Chapter 2
After the War

It was now the year 2008(1) and this time Alfred was standing before the list of names in the shrine of the USS Arizona Memorial, with a bouquet of white roses in his hand. He walked near the marble wall and laid the bouquet on the steps.

"I hope that you're all at peace." said Alfred, "It's been years since World War II but we still remember you guys."

Even though Alfred managed to avenge Pearl Harbor he still felt some pain in his chest whenever he came to the memorial. The pain wasn't as bad as it was on the Morning of December 8, but that didn't stop him from shedding a few tears as he visited his dead people. He could still see that fateful day very clearly. The sunken ships, the bullet holes in the cars and buildings, men running here and there cleaning up the wreck, and that single tattered American flag that waved in the air.

The memory of Pearl Harbor would always be in his heart because of who he was: America. And the memory would also be engraved into the hearts of his people and their children as they would grow up and learn about it.

Alfred looked at the other flowers that were laid on the steps. A bouquet of red roses from Arthur; one sunflower from Ivan; an iris from Francis; some knapweed from Ludwig; a white lily from Veneciano; a couple of plum blossoms from Wang Yao; and all other sorts of flowers and wreaths from visitors.

Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and was surprised to see…

"Kiku?"

The Japanese man was holding a small sakura tree branch that had many blossoms on it. He walked towards the steps and stood beside Alfred. He turned his body so that he was facing the taller American and slightly lifted the sakura branch so that Alfred could see it better.

"This is from one of my own trees." said Kiku.

He then faced the marble wall and laid the small branch beside Alfred's white roses. The other nation could only stare at the branch.

Come to think of it, he had seen a sakura tree branch on some of his previous visits to the memorial.

"Kiku…" began Alfred.

"Hmm?" the Japanese man faced him.

"All those cherry blossom branches… That was you who left them there?" asked Alfred.

To Kiku, it sounded more like a statement rather than a question. "Yes. I have come here before."

"But isn't it too much for you?"

Kiku stayed silent and walked out of the shrine and into the assembly room of the memorial. Alfred followed him. The smaller man walked towards one of the large open windows at the side and leaned on it. Alfred joined him. Both were staring down at the remains of the USS Arizona.

Finally Kiku spoke, "It is true that I planned the attack for some time and that because of it you entered the war so you could avenge your people. Yet I come here just to leave an offering for the dead."

He pointed at the oil that was seeping from the ship. "See, even the Arizona sheds tears because of my crime."(2)

Alfred looked at the oil. As he did, Kiku stopped leaning on the window and headed for the exit. Alfred noticed this.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Kiku stopped walking but he kept his back facing Alfred. "Home."

"But you just got here."

"Yes, but I feel nervous when I am with you in this place. If I was alone I would stay a little longer here."

Alfred didn't ask why he felt nervous around him because he already knew the answer.

In order to end the war, he had decided to drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Kiku was shaken and devastated by the bombing but he still refused to surrender. So the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later. This finally brought Kiku more than he could handle. Most of his civilians were dead or badly hurt and two of his cities were ruined. It was then that Kiku felt the same pain Alfred felt when he attacked Pearl Harbor. His chest felt like it was splitting apart, he couldn't see well through his flowing tears, and he just couldn't believe what had happened to him. In the beginning he felt so powerful as he attacked his older siblings and when he attacked Alfred's country. When Ludwig and Veneciano surrendered to the Allies he went his own way. His two friends tried to stop him and told him that it was over.

"No. It's over for you two. For me, this is only the beginning." Kiku had said to them.

He left them and believed that he could defeat the Allies by himself. His people were willing to die for him and the emperor. With that kind of loyalty, how could he possibly loose? The answer was a nation that would not rest until it defeated him and finally ended the war... a nation that wanted to avenge his people.

Alfred would never forget how he stood among the ruins of Nagasaki waiting for Kiku to show up and finally surrender. The Japanese man finally appeared six days after the Nagasaki bombing(3). His white imperial uniform was tattered and torn; he looked more skinnier than usual; his raven hair was messed up; and he stumbled a few times as he walked towards him. When Kiku got closer, Alfred saw the tears in his eyes but for some reason he was unaffected by this pitiful sight. It was pitiful because the once great warrior was now a fallen and broken man. Even so, Alfred felt nothing at the time but anger.

Despite not being himself at the time, Alfred still remembered how Kiku fell onto his knees in front of him and bowed until his forehead touched the dirt.

"I surrender." he said, his voice sounded so weak. "No more. Please, no more."

Alfred had remained quiet as he reached for his handgun and pointed it at Kiku. The smaller man looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the firearm and his body started trembling uncontrollably.

"Say that louder." ordered Alfred.

"I surrender."

"To who?"

"I surrender to the Allied Powers."

Alfred smirked. "Good."

He pulled the trigger and the next second Kiku was lying on his side clutching a hand at his bloody shoulder where the bullet went through completely. Alfred could see the bullet lying a few inches away from Kiku.

During the year after the war, thousands of Alfred's soldiers occupied Kiku's land.

After all that, it was no wonder Kiku was nervous to be in Alfred's presence.

The blond walked over to where the raven-haired man was and put a hand on his shoulder. The action caused Kiku to jump slightly.

"Kiku, I..." began Alfred.

But Kiku struggled out of his grasp and started walking faster toward the exit of the memorial.

Alfred caught up with him before he could walk out and what he did next was a surprise for both of them. He just embraced Kiku from behind and didn't let go. Alfred didn't know why he did it, his arms just wrapped themselves around the smaller frame and refused to let go. Kiku stood there frozen until his mind caught up to what was happening. He struggled to loosen Alfred's grasp and was having no luck. As he struggled the taller man caught a brief sight of his bare shoulder. There, he saw where the bullet had gone through on that fateful day.

"Leave me!" shouted Kiku.

Alfred let go, not because of Kiku's command, but of shock from seeing the wound he had afflicted on him.

He did not go after Kiku as he ran out of the memorial, even though he wanted too.
Even though he wanted to get a better, longer look at that wound.
Even though he wanted to say something comforting to him.

Alfred now stood in the USS Arizona Memorial alone. He looked behind him and started walking back to the shrine. Again he looked at what was there, laid on the steps before the marble wall. Only this time he just looked at the ones that stood out.

A bouquet of red roses from Arthur; a sunflower from Ivan; an iris from Francis; some knapweed from Ludwig; a white lily from Veneciano; a couple of plum blossoms from Wang Yao; his own bouquet of white roses; and a sakura tree branch from Kiku's own garden.

Alfred walked toward the steps and squatted down beside Kiku's offering. He reached out his hand and took one single blossom from it. Just one.

It felt so fragile and it looked so beautiful in the bright sunlight. Just like Kiku himself.

Alfred still had that single cherry blossom with him even as he left the memorial.

Later that day he still had it with him on his nightstand beside his glasses as he fell asleep in his bed.

(1) I know it's 2009, but I chose 2008 because I went to the USS Arizona Memorial with my family that year in August. So I just wanted to use the year I went so I could picture it better.
(2) The oil that seeps out of the Arizona is sometimes referred to as "tears of the Arizona."
(3) Six days after the Nagasaki bombing (August 9), Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers (August 15).
I don't think anyone's ever left a sakura tree branch at the memorial, but I just used that since it's a famous flower in Japan and for symbolism. MOST of the flowers that the other characters left are their national flowers, but some are not.
Yes, it's true, many people from Japan and Japanese-Americans visit Pearl Harbor. I've seen them myself and I know that they must leave something for the shrine every now and then.
-HISTORICAL FACTS-
The USS Arizona was one of the battleships that was sunk during the attack. As she sunk, she took most of her crewmen with her. Their souls are still entombed there to this very day. In the memorial there are several open windows so that visitors can look outside and see the remains of the ship. The memorial floats above the actual wreckage of the ship. The memorial gets visitors from all around the world every year.
The shrine is at the very end of the memorial and holds the marble wall with all the people's names on it. People leave flowers and wreaths on the steps since they aren't allowed to go up right next to the wall. The assembly room is the middle of the memorial and is also where all the windows are.
Kiku feeling uncomfortable around Alfred is a small symbol of his bitterness because of the atomic bombings and also his fear.
During the year after the atomic bombings about 40,000 U.S. occupation troops were in Hiroshima and about 27,000 were in Nagasaki.

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: I support Alfred/Kiku PERIOD (it needs more love!!XD). Reviews, pretty please. Be nice, it's my first Hetalia fic and serious fic. (Sorry if I made it too preachyT-T)

Thank you for your time reading and reviewing.