The smell of blood mingled with the burnt odors rising from ruined buildings and ships. Bodies began to burn, as well, adding smoke to the already suffocating atmosphere. People were choking, on their tears and the scent of bile. Everything was burning-the paradise of Hawaii had become scorched with the fires of hell.
And suddenly, I couldn’t feel anything, nothing but the pain.
It ripped through him, and he had to bite down on his tongue to keep from crying out. Every inch of his body felt like it was searing in two, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Pain rattled his mind and clouded his judgment; he flailed, striking out, and crying-there was nothing that could stop it.
And then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over.
*****
“Hello?”
“Arthur? It’s Alfred-I have something to tell you.”
“What is it, now? Still enjoying an economic boom while the rest of us are fighting a war?”
“I was just attacked.”
“…excuse me?”
“Will you listen? Japan just blew up my naval base!”
“…how in the-?”
“I’m declaring war. Today.”
“You know that Germany and Italy won’t stand idly by while you do so.”
“It doesn’t matter-no one attacks me and gets away with it.”
“So, before you declare war, answer me one question, Alfred.”
“What?”
“What did Japan bruise more-your body, or your pride?”
Series: Axis Powers Hetalia
Words: 470
Characters: America ;; mentions of Japan and England
Rating: PG
Warnings: Hints of violence
Summary: For hetalia_contest's week 006 prompt, "bruises." No one attacks me and gets away with it.
Pride
December 7th, 1941
I was such a fool; I never even saw it coming.
He remembered it almost photographically-a series of still shots plastered into his memory. One moment, the ocean was clear-blue as the sky above it, calm and peaceful. The next minute, both sky and ocean had grown dark with the shadows of enemy forces. Instants later, there was nothing to be seen-the world had exploded around them.
Men, my men, running for their lives, screaming.
The sound was overwhelming. Screams of fright and surprise, shrieks of pain and terror. The cries of young wives as husbands rushed for weapons. Sonic booms ripped through the naval base as buildings and airships exploded with frightening speed. Everywhere there was the sharp, deliberate ting of bullets slicing through the air. The din was monstrous.
The chaos was deafening; there was no time for me to register what was happening.
He could taste blood in his mouth, going down his throat, choking him. It was iron and salt, bitter and sweet all at once. He knew that it was the blood of his men and the taste of their lives, and yet he was strangely detached as he noticed one death after another-the taste filled his senses and kept him from noticing anything else-not even the men dying at his feet.
If I had known, could I have stopped it?
The smell of blood mingled with the burnt odors rising from ruined buildings and ships. Bodies began to burn, as well, adding smoke to the already suffocating atmosphere. People were choking, on their tears and the scent of bile. Everything was burning-the paradise of Hawaii had become scorched with the fires of hell.
And suddenly, I couldn’t feel anything, nothing but the pain.
It ripped through him, and he had to bite down on his tongue to keep from crying out. Every inch of his body felt like it was searing in two, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Pain rattled his mind and clouded his judgment; he flailed, striking out, and crying-there was nothing that could stop it.
And then, just as quickly as it had begun, it was over.
*****
“Hello?”
“Arthur? It’s Alfred-I have something to tell you.”
“What is it, now? Still enjoying an economic boom while the rest of us are fighting a war?”
“I was just attacked.”
“…excuse me?”
“Will you listen? Japan just blew up my naval base!”
“…how in the-?”
“I’m declaring war. Today.”
“You know that Germany and Italy won’t stand idly by while you do so.”
“It doesn’t matter-no one attacks me and gets away with it.”
“So, before you declare war, answer me one question, Alfred.”
“What?”
“What did Japan bruise more-your body, or your pride?”