A World Turned Upside Down

Tired

China rubbed his eyes as he stared blankly at the countryhumans in front of him and stood on the stage, barely managing not to fall over. His body was covered in bruises and wounds that were just starting to heal, and he was wire-thin. Japan Empire had been defeated in World War II. China grinned as he held onto the side of lectern his older brother, the Republic of China(I am just going to call the Republic of China "Republic"). He was bursting with joy...but just too tired to show it. Despite the happy occasion, China's expression turned to a frown as he remembered how his brother had just handed him over to Japan Empire. China tugged on one of his sleeves...or many layers of sleeves. He had put on several layers of clothes under the military uniform he was wearing to hide how thin he was. China tightened his grip on the edge of the lectern as his vision blurred suddenly. He couldn't hear the speech his brother was making about their victory over Japan Empire. He couldn't breathe. China tried to stay standing. He stood there, looking perfectly okay on the outside, but screaming on the inside. His vision eventually cleared, and he could breathe again.

Then there were applause. China and his brother walked off of the stage, and out onto the bustling street. He took a glance at his brother. Republic was thin, and had a few wounds, but would be considered healthy compared to China. China pulled his scarf up so that it covered most of his face. His brother pulled on the end of his scarf and mumbled, "Hey c'mon. We have somewhere else to be." China followed behind his older brother dazedly. The next few hours were a blur. China and his brother went to many places, places that he was too tired to . Eventually, they got home and ate dinner, China stuffing food into his mouth. He had barely eaten after he essentially became Japan Empire's pet. China didn't say a word to his brother as he left the dinner table and went to re-bandage his many wounds. They stung. A lot.

Bloody bandages fell to the ground. China hissed in pain as his wounds were exposed again. He pulled open a drawer and grabbed a roll of bandages, and began to rewrap his wounds. China bit down on his sleeve to stop himself from crying. Republic suddenly grabbed China's wrists firmly. "Don't you remember that you have to clean your wounds again?" he said to his younger brother. China yelped in pain, as his brother had pressed on one of his cuts, but quickly went quiet and shyly said, "S-sorry...I forgot...ah!" Tears streamed down China's face as Republic continued to press on one of his wounds. Republic looked at him with confusion. "P-please let go..." China whimpered, trying his best not to cry. His older brother let go, feeling guilty. "W-what-a-are you okay?" Republic stuttered out. China looked at the ground and quietly said, "I-I don't know..." The two brothers stood next to each other in an uncomfortable silence, staring at the bloody bandages on the floor.

"Can I go outside?" China asked, breaking the silence. Republic involuntarily grabbed his brother's wrist again and said, "No, you're 12!" "And you're 15," China retorted. "You still can't go outside on your own because I'm your older brother." Republic said, and loosened his grip on China's wrist. "Fine. Anyways...how are your wounds?" China asked, quickly changing the topic. "T-they're...fine." Republic said hesitantly. He had never wanted to let on that he was in pain as well. China just too the answer, even if he knew his brother was lying. "O-okay..." he said softly as he hugged Republic. It was comforting for the two brothers to assure each other that they were not alone in the pain.

Flashback:

Japan Empire took his sword out, ready to fight Republic. China nervously peaked out from behind a wall of a building. His brother had told him to hide to make sure Japan Empire didn't find him. China covered his head with his arms when he heard the sound of swords clashing. He didn't hear anything. He didn't see anything. But he felt pure terror. And the feel of cold hands that weren't Republic's slapping him back to reality. And seeing Japan Empire, his military uniform bloody. And Republic, covered in sword wounds. Blood dripping from his mouth. "I'm so sorry.." he said. With that, China became Japan Empire's possession. He thought that maybe, just maybe, his older brother would be spared some pain if he was given to Japan Empire. China didn't think that Japan Empire would want to hurt Republic more if he was handed over. Even with all the abuse from Japan Empire, China still blamed himself for everything. If he had just helped his brother more, if he hadn't been that focused on some difference of ideologies, things might have gone differently. Maybe there might have been less losses. Maybe there might have been less wounds. Maybe there might have been less pain.

China knew that he wasn't responsible for anything that happened during World War II, but he still blamed himself for not helping Republic more. China suddenly snapped back to reality. He noticed that his older brother was already doing something else. He picked up the bloody bandages off of the floor, and went to go to sleep. After a few minutes, China slammed the door to his room shut. He smiled as he reached under his bed, pulling out a small red notebook. Not exactly his diary, but close. He had filled his notebook with surprisingly well-developed essays...maybe the majority of them on Communism. That was exactly why he kept it hidden under his bed: Republic would kill him if he found it. China's older brother already knew well enough that he was interested in Socialism, but he didn't know the extent to which China was dedicated to it. China flipped through the pages of his notebook, until he found a certain page. It was an essay he had written analyzing how the USSR was successful. He read a few lines of his messy handwriting, and put the notebook back under his bed.