A. p. h. Titanic Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Recant


Japan avoided America as much as he could, moving all over the boat and diving behind

anything he could find as soon as he saw America coming his way. He also did his best

to hide from Germany, and was grateful for the vastness of the ship.

He ended up the main ballroom, and was admiring the various tapestries and sculptures

hanging from the walls. They were lovely and well-made, depicting various

ocean scenes.

"Must have cost a fortune," he mumbled, running sensitive fingers down the

hand-woven fabric.

"It did," a voice answered him, and Japan instinctively leapt back and looked around

wildly for a hiding place.

"Oh, E-England-san!" a wave of relief washed over him, and he relaxed. "I…I thought…"

  "That I was America?" England snickered, removing his hat and rubbing at his head.

"That dolt is up on deck right now, and he's looking to see if you fell

over the railing."

    "I'm sorry for the trouble he is causing you," Japan said quietly.

England shrugged.

"I am only concerned for you. He's not exactly a caring or careful person. Living in

the same house as him would drive me bloody crazy."

Japan nodded absently, and they both stared up at the central tapestry. It was made

of blue-green threads, detailing waves crashing on a snow-white shore of sand. The

sky was delicately woven of soft colors, and displaying a vivid blue sky with

splashes of aurora pink and all the other colors of the sunset. Two small,

unidentifiable figures were standing on a black rock overlooking the sea.

"Lovely tapestry, isn't it?" England said, breaking the silence. "I found it in

India a few hundred years ago."

"I've always wanted to be on an island," Japan whispered. "Somewhere else. Somewhere

where I could relax my tired old bones and sleep on the soft sand, where I do not

have to worry about anything."

England remained mute as Japan spoke, not wanting to disrupt him. Japan almost never

opened up, and this was a rare moment.

"Somewhere…where I could care only about myself. Somewhere where I can be me,

whatever that is now, and be free."

"We all want that, Japan," England sighed. "And I don't know if any of our kind will

ever get it."
  
"Humans are blessed," Japan muttered under his breath, and he changed the subject.

"Why is this ship named Titanic?"

England replaced his hat on his head, turning it so the star button flashed.

"It's named after the 1911 ship, the one that sank when it was supposed to be

unsinkable. It's an exact replica, except we fixed all the screws this time." He

laughed.

Japan remained as serious as ever. "Isn't that asking for something bad to happen,

England-san?"

England shrugged. "I seriously doubt it. We're much more advanced than we were back

then. We have a newfangled computer system that's connected to every part of the

ship, to every screw and plank, and it will alert us to anything that's amiss and

help us solve it."

Japan opened his mouth to speak, then jerked as heavy footsteps bounded

down the stairs.

"Kiku! I found you!"

Japan tried to control his body from running. "A-America-kun!"

America jumped over the banister halfway down, landing with a loud slam that made

England hiss in annoyance.

"I was looking for you everywhere!" he exclaimed, and Japan involuntarily backed up.

"Where were you? I must have gone over the entire ship! Ha-ha, were you avoiding me

or something? Just kidding!"

Japan could feel his exasperation returning. He took a deep breath.

"I was avoiding you," he said, and America raised an eyebrow at the statement, "I

don't want you near me for this trip, understand? You act as though everything is all

right, and it is not! Until we reach the coast of your country, keep well away

from me."

America looked at him, and there was a static awkward hush. England looked as though

he was holding his breath as America finally came forward.

  "Aw, Kiku…" he said, and his voice was almost sad. But it was a false

sadness, a pretense. Japan could see it behind his glasses in his eyes.

"You don't really mean that…do you? I wouldn't force you to do anything you don't

want to…I'll call my boss and tell him its off, okay? You should have told me

earlier…what a shame, I thought we weren't at war anymore…"


Japan balled his fists. He breathed out slowly between his teeth, knowing the veiled

meaning behind his words.

"It's not off," he finally said reluctantly. The mood America exerted

changed instantly.

"Wow, really? That's cool! I forgive you and all, and it will be like it never

happened, okay? I know you didn't mean it! I'm cool that way…how about you and me go

up to the restaurant and get ice cream or something? I'll pay for you as a treat!"

Something snapped in Japan, and before he could stop himself, his fist connected with

America's nose. His glasses flew into the air.

"I'm not doing this for you or me," Japan hissed in unusual anger, "I'm doing it for

my people. They need this. They can't die. I have no choice. I feel them every day, I

relive each and every one of their deaths and lives, their love and sorrow. Haven't

you ever felt it, America? No. You only felt some of it when I bombed your Pearl

Harbor in the War."

He was breathing hard, fed up with the day's events. America watched him in

shocked silence.

"There will come a day, I promise you, when you will do anything to save the people

under your care, the people that are the sole reason for your existence. You won't be

able to take their screams, and every bullet will pass through you to them. Then, and

only then, will you do anything to end the suffering."

With that, he span on his heel and departed, not caring what America thought or

whether he got angry or not.

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