You Destroyed Me {Cold War AU (Countryhumans)}

Invasion (Chapter 13)

South Korea wiped the sweat from his dirty forehead with the back of his hand, leaving blood there instead from the open wounds that had formed on his sore, raw knuckles. He was crouched down so he was near the ground, attempting to catch his breath, chest heaving rapidly as he struggled to regain a steady breathing pace. His mouth felt dry and his stomach felt empty, he didn't drink or eat enough that morning even though America insisted that he should.

"What are you doing South? Your enemy will not give you time to rest on the battlefield! Your enemy doesn't care how dehydrated you are, they'll just take advantage of that." America spoke sternly from where he stood, watching over South's every move. 

With effort, South got himself to stand up straight, panting softly. He might've disliked it, but America was right. South couldn't be expecting his enemy to give him time to rest in the middle of a fight.

Who was this unnamed enemy South was training to fight? He didn't know for sure, America had never given him a straight answer. That meant it either was truly an unnamed enemy that might or might not attack South at some point, or it was a real enemy that, for whatever reason, America didn't want to name. Someone that might have a particular soft spot in America, or South's, mental blockade they'd both learned to form over their minds after many years of being countries. Who could that be then? Well, South didn't know much about America. Sure, he knew American history well but he didn't know who America truly was, he didn't know who America loved. Someone South did know a lot about, however, was himself. The only possible soft spot for somebody that might become an enemy that South had was North Korea. 

The thought sent a shiver down his spine and he immediately pictured the fighting dummy in front of him as North. Instantly, he pulled back, a horrified expression on his face. "South? What's wrong?" America's question went in one ear and out the other, completely unheard by the distracted Korean. "South?" America stepped closer to South and stopped once he was at the Korean's side, placing a gentle hand on his back. "Hey, can you hear me?" America tried again.

South continued to stay unresponsive, a thousand thoughts crashing through his head. His hands, held stationary in a fighting position and clenched into tight fists, began trembling and South slowly dropped them to his sides. He remained oblivious to America's attempts to check on him, to see if he was okay. No, South thought as his teeth gritted together behind his sealed lips, he wasn't okay. When South spoke up, he cut right through what America was trying to say. "Who am I training to fight? Is it North, am I training to fight North?" He asked, eyes up to look at America intently, voice stern and demanding.

America seemed a bit startled by South's sudden speaking after being unresponsive for so long. He wasn't sure what to make out of the question at first but, after taking a moment to actually consider it, he sucked in a shallow breath. "I'm not sure... but since Soviet has him, I'm preparing you for what's probably happened." He mumbled after several minutes of contemplation.

"And what do you think happened to him then?" South demanded, his gaze suddenly beginning to turn harsh.

"Soviet's probably turned him into a soldier, South. North might not even remember you at this point. I've only ever seen a few of Soviet's states, he hides some of them from the public, but they've been changed by him. I remember Russia before he became a Soviet state, we knew each other, we were allies in the First World War. The last time I saw him, a few months ago, he didn't know who I was. He thought of me as an enemy, as Soviet has certainly preached to him and the other states a thousand times." America explained himself.

South didn't listen to America's reasoning much, he wasn't in the right mind frame for listening and understanding, he was in the right mind frame for defending himself and North, and it felt to him like America was attacking. "So you're saying that North is my enemy?"