Hetalia: The Sapphire Kingdom

Chapter 16.1

  Everyone met the next morning for training. I was running towards the meeting hall, my new and unfamiliar boots pounding against the floor uncontrollably.

"I apologize for my lateness," I said as I stepped through the main doors. I heard the room hush unnaturally as I turned to close them. I was almost afraid to turn and face the other countries.

"At... lantis?" England asked, sounding confused.

"Dae?" I turned around at last to find all of them staring at me, sharing England's strange look.

"You look... um..." he continued to stutter.

"Awesome!" A voice inputs.

"You look like Prussia," France finished his sentence, shooting a look at his friend.

It was then that it hit me.

Prussia had pitched in on giving me clothes- again- and provided a military uniform for me to train in. It was actually very similar to his, just without the pins. With my hair up in a ponytail, we looked kind of similar.

"Oh, ya," I smiled nervously. "Apparently my old one was 'too flashy and pretty to handle training.'"

"You're not the only one," I heard Austria sigh, followed by Hungary's giggle. I looked to see him dressed in a dark- almost black- military uniform that resembled hers.

"Never mind about our clothes," Germany announced. "Let's get down to business." He looked up at me like I was supposed to be doing something. "Aren't you going to start...?"

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked somewhat nervously.

"You are leading this, aren't you?"

"Oh, yes, of course. But, training isn't exactly my strong suit. Speeches are my specialty, actually... May I ask for a volunteer to help me do this?"

There were no confused glances, no whispers about who should do it. Every single country looks right to one person.

"Well," he sighed, leaning back in his chair and kicking his feet up onto the table. "I suppose that if you all want me that badly, I guess I could grace you with my awesomeness."

"As far as we're concerned, you really are the perfect one for the job, Prussia," I told him.

He rose from his chair and came to my side, standing tall with vanity.

"Hey," he nudged me. "Training step number one: give them all a speech to motivate them. Since you know more about the bad guy than me, the stage is all yours."

I took a breath, quickly adopting his seriousness and control. I began to speak.

"As you all know, this is a war against but one country- or organization, really. With all of us together, you would expect things to be easy, but you have to remember that Axonas is stronger than any of us because he is me. Not just me, but a darker and ruthless version. I'm sure you've noticed how advanced my country has become. I assure you, we're not even touching what is our true potential. Axonas is different. He is strong, possibly much stronger than me since my country was sealed off. I will not lie- this will not be easy."

"If he's that much more powerful," China asked. "How do we even stand a chance?"

"Look around you," I answered, a mysterious smile on my lips. "We have each other. Unity is what will make us strong. And that is why I propose- with so many here to work with- that we take to partners. I know there are those of you that have friends you want to protect. Go ahead and pair up."

I watched as everyone found a partner. Some, I expected, but there were a few interesting changes. Germany was the first to make a move, putting a hand on Italy's shoulder. I knew he was going to want to protect him. America stayed with his brother, Canada. Seeing he had no other choice, England immediately made his way to France, though he tried to make it look like a reluctant move. Spain and Romano made a group. Japan partnered with one of the allies, an old friend of his, China. Though it looked as if he somewhat regretted it, Russia stayed with his sister. The two remaining of his trembling trio, the Baltics, grouped together. Interestingly, Australia- the odd man out- joined Switzerland. Hungary sided with Austria. Sweden was paired with Finland.

"That looks pretty good," Prussia nodded. "And now it's my turn to take over. Alright, ladies, let's go out to the course! Training starts now!"

OOOOOOOOOO

Training only lasted about a week. And, speaking from firsthand experience, it was torture.

After he finished making his rounds, Prussia would come to me and make me be his partner for whatever exercise we were doing at the moment. All I can say is... one hundred pushups sound like fun now.

Once we finished "warming up," we moved onto classic hand-to-hand combat. So, with no guidance whatsoever, Prussia put each group right in the middle of sparring with their partner.

"Alright! We're going to try some real hands-on fighting now! Sparring- no rules, no protection. Use any technique you're comfortable with. If you get hurt, try to be a man and suck it up! If you're seriously injured, the safe code is 'Prussia is awesome!'"

"Um..." Australia commented. "No offense, Prussia, but can't it just be something short and simple like 'help?'"

"Fine," he rolled his eyes. "The safe word is 'help.' Now come on, start volunteering!"