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Description
You probably wouldn't guess... but if you met me when I was much younger, you probably wouldn't know it was me.

Before my big brother found me, everything seemed much simpler.  Each day I would swim in the surrounding ocean of my island home, climb trees, and race around. .  The only friends I had were the birds, animals, and fish around my island, but I was still very happy.

Then one day, some boats found my home.  Not recognizing any of the people that came I hid and looked from afar.  It was so strange; I had never seen anything like them before.

However, one in particular stood out… he looked just like me.  Well, not exactly – he was much taller and obviously much older - but he had the same hair color and eyes that I had... When I noticed him I ran out to greet him right away.

He just stood there, staring at me, dumbfounded.  I suppose he was just as surprised as I was at the time.  Either way, he decided to take me into his home.  He took care of me taught me how to speak, how to write, and soon enough he gave me a name: Iwo Jima; Sulfur Island.
He had a name as well: Nihon; Japan.
Soon enough we both learned that our physical resemblance was no coincidence… he was my big brother; my Onii-chan.

Soon, Onii-chan was told by another country to open up his borders.  It was so exciting!  I got to meet so many other countries, and each one was very different.  They all had different names and different histories.

A few of the countries in particular stood out.  There was a really tall one with a scarf, a blonde man in a green uniform who my brother got along with very well, one with red hair that had a curl sticking out…

And then… there was the one that got my brother to open his borders in the first place... He was called "America".  He seemed like such an interesting person.  He was loud and very much more open; almost like Onii-chan's opposite.  I only met him a few times, so I didn't quite understand him.
Although a lot of my villagers weren't very fond of him, I couldn't help but be a little curious.  Of course, I was still somewhat of a child.

Soon however, Onii-chan said to forget about most of the countries I had met… the world was now entering World War 2 as it came to be called.  The only countries I saw were a very tall blonde one called "Germany", and the redhead I once met, "Italy".
There were a few other countries, but other than those two and my big brother, I wasn't able to see any others.  They called themselves the "Axis" forces.

Eventually I found my own role in the war; my island home soon served as a military base for Onii-chan.  It was very new and very frightening, but as long as Onii-chan was happy, I was happy.  I even got to learn about how planes work and even learned how to fly one.

Either way, my island got rather lonely again… I couldn't even see Mr. America, who my brother says is now an enemy… except for that one time when he came and tried to paint Mt. Fuji red… I didn't get that.

Finally, one day… I was back at my island home.  Alone… only my other citizens were there… I didn't realize what was about to happen.

I saw ships coming towards my home.  They certainly weren't Onii-chan's, but they still seemed familiar… then I realized it was Mr. America's boats.

At first, I was happy to see him again for a few seconds… then I remembered that Onii-chan and America were enemies… so I ran.  I ran for the one place I believed I would be safe… the top of the mountain.
I climbed the mountain I once only climbed for fun, but now I was climbing for my life.

Soon, I began to see America's troops set foot on the island and go right through the village.  All I could do was watch as they began to climb the mountain… the first one to get there was America himself, and I stood out like a sore thumb.  He approached me, even though I readied myself with a pickaxe I had from my mining days.  He simply held out his hand saying to come with him and everything would be okay…

Onii-chan soon found us before he could take me away, and faced America head on.  They began to argue basically about whose side I should be on.  America was arguing that I should be on his side, Onii-chan was saying I should stay with the Axis… soon their argument escalated up to the point that America punched Onii-chan… they weren't arguing anymore, they were FIGHTING… and all I could do was watch.

Onii-chan once told me that in old times, if two people wanted custody of the same child, they were told to grab the child's arms and legs and start tugging at them like a rope… it was actually a test to see who'd care more about the child.  Basically whoever was more worried about the child being in pain and let go would get to be the parent… this was nothing like that.  All Onii-chan and America did was punch, kick, and bite.  I could only stand by and watch it all happen in front of me.  I didn't hurt outside, but I did hurt a lot inside… there was nothing I could say or do to stop them…

Soon, the fight was over… Onii-chan was unconscious on the ground… America was hardly standing, but… he won…
I don't remember much about what happened after that… the most vivid memory I have of what happened after was me crying in a hallway, someone with brown hair and in a green military uniform saying it was going to be okay…

How was it going to be okay? I just lost my brother… no… I betrayed him…

That day I realized… though we're siblings, I'm nothing like Japan… he was a country… I'm just overseas territory; a piece of property to be used and fought over.  In such big affairs, I'm not allowed to say a word… not allowed to speak my mind… All I can do is follow orders from whoever is in charge of me… that was all I did under America's roof anyways… it was probably the better decision… I couldn't run away anyways…

Truth be told… even though the war is long over, and I'm back with Japan, I still dread that day… still have nightmares of it… fearing it might happen again… but I guess as long as I'm still following orders of those above me… I'll be safe…

Description
You probably wouldn't guess... but if you met me when I was much younger, you probably wouldn't know it was me.

