Where Thou Art, That Is Home (Hetalia Fanfic, Part 2)

Chapter 145~!

RECAP:

"I'll take my chances," I replied. "I want to know what's going to happen to me."

"Alright... I'll tell you. Hopefully you won't forget it, either."

-------------------------------------

"You fight the Darkness. If you win, you get to live the rest of your life peacefully, or at least relatively so," Kadi began. "The Darkness will be defeated, Alfred will not become overcome with paranoia and try to take over the world."

"I think if we just tried talking to him, we could prevent the future whether I win or lose," I said, interrupting without a second thought about it.

Kadi shook her head, her long hair shimmering under the light. "No, that's too risky. You would speed up the process and just make the future come even sooner than you previously thought."

"Why?"

"Because telling Alfred about the future would be like putting the gun in his hand and telling him where to shoot," she snapped, and I bit my lower lip.

"... Okay, I see your point," was what I said after a little pause.

"Yes, that's good. Now, if you lose... your soul has to be reborn in its next incarnation," Kadi admitted.

"So, that means I die," I summarized.

"You yourself die, but the next Vindicator is chosen and reborn into the world somewhere else. And that Vindicator will have the same fate as you, and the one after him or her, and the one after that cycle."

I didn't like all this life or death talk, which I told her, and she laughed wryly. "And you think I do? It's been my policy for the last thousand years to not get close to the Vindicator because of his or her fate. And yet..." Her hand was over mine, and she squeezed just a little bit. "I did it anyway. I don't regret becoming your friend, if you even consider me to be that anymore."

I gripped her hand in return. "Don't be stupid, of course you're still my friend. You're family, too. I've been mad at you, and suspicious, but... you're my friend. You have been for a long time."

Her sad but grateful smile made me reminiscent of our past together. All the good times; the mischievous things we did when we had nothing better to do; even the bad times, the ones that had made me cry; they were all part of our experiences together and our incredibly strong bond.

"Now that you know, are you gonna go back to Nanjing to train?" Kadi asked me, letting go of my hand. "You need to know how to fight well or you won't stand a chance against the Darkness."

"I suppose..." I replied unsurely. "I just... I feel like there's more you're not telling me."

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "If I tell you a whole lot, you won't be able to focus on training."

"So says you. Maybe it'll help me focus better," I said, "instead of making me worry about what I don't know."

One corner of her lips pulled up in a half-smile. "Don't make me send you to Nanjing against your power."

"Just tell me," I answered. "I want to know. I've had enough with unanswered questions."

"Then you need to ask a question," Kadi said seriously.

"Alright..." I racked my brain for the right one. "... Why is your hair silver now all of a sudden?"

"Because I'm getting old," she replied. "Duh."

"That's it?" I asked. "'You're getting old,' that's all you're gonna tell me?"

"That's all there is to tell," she replied sincerely (or at least, it seemed sincere).