[America has to stand up to be seen over the back of the chair he's in, but he climbs down off of it once he sees Kyoko. His face his red and his eyes are swollen, but he isn't crying right now.]
[It hurts Kyoko to see him like that. Kyoko walks over to America, stops in front of him before getting down on one knee as she looks him over. He looks...terrible. The thought that a small child like him was forced to play part in this kind of twisted game makes her sick. It's disgusting. It's unforgivable and infuriating and a hundred other things.
But she understands that none of that matters. It didn't matter with her. It doesn't matter with him. She places her hand on America's head and strokes his hair.]
...I'm not angry with you. I'm not here to yell at you or tell you that you were wrong, okay? There's nobody here who can blame you for what happened.
[America thinks he might blame himself for it, but that feeling is too great for him to hold in his hands and talk about the right way, so instead he sniffles and tries not to start crying all over again.]
But a lot of people got hurt and--if they got hurt it'd be okay if they were mad.
[Or so he keeps telling himself, but he's too little and frightened to really play martyr.]
[She holds him a little tighter as he clings to her, stroking his hair and staring down at him. It's painful to see him like this. He's right. This child can't be more than five, but he's figured out what nobody in charge has been able to.]
[She considers for a moment. It's not that she doesn't understand what they need to do, it's explaining it to someone who's so small and has such a limited view of the world that gives her a pause.]
[At length, America nods. He wipes his eyes and tries to listen. And he has had people who bullied him--human children and other nations, sometimes, though he wasn't allowed to hit the former and was too small to hit the latter.]
You ever heard the saying, "give 'em enough rope, and they'll hang themselves?" It means that if you just let a person think they can have their way, they'll wind up screwing themselves over. It's like they're doing their work for you, y'know.
[She ruffles America's hair, letting her hand come to rest on his shoulder.]
That's why like, with bullies, you're not supposed to try adn confront 'em, 'cause you just get yourself in trouble. It's better to wait for them to trip over their own shoes. And in the meantime...you shouldn't take responsibility for their actions. That's all they really want, y'know, is to make you feel like trash.
[Of course, that's not her preferred method of doing things. Under normal circumstances she would never condone it, but she's not stupid enough to encourage a small child to rush headfirst into this sort of thing. Kids can be useful. She's seen that already. It's just a matter of finding a way to help them understand things that proves to be difficult.
She moves to wipe his tears away.]
So like, just try to remember, all those bad things you did? Those weren't you. That was the admins. It's not something you have to feel bad about. Make sure you stick with the people that you care about. If you can do that...it might not be right away, but things'll fix themselves up.
[America sniffles a little and tries to collect himself. It sounds sort of like advice England or France might give, except they wouldn't say it like that--the way she says it makes more sense to him, really.
He wouldn't have done any of that if he'd been able to stop himself. He's sure about that.
Still...]
They need to trip faster. It's taking too long. And they're hurting lots of people and it's mean.
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[A few seconds delay, and then she adds--]
Where are you? You shouldn't be by yourself right now.
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text -> action
[True to her word, Kyoko will enter the library a short time later.]
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...Hi. [Even he realizes how limp that sounds.]
Re: action
[It hurts Kyoko to see him like that. Kyoko walks over to America, stops in front of him before getting down on one knee as she looks him over. He looks...terrible. The thought that a small child like him was forced to play part in this kind of twisted game makes her sick. It's disgusting. It's unforgivable and infuriating and a hundred other things.
But she understands that none of that matters. It didn't matter with her. It doesn't matter with him. She places her hand on America's head and strokes his hair.]
...I'm not angry with you. I'm not here to yell at you or tell you that you were wrong, okay? There's nobody here who can blame you for what happened.
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But a lot of people got hurt and--if they got hurt it'd be okay if they were mad.
[Or so he keeps telling himself, but he's too little and frightened to really play martyr.]
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[She brushes his hair out of his eyes, hesitating for a moment before pulling America into a tight hug.]
Even if there's someone who can't understand that, y'know, I won't let them lay a finger on you. I'll make them understand.
[Using her fists, if she has to and she's just barely able to keep from adding that last bit, realizing that it might only add to his distress.]
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I didn't want to and--[He hiccups.] And I didn't even know until I woke up and-and--it's not fair!
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Yeah. It's not fair at all.
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Have you ever had a bully before?
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[She ruffles America's hair, letting her hand come to rest on his shoulder.]
That's why like, with bullies, you're not supposed to try adn confront 'em, 'cause you just get yourself in trouble. It's better to wait for them to trip over their own shoes. And in the meantime...you shouldn't take responsibility for their actions. That's all they really want, y'know, is to make you feel like trash.
[Of course, that's not her preferred method of doing things. Under normal circumstances she would never condone it, but she's not stupid enough to encourage a small child to rush headfirst into this sort of thing. Kids can be useful. She's seen that already. It's just a matter of finding a way to help them understand things that proves to be difficult.
She moves to wipe his tears away.]
So like, just try to remember, all those bad things you did? Those weren't you. That was the admins. It's not something you have to feel bad about. Make sure you stick with the people that you care about. If you can do that...it might not be right away, but things'll fix themselves up.
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He wouldn't have done any of that if he'd been able to stop himself. He's sure about that.
Still...]
They need to trip faster. It's taking too long. And they're hurting lots of people and it's mean.