I'm still alive! I've decided to continue with my seven (See: five) deadly sins project. This one is greed, starring our dear Arthur Kirkland. So, here we go!

Summary: Based off Judgment of Corruption (written by Mothy and sung by Kaito). Arthur Kirkland is a corrupt judge, who accepts bribes to let criminals go free. However, this case might just be his last. Part of my Hetalia seven deadly sins series.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, Judgment of Corruption or Kaito

Judgment of Corruption

"We have, your honor. We find the defendants…"

The tension in the courtroom was palpable- not that court was ever a relaxed atmosphere. This was the moment they'd all been waiting for.

The prosecuting attorney was visibly sweating. This case hadn't been going well for her at all.

The defendants looked completely relaxed. Antonio Fernandez Carriedo and Gilbert Beilschmidt were both accused of breaking into their Austrian neighbor's house and utterly decimating it- including his beloved piano.

Gilbert was slouched back with his feet on the table before them. Their lawyer kept pushing them down, but he always put them back up. Antonio had the same clueless, zoned-out expression that he was famous for.

In the middle of all this was the judge, Arthur Kirkland. He was well known for having only a few guilty verdicts. It seemed many criminals favored him for this. There were rumors circling around about him, but nothing anybody could prove.

He watched all this all, completely bored. In truth, he already knew what they would say.

This was confirmed when the jury spoke again. "…not guilty."

"Awesome!" Gilbert yelled.

"Settle down please, Mr. Beilschmidt. Very well, court is adjourned. You're both free to go."

Arthur gathered up his things and swiftly left the courtroom. Finally, he could go home. His son, Alfred, would be waiting for him. He hoped the boy wasn't too lonely.

As he was leaving he saw the attorney apologizing profusely to Roderich Edelstein, the supposed victim of this crime. He smiled almost cruelly and kept walking.

Antonio and Gilbert were outside the building. It seemed they were on the receiving end of a very long lecture from Gilbert's brother.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" He asked.

Gilbert didn't seem fazed. "What do you mean 'trouble'? I got off, didn't I?"

"That's not the point! Everyone knows you did it. Roderich is demanding we pay him back for the damages. We don't have that kind of money."

"Yeah, and now neither does he."

"Gilbert…"

"Would you relax, Lutz? We'll get that priss his money, alright?"

"See that you do. By the way, that's coming of your beer money."

"What? Oh, come on!"

"You should count yourself lucky. You could have gone to jail."

"But we didn't."

"I don't even want to know how you pulled that one off."

"Hey, it wasn't me. Toni said he would handle it. Right, Toni?"

Gilbert looked over his shoulder at his friend and caught sight of Arthur standing there.

"Oh, hey there, Judge Kirkland! What's up?"

"I'm quite well, thank you."

"Okay…That was pretty awesome, huh?"

"Indeed." Arthur agreed dryly. "Do you have a moment, Mr. Fernandez Carriedo? I believe we have something to discuss."

"Oh, right. I'll catch you guys later. "Antonio smiled and walked off with a wave.

The brothers could only stare in bewilderment.

"What's that all about?"

"No clue."

"So do you have it or not?" Arthur demanded.

They were in a dark alley, hidden from prying eyes.

"Yep, here you go." Antonio slipped him and ordinary-looking envelope.

Arthur took a quick peek inside before he seemed satisfied. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Oh, yes. Thank you for your help."

"Whatever. I don't care about that. I just need more money." Arthur said with a malicious smile.

Finally, he was able to push open the door to his house. It was a large manor, too large for only two people, but Arthur loved luxury. He especially loved spoiling his dear son.

"Alfred, I'm home!"

"Welcome home, Daddy!" Alfred called from another room.

Arthur quickly followed after his voice. He found Alfred exactly where he left him that morning. The boy was sitting in his wheelchair in the middle of the living room. He stared right into the doorway and smiled as usual at his father.

"Oh, there you are." Arthur said as if he hadn't already known. "How was your day? You weren't too bored, sitting here all by yourself I hope."

"No, I'm fine. I'm just glad you're home now."

"I'm glad too. I'm always so happy to see you after a long day." He knelt down to hug his son.

"I'm so happy to hear that. Did you have a bad day at work, Daddy?"

"No, just long. There were a couple of boys a little older than you on trial today."

"Did they get into a lot of trouble?"

"No, because I got them off. I saved them."

"Wow, you're like a hero!"

"I guess so. And look at this, Alfred." Arthur dug through his pockets and pulled out Antonio's envelope. From this, he pulled a large roll of hundred-dollar bills. "Look how much money I made for you today."

"Wow, that's a lot!"

"Yes, and it's just for you. I need this money to take care of you, and soon I'll make it so that you can walk again."

"I can't wait!"

"Try to be patient a little longer. I still have no leads to the other fragments I need. I've still got that spoon- I won't let anyone take it- but I can't find the other six*."

"I'm sure you'll find them soon. Just do your best, Daddy."

"Thank you, dear. Well, it's getting late. Shall we start on dinner?"

Alfred frowned. "You're not cooking again, are you?"

"There's absolutely nothing wrong with my cooking!"

Arthur wheeled his son into the kitchen and they had a nice quit dinner. Afterwards, he carried Alfred upstairs and laid him bed, despite the boy's protests that he wasn't tired. When Alfred finally gave up Arthur read him a story- he was definitely too old for this, but he really couldn't help it when the boy pleaded and pouted so cutely. Then he tucked Alfred in and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"Good night, Daddy. I love you."

"Good night, Alfred. I love you, too."

"We've finally got him."

"Let go of me! You can't do this!"

"Francis Bonnefoy, you are under arrest for rape and murder. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you?"

"Yes, damn it! And I will be calling my lawyer."

"Jeez, Francis. You sure got your ass in trouble." Gilbert sneered at his friend through the bars

"It's not my fault!"

"Hey, Francis?" Antonio spoke in an unusually serious voice. "Your family has a lot of money, right?"

"Yes, why?"

"Then I know how to get you out of here."

"Lutz! Lutz!"

"What's wrong now?"

"We're in some deep shit!"

"What are you talking about?"

"People v. Francis Bonnefoy, 18 counts rape and murder in the first degree."

Arthur stared broadly ahead of him. He already knew how this trial would end, too. Subconsciously, he put a hand on the new envelope in his pocket.

"How does the defendant plead?"

"Not guilty, you honor."

So it began and so it ended. Another day, another criminal free. His work was done, so he once again headed home.

There was a large crowd gathered outside, families of Bonnefoy's supposed victims. They were clearly furious- they had every right to be. Some screamed at him, but he ignored them.

Then, a large hand grabbed his robes and pulled him back. He was surprised to recognize Ludwig Beilschimdt again. What was he doing here?

"Can I help you, Mr. Beilschmidt?"

"I don't need the kind of help you offer."

"Whatever do you mean?"

Ludwig didn't answer. Instead, he began to dig through Arthur's pockets.

"W-what are you doing? Unhand me!" He yelled.

The crowd had stopped to watch the commotion. A couple of police officers stepped over to help, but Ludwig had already found it.

He waved the envelope in the judge's face. "Now, what might this be?" He opened it and pulled out the money. "I knew it. Bonnefoy gave you this, didn't he? My brother told me all about this. You accept bribes and let criminals go free!"

The crowed stared back in shock.

"D-don't listen to him! He's lying!" Arthur yelled and ran off without another word. He had to go home; he had to get away from this.

Finally, he entered his house and slammed the door behind him. Finally, he was safe.

"Alfred, I'm home!"

"Welcome back."

He hurried to the living room and to his son's side.

"What's wrong, Daddy? You look shaken up."

"I'm sorry. I just had a stressful day at work. How was your day?"

"Better, now that you're here."

"Good, good. Well, I'll start dinner."

The first thing Arthur noticed was the heat. It was far too hot for this time of year. Then he noticed the smell- something was burning! He shot out of bed to see what was happening, and found his house burning.

"Daddy!" He heard Alfred screaming. "Help! Daddy, help me!"

He ran from the room and down the hall to his son's side. He had to get Alfred out of here.

"It's okay." He murmured and scooped the boy up. "Don't worry. Daddy's here. You're alright."

The boy didn't seem to be hurt, but they had to hurry and get out of here. The fire was spreading and the house was collapsing. Unfortunately, it was already too late. There was no way out.

Still, Arthur clung to his beloved son. As long as they were together, he had nothing to fear.

The crowd broke up and the fire was put out shortly afterwards. In what was left of the house they found the body of Judge Arthur Kirkland. In his arms was what appeared to be a large, intricate doll**. Both were smiling.

When Arthur finally awoke again he was all alone, surrounded by rock and lava. He imagined this must be what the inside of a volcano looked like.

"Am I in Hell?" He wondered aloud.

A soft, cheery laugh came from behind him. "Not quite."

There was a large man dressed in a long coat and scarf. He didn't seem at all affected by the heat. He had a kind smile, but there was something sinister in his eyes.

"This is called the 'Hellish Yard' and I am its master. Do you see this door behind me? This is the gate to Heaven. I can let you through, but only if you give me something in return." His smile never wavered.

"Really? And what would that be?"

"Repentance. In order to go through this door, you must repent for your sins. Your sin is greed, so I can only let you pass if you give me all the money you ever collected as a bribe."

"Is that so?" Arthur stood, smiling at the master of this "Hellish Yard". Then, he leaned close and whispered into his ear. "I will never give my fortune to the likes of you."

He pushed away from the master and ran for the door. The master gave another cheery laugh.

"Wrong answer." He said. "Kol, kol, kol."

The floor collapsed and Arthur fell into the abyss.

"So sin is my one and only consideration, in this Judgment of Corruption. I will not allow anyone to judge against my own sins. Someday, I'll once again collect with these hands the fragments of the seven deadly sins. By then, Hell will probably become a utopia for me and my beloved son."

*Sorry if this doesn't make sense. Arthur's trying to collect the deadly sin fragments here. He believes he'll have a wish granted is he does- in this case, for "Alfred" to be able to walk. A silver spoon is the greed fragment.

**In case you didn't notice, there wasn't really an "Alfred". It was a doll the whole time. "Alfred's" voice is all in Arthur's head- hence the italics. Poor Iggy, even the voices in his head don't like his cooking. XD

So that was the greed sin. Pride is already done, but it's been edited from the original song. If you interested, please read that as well. Lust is next.

My wonderful sister Mellos Mayushi is writing gluttony. It should be done soon, so you should look for that too. Please do not read if you are uncomfortable with violence, gore and/or general creepiness. Yamiyokai takes no responsibility for any mental scarring as a result of her sister's fic.