Where Winter Meets Summer (Rusame Countryhumans)

Rubbing Salt in a Wound

I helped the young girl up and she wiped away her tears as a new light of reason filled her eyes. She quickly thanked me and rushed away. It made me happy, perhaps even happier than when a match is made. If a person is able to overcome heartbreak, they come back stronger, wiser, better. Perhaps this is the joy of teaching, watching your students grow.

"Wow. America is quite the heartbreaker huh," that obnoxious fool of a man noted.

"Oh please, Ame probably doesn't even know she exists. Do you know how many people ask for him, even down at my office at the African Branch?"

"Too many?"

"TOO MANY!" I huffed as I finished blowing steam. In truth, I found it a bit fascinating how similar everyone would describe that Superpower; not a flaw in sight and I had to admit, I was impressed how well he presented himself in public. Well, that is until recently.

"He's frightening, don't you agree?" he said exactly what I was thinking, "America hides his colors so well that I can barely tell if he's acting. No wonder no one's been able to read him."

I glanced at my watch and pulled Five back into the building, "Yeah but not anymore," I smiled to myself, "His mask has been slipping recently and I'm pretty sure it's the same reason why I had to break so many hopes and dreams.

After all, his heart belongs to Russia."

And right on cue, the crystal chimes rang, signaling the end of the lunch hour as we closed the Academy doors behind us.

(AMERICA POV)

I fiddled with the edge of my shirt as I sat patiently on the small black stool. Nurse WHO's eyes flew across the pages of my father's old diary and with every passing second, her face turned paler and paler.

"And you're saying that this is what might be happening to Russia right now?" she muttered as she put the book down, "If that is the case, it is probably of our best interest to contact the Powers about this-"

"NO!" I blurt out, surprising the both of us. I took a deep breath before I tried again, "No, I don't want UN or anyone else to know of this. Knowing him, he'd probably chain Russia in a confinement cell in the deepest hole he could dig. Please nurse, just tell me how to help him. Not just as a partner, but as a friend!"

The woman gazed at me with hesitancy in her eyes but eventually gave in.

"Oh alright. I'll keep it a secret for now but if it gets worse, I'll have no choice."

"I won't forget this! Thank you-" but before I could go any further, she put up a hand to stop me.

"The thing is, I can't do much to fix this because it isn't a normal injury. It's a Consequence that comes from overusing one's Awakening. But even I must admit that this one is unusually serious, leading me to wonder exactly how this ability was triggered."

"So what do we do then?" I practically screamed.

"In truth, there is nothing to be done. Russia is a strong boy and is fighting the Consequence with every passing second," she stated and held up a finger before I could interrupt again, "The best we can do is to prevent any other misfortunes from halting his progress. Make sure he doesn't provoke any further reactions by using his abilities and he will slowly return to normal."