Before my big brother found me, everything seemed much simpler.  Each day I would swim in the surrounding ocean of my island home, climb trees, and race around. .  The only friends I had were the birds, animals, and fish around my island, but I was still very happy.

Then one day, some boats found my home.  Not recognizing any of the people that came I hid and looked from afar.  It was so strange; I had never seen anything like them before.

However, one in particular stood out… he looked just like me.  Well, not exactly – he was much taller and obviously much older - but he had the same hair color and eyes that I had... When I noticed him I ran out to greet him right away.

He just stood there, staring at me, dumbfounded.  I suppose he was just as surprised as I was at the time.  Either way, he decided to take me into his home.  He took care of me taught me how to speak, how to write, and soon enough he gave me a name: Iwo Jima; Sulfur Island.
He had a name as well: Nihon; Japan.
Soon enough we both learned that our physical resemblance was no coincidence… he was my big brother; my Onii-chan.

Soon, Onii-chan was told by another country to open up his borders.  It was so exciting!  I got to meet so many other countries, and each one was very different.  They all had different names and different histories.

A few of the countries in particular stood out.  There was a really tall one with a scarf, a blonde man in a green uniform who my brother got along with very well, one with red hair that had a curl sticking out…

And then… there was the one that got my brother to open his borders in the first place... He was called "America".  He seemed like such an interesting person.  He was loud and very much more open; almost like Onii-chan's opposite.  I only met him a few times, so I didn't quite understand him.
Although a lot of my villagers weren't very fond of him, I couldn't help but be a little curious.  Of course, I was still somewhat of a child.

Soon however, Onii-chan said to forget about most of the countries I had met… the world was now entering World War 2 as it came to be called.  The only countries I saw were a very tall blonde one called "Germany", and the redhead I once met, "Italy".
There were a few other countries, but other than those two and my big brother, I wasn't able to see any others.  They called themselves the "Axis" forces.

Eventually I found my own role in the war; my island home soon served as a military base for Onii-chan.  It was very new and very frightening, but as long as Onii-chan was happy, I was happy.  I even got to learn about how planes work and even learned how to fly one.

Either way, my island got rather lonely again… I couldn't even see Mr. America, who my brother says is now an enemy… except for that one time when he came and tried to paint Mt. Fuji red… I didn't get that.

Finally, one day… I was back at my island home.  Alone… only my other citizens were there… I didn't realize what was about to happen.

I saw ships coming towards my home.  They certainly weren't Onii-chan's, but they still seemed familiar… then I realized it was Mr. America's boats.

At first, I was happy to see him again for a few seconds… then I remembered that Onii-chan and America were enemies… so I ran.  I ran for the one place I believed I would be safe… the top of the mountain.
I climbed the mountain I once only climbed for fun, but now I was climbing for my life.

Soon, I began to see America's troops set foot on the island and go right through the village.  All I could do was watch as they began to climb the mountain… the first one to get there was America himself, and I stood out like a sore thumb.  He approached me, even though I readied myself with a pickaxe I had from my mining days.  He simply held out his hand saying to come with him and everything would be okay…

Onii-chan soon found us before he could take me away, and faced America head on.  They began to argue basically about whose side I should be on.  America was arguing that I should be on his side, Onii-chan was saying I should stay with the Axis… soon their argument escalated up to the point that America punched Onii-chan… they weren't arguing anymore, they were FIGHTING… and all I could do was watch.

Onii-chan once told me that in old times, if two people wanted custody of the same child, they were told to grab the child's arms and legs and start tugging at them like a rope… it was actually a test to see who'd care more about the child.  Basically whoever was more worried about the child being in pain and let go would get to be the parent… this was nothing like that.  All Onii-chan and America did was punch, kick, and bite.  I could only stand by and watch it all happen in front of me.  I didn't hurt outside, but I did hurt a lot inside… there was nothing I could say or do to stop them…

Soon, the fight was over… Onii-chan was unconscious on the ground… America was hardly standing, but… he won…
I don't remember much about what happened after that… the most vivid memory I have of what happened after was me crying in a hallway, someone with brown hair and in a green military uniform saying it was going to be okay…

How was it going to be okay? I just lost my brother… no… I betrayed him…

That day I realized… though we're siblings, I'm nothing like Japan… he was a country… I'm just overseas territory; a piece of property to be used and fought over.  In such big affairs, I'm not allowed to say a word… not allowed to speak my mind… All I can do is follow orders from whoever is in charge of me… that was all I did under America's roof anyways… it was probably the better decision… I couldn't run away anyways…

Truth be told… even though the war is long over, and I'm back with Japan, I still dread that day… still have nightmares of it… fearing it might happen again… but I guess as long as I'm still following orders of those above me… I'll be safe…