(A/N: Yessss!! We've reached 5K reads! I'm so sorry that this came a little late I had a bit of an author's block ;-; However, for now, this'll be a regular chapter, perhaps a little shorter than usual. I'll make the 5K reads special, which'll be in two chapters or so, and probably over 2,000 words. Thank you for the support and I hope you'll continue to keep on supporting me throughout this roller coaster of feels and cliffhangers. Enjoy~!)
|Reader's POV|
"......There it is."
I stopped beside Japan, breathing heavily. Struck with fear, I made eye contact with the monster.
Oh, it had grown alright. It stood much taller than before. Power pulsed throughout the Thing's bulky, hefty, rigid body. Something had happened that made it stronger, and though I wasn't sure as to what it was, that isn't my concern at the moment.
"J-Japan! Run, quickly!"
"......"
I heaved my blade forward and raised it boldly towards the Oni. I inhaled deeply and calmly looked at Japan. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Something along the lines, I suppose." Japan unsheathed his katana in one swift flick of his wrist. He lifted the long sword and smiled lightly. "It most certainly involves not complying with Germany's order, I'm sure."
"Great minds think alike." I gave a chuckle, but frowned a bit. "However..."
"Let's go, quickly! I'm worried about the others!" Italy shouted in a panic.
"I think he's right. We may have been lucky before, but that Thing looks different. A bad kind of different. If it calls for it, we will fight, but I feel that retreating for now and regrouping with the others is the best course of action." I explained carefully as I scanned the Oni.
"Hahah! I see now. This is what he meant..."
"Come on! Just run-"
"All together! That's it!" Italy suddenly grabbed my arm. "If we run, we can still make it!!"
"Y-Yes." Germany mumbled.
I glanced at Japan, who nodded and began heading towards the exit. I let Italy guide me right behind Japan. I sighed softly and allowed my arm to relax at my side.
I titled my head and looked behind the shoulder. I glared intensely at the Thing, as if I were warning it to get the heck away from my friends, which is what I was aiming for. It let out a low growl when it met my eyes, gazing right back at me. It started to follow us, thunderous footsteps echoing in the hallway, a low growl cutting through the dark.
Prussia's red eyes stood out in the dark, making it easy for me to see that he had turned around and stopped in place right at the exit. "Japan!!"
"Prussia! Wait! Germany tripped over a rock!" Japan called in return.
"West!"
"Shit! Not in this place-" I twirled around and saw Germany's shadowy figure lying on the ground. He lifted his head. My breath leaped out of my throat when his eyes glowing blue eyes pierced mine, clouded with defeat. "Go!! I can't get this vine off!!"
"...Hh!" Italy grunted. I glanced at him, inspecting his shell shocked expression. The solid horror in his brown eyes showed me sincerity, anything but a lie. "Germany!"
The terror of losing someone cannot be faked. The pure, untainted emotions of the heart will always overrule the lies you tell yourself in your head, no matter how long you've been hiding the truth.
"Japan!! Have you got your answer yet?!"
"......"
"Hurry up, will you? We need you to be working with us physically, but mentally, too." I patted Japan's shoulder and gave a faint smile.
I rushed to Prussia's side as he headed to the Thing. It drew its bulky arms back behind its head, slowly bringing them down toward Germany's body. We separated paths at the last second. Prussia stepped forward and swung his sword through the Oni, slicing its left claw. I, however, wasn't very lucky. I met the Thing's strength head on, battling over dominance. The monster's right hand seemed to be slightly stronger than its left. Before it could overpower me I sidestepped quickly and stabbed the Thing's wrist with my sword. Blood gushed out and stained my blade's cross-guard.
"Prussia, (Name)!! Why?!" Germany cried out.
"Because I can't let another person die." I whispered, catching my breath. "I refuse to."
"Hey, West! Is this really the time to wipe the floor?!"
I reached to retrieve my sword when the Oni suddenly hoisted its arm into the air. I grunted as I dived to the floor, front rolling to just barely dodge the Thing's attack. I got to my feet and swiftly pulled my sword out of Thing's skin, leaving the wound out in the open, as well as an exit for blood.
"And is this really the time for witty comebacks?" I replied.
"...I'm sorry. Are you okay, Germany?" Italy asked, helping Germany to his feet.
"Italy..."
"This is my answer!" Japan's confident voice almost blew me away. He placed one hand on my shoulder and another on Prussia's. "The enemy is stronger, but so are we. If we all join forces, we can defeat it!"
I whooped in a mix of excitement and relief, pumping my fist. "Now there's the Japan I know! Let's do it!"
"Heh. Well done!" Prussia stood beside me, nodding proudly. He looked at me and gasped. "Frau, you're hurt!" He took my arm and pointed to the claw marks that ripped through my hoodie. "You're not fit to fight right now." He inspected my arm, concern written all over his expression. He started rolling up my sleeve. "Let's take care of it first-"
I stepped back instinctively, tearing his hand off my arm. I quickly pulled my sleeve down to cover my wrist. "I-I'm fine. Please don't touch me."
"You idiots!! Why did you come back?! You too, (Name)...now you're hurt-"
"You want to know why I came back?" Prussia placed both of his hands on his sword and swiveled his head to look over at Germany. "Because...I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't help my little brother!"
"And don't worry about me, it's just a scratch or two." I waved dismissively before taking an Onigiri out of my backpack, finishing it up in a few bites. I threw my backpack to the side and bent my knees. "Let's worry about beating down that Oni a little. Once we do, we can run away with a bit of a head start. Everyone ready?"
"Yeah!"
"Then let's finish this up quickly, come on!" I yelled before lunging toward the Oni.
I attacked the Oni's right arm to slow it down further. I repetitively jabbed my blade into different parts of the Thing, dodging and ducking with ease. Once it's arm had as many holes as a piece of swiss cheese, I backed down to catch my breath.
I clicked on the moves like, 'Bear The Cross', 'Dismissal' and 'Torture Lv. 1'. I watched in awe as Japan unsparingly attacked the Thing's stomach area, red words written in Kanji floating near Japan whenever he landed a hit on the Oni.
Germany backed him up from behind and swung his whip around harshly, letting a storm of amber and scarlet sparks fly. He hit the Thing's jaws everytime he tried to bite Japan. The cracking noises I heard made me almost want to pity the poor Thing, but it kind of deserved it so I set aside my sympathy.
Prussia swung his sword mercilessly and left behind long, thin cuts on the Oni's back, while Italy scurried around, tossing bottles of Beer and healing those whose Health bars were going down.
I stayed behind until I found an chance for an opening.
"Germany! Give me a boost!"
"What??"
"You'll know when, just stay right where you are!" I shouted, raising my blade.
I began sprinting toward Germany, who pivoted his body so his side was facing me. He placed his hands together just as I leaped into the air. When my feet made contact with his palms, I pushed down, then jumped once more, getting launched into the air. I pulled my sword back and grinned, letting the adrenaline take over. The bottom of my sneaker pressed down onto the Oni's shoulder, providing me support. I cried out in victory as I cleanly slashed my sword through its neck.
Cheers met my eardrums when the Oni began to disappear.
And that meant no more support for me.
I fell, my sword slipping out my hands when I dropped toward the ground. I didn't even have the chance to scream because the world finally stopped spinning and came to a stop. Right on Prussia's smirking face.
"I guess you can say you...fell for me~"
".
..
...
W-Wow. Real smooth, Prussia." I rolled my eyes playfully, placing my elbow on one of his arms that were wrapped around my waist. I hid the bottom half of my face with my hand, not wanting to see how flushed my cheeks were. "Let me go, please."
"As you wish, frau." He winked as he bent down, letting my feet touch the ground before letting go of me.
"Thank you, Prussia." I pried my fingers off my face once I had calmed down. I clutched my hand over my arm, where the Oni had managed to scratch me.
"It was no problem, now let's just get out of here!"
"Italy? You look pale. Are you all right?"
I looked at my hand and stared at the dashes of fresh blood that ran along my palm. "Tsk..." Annoyed, I wiped the blood on my pants. "Of course he's not alright, let's be real, we're all not alright! He's triggered that he almost lost his boyf-Uh, I mean he almost lost you. That's what I was meant to say, yeah..." I started for the exit. "Let's go already!"
"Eheheh. I'm fine. C'mon, let's go back."