Hetalia Philippines Oneshots

Sunshine ~ Maria

It hurts. It hurts so bad, she couldn't put to words just how it felt.

She knew she couldn't give up now, even if her knees were giving in, hell, even if it meant dying. Her eyes flickered, her chest heaved for air, her limbs were worn out. In the briefest moment she had, she heard her breathing, her heart beat as well as her soldiers altogether. With one, sweeping look in the vicinity, Maria took a deep breath. How could she give up now? There were people who look up to her; she wouldn't want to disappoint.

"Kiku, we don't know how much longer we could keep up." she croaked, her once sweet voice now nothing more than a whisper. It didn't matter, though. Alfred was beginning to get feverish, and his wounds were no better. Her ally was dying and that was what worried her most. "Can't we take a piss? I've been holding this in for a day." she was doing this for him. She couldn't stand there and watch him suffer; in truth, she would do anything for the weakened soldier.

"We all get that." Kiku snapped at her, his hand clamped on his katana. "Now, back to your line."

"We're starved." her stomach grumbled, and Alfred did the same. His head was leaning weakly against her shoulder, his eyes blinked feebly, threatening to close at any minute. His scrawny physique barely kept up with the rest, that his ally had to help him to his feet. He couldn't remember the last time they ate, the last time they'd gotten to taste even the slightest drop of their sweet, sweet water. He was parched, and his throat was achingly dry.

"That's the whole point of this march." he turned his back to her. She couldn't tell if he cared about his friend, or didn't at all.

"Stop this, please." she cried as she heard Alfred let out a jagged breath, his faint pulses hardly felt. Her eyes widened and her blood ran cold. Maria's lip quivered in fear that they might not make it to Bataan. She looked pathetic in that state, Japan mused, what a waste. She could have been his maid helping him out with his chores, without having any worries on what to eat, and what to do, but it couldn't be helped. His friend had made her decision.

"I'm sorry but there's nothing I can do." he said coldly. It was almost tempting to offer them his share of his food, but his men would figure out. She knew he can't defy his superior.

Maria's hands were shaking, her legs felt like falling apart, but she had to carry on, for her friend's sake. "And you, on your feet." a Japanese man came to where she was, pulling her ally away from her. "Go on. You have legs, right?"

"What's wrong with you!? Can't you see he's injured!?" she frantically tugged at his uniform, begging him to not lay a hand on her ally. The man didn't pay her any heed as he kicked at the battered nation. The American lay there with his eyes staring blankly ahead. "Please stop this!" she grabbed the soldier's arm, but was then thrown into the dirt. She pushed her injured friend out of the way, receiving his beatings in his stead. It didn't stop there, or did he have any plans to; it kept on for who knows how long. She didn't mind, so long as she knew that her ally was alright.

"That is enough!" Kiku shouted, drawing the attention of the soldier. "Your job is to make sure they don't escape, nothing more and nothing less. You are given the position to keep then in line, not beat them to their death." he nearly stuttered.

Maria trembled. She may be the embodiment of her country, but she still felt the pain that ran up her shin.

Luckily for her, there didn't seem to be any fracture. She struggled to get up, as she cursed the earthy grimes that clung unto her sleeves. How did it come to this? First, Japan had set foot on her land, and the next thing she knew her ally had declared war upon him and his people.

She shook the thought off and brought a hand to her head, thankful that it wasn't bleeding. A cough from behind her caught her attention.

"Maria, you're hurt." she turned to where he was, to where Alfred was.

"It's alright." holding his head in her lap, gently running her fingers over his face. He sat up when he reached out for her cheeks that were bloodied, and squinted his eyes at her cuts and bruises. Her lip bled horribly. He held onto her cheek, careful not to touch any wound. She flinched otherwise.

"No, it's not, it's my fault. I'm sorry I couldn't bring myself to walk." with his other hand, he squeezed her hand gently.

"It's not your fault, honest." she whispered to him. "I should be the one to say sorry." look at you, you're a mess, she would have said. She was too weak for a country, weaker than her current state. There was always an internal struggle within her own people. They were always divided. They could've put up a fight, had they cooperated. Either way, the Japanese forces were too strong.

She smiled despite all that. What matters was that he was alright.

you are my sunshine,
my only sunshine
you make me happy
when skies are grey

"This just isn't fair." she told herself quietly, her brows twitching while her tears welled up in her eyes. As the troops trudged on, many of their people died. She couldn't bear watching their people suffer, so she had to look on ahead. They were still so young and some were fresh right out of the academy. She sobbed silently to herself, hoping that nobody would hear.

“I’ll tell you what, when we get outta here, we’re going to grab all the mangoes you want. How does that sound?” he managed to say.

“It’s my bad. We wouldn’t have been in this mess if I hadn’t screwed up.” the girl shrunk away from him.

“Don’t feel so bad about it. All this would pass.” the man reassured her.

Her eyes begin to well with tears. “If it doesn’t? If we died this way?”

“I won’t allow it then! As if I’d let something horrible happen to you!” He smiled, despite her tears. He cupped her face in his hands, as she began to feel the cloth being lightly dabbed against her split lip.

"Let's get going. We wouldn't want to be left behind." he wiped her tears away with his fingers. It did help take the pain away.

the other night dear, as I lay sleeping

I dreamt I held you in my arms
when I awoke dear, I was mistaken
so I hung my head, and I cried

"They got her!" he couldn't believe what he had heard. He rained bullets at the enemy, not caring what would happen right after. It was a lie, it has to be. She couldn't have surrendered, she was too hardheaded for that. His chest felt heavy, but he kept on.

"Alfred! That's enough!" he shot past the enemies, jogging through without any care in the world. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

you are my sunshine,
my only sunshine
you make me happy
when skies are grey

He saw her. She was tied up with the rest of what remained of her people. His heart broke. He couldn't breathe.

She was hurt.

"What's he doing here?" Kiku muttered. Maria lifted her head slightly to see him.

you never know dear,
how much I love you
please don't take my sunshine away

"It's over." he was silent.

But, his comrade could swear he heard him say, in his voice barely above a whisper,

"I shall return."