Yao dressed appropriately for where he was going, not his choice of attire but he needed to be properly identified. He wore the fatigues he’d been given from the Japanese Empire that he was now strictly apart of and would now be identified that way, of course with a badge identifying him as Chinese. The badge didn’t bother him much, it just confirmed for him how stupid the west was in being unable to tell one of his siblings apart from the other. Japan had been treating him better than how he heard the Germans were treating everyone else at least, not that it still wasn’t hell on Earth.
He walked calmly through the gates and was escorted by Germans down a dark hallway. This place was horrible and it was cold, he didn’t understand why all of them seemed to be so okay with this situation. No one was talking to him, just leading him down this hallway to only God knows where. There was an amount of trust that he was placing in Japan's relationship with German right now and that required trust with Japan, in which he had very little with either.
They came to a room and the guards that escorted him stayed at the door and ushered him in with their guns. Yao didn’t really understand why they were needed, what were they going to do? Shoot him? Maybe if Germany was here it would be intimidating, but right now it was more annoying than anything. He walked into the room and was met with a dead end. The German inside ordered him to strip. “What?” He asked back, completely appalled by what he was being asked to do. They demanded it again of him and grumbling he started to remove his clothes. This all seemed a bit unnecessary for him just going to visit a prisoner but he supposed they couldn’t HELP but be thorough in making sure he wasn’t going to try anything with Russia. Yao stripped down and covered himself, chest and bottom half, feeling naked either way. He was aware of his particularly feminine appearance, besides not having all the equipment there. His eyes widened as he remembered something important and moved the position of his hand to cover the red star inked onto his upper left arm. He had forgotten about it in that vulnerable moment, but the German next to him had already seen it and was staring at him.
A German approached him and reached out. Yao slapped his hand away and snapped at him in Chinese obscenities and many words he was glad they wouldn’t understand anyway. They yelled at him in German and the other two had come away from the door to raise their guns against him. The German that had spotted the star on his arm left and came back with a camera. He pried his fingers off from it and snapped a picture, blinding China for a moment. Upon threat of being no longer able to see Ivan, he stopped resisting and let the touchy German check where he wanted to. After feeling thoroughly violated they allowed him to put his clothes back on and escorted him down yet another dark hall and a set of stairs. He felt like, he was descending into the maw of hell. The further they went down the colder it got, he wasn’t sure if this was because of the climate, or the fact that they were getting closer to Russia. A German ordered him to stop and he did while he went down the hall and opened a door.
Yao slowly approached the door and peered inside.
He’ll never forget the horrific scene.
His old friend….Ivan, chained. Not just chained to the floor and wall but chains wrapped around his entire body. They were around his neck, his arms and his legs all to keep them apart from each other. The room was so cold and colder and he felt like it may just start snowing in the room. Any amount of precipitation would have frozen over already.
Yao covered his mouth in the horror of it all and rushed to Ivan, grabbing his hand in his own. He didn’t know if it was allowed, if he’d be okay or if the German’s behind him would even allow it, but he couldn’t help himself. Something inside him couldn’t stand to see Russia like that. “Ivan.. Ivan.. No..” He nearly wept and held him tightly. Russia had no idea the way he’d been watching him from a distance lately. Ivan had his faults, he may had been going along with the west and the way they’d been treating him and although China was still upset with him, he didn’t deserve this.
He pulled back to get a better look at his face and cupped his jaw with his fingers. “Gàosu wǒ tāmen duì nǐ zuòle shénme? Wǒ zài zhèlǐ wéi nǐ tóngzhì” He whispered the last part to his ear just barely so that he could hear him and not the Germans at the door. He figured it was safer to speak in Chinese, since Russia knew a decent amount and the Germans didn’t. Yao spoke very specifically at the end, to let Russia know he’d been watching and that he supported his cause… Or at least he’d wanted to.
Since the German had left him in this hole, Ivan had lost all perception of time. He couldn’t be certain if it had only been a few hours or a few months since the arrogant nation buried him. He wondered if Germany had purposefully attempted to mimic the epic poem of Dante’s Inferno by placing him in the lowest space of the pit in the frozen cold. By such, comparing Ivan to Satan frozen in ice and Germany to the god he perceived himself to be. Such thoughts brought humor in his drawn-out days, and his lips would tilt into a slight smile as his body laid limp in the chains. He allowed the chains to hold most of his weight as he hung off the wall. He would find himself drifting in and out of sleep as he was left only with his thoughts.
Ivan was no stranger to being alone, but even this situation had started to gnaw at him. Usually in his loneliness he could knit, ice skate, play in the snow, and primarily distract himself from how utterly alone he was, but this…this he could do nothing but think. Lost in his own thoughts, he felt claustrophobic. Even so, he would not give Germany the pleasure. Each day continued on, and Ivan held an almost numb expression, not showing the rage, panic, and sadness that had all manage to consume him at some point during the multiple days. He almost seemed like a statue.
The only time he would move was to glance at where he suspected cameras might be. He would give a smile at the camera, holding the gaze for a moment, and then return his focus back to the floor. Out of everything, the cold bothered him the least. The cold had always been a familiar friend, and Ivan actually found himself enjoying the chilly temperature for it kept his thoughts back at home with his people.
Similar to most days, Ivan had been lost in his thoughts, but he could sense an increased amount of activity. When the door open, he gently lifted his head, expecting a German guard, but when he saw Yao, his entire form seemed to lighten. A genuine smile touched his face as the man rushed towards him, somewhat surprised Germany had allowed Yao to visit. But as he heard the worry and pain in his tone and touches, an additional emotion joined his other ones, and it became difficult to hide it with Yao so close.
Shame.
He had lost the war, and it was quite apparent with his current circumstance. He had once been so weak, but he had been a child, young and foolish. He remembered Yao seeing him in a similar form, a collar and leashed by Mongolia. He had felt so ashamed. He had promised himself to get stronger and stronger to never feel this shame again, and yet, here he was again trapped in chains in front of a man he idolized.
Is this why Germany had allowed his visit? To embarrass him? Next the filthy fascist brat would send in his sisters. His eyes narrowed, and for the first time since the end of the war, true outright rage could be seen in his violet eyes. He glared briefly at the camera before closing his eyes and leaning into Yao’s touch. No matter how shameful it was, it was nice to have Yao so close.
“It is nothing. I am fine,” he answered in Chinese, “I apologize you must see me this way.”
Yao held back tears as he searched Ivan's eyes for answers. The Russian tried to stay so strong, even though they had treated him so poorly. Ivan was not fine, this entire situation wasn't fine and somehow Yao was going to find a way to get him out of it. Ivan was a lot of things to him, a friend, a stalker, a bed partner, an abuser, a psychopath, and a caring companion…But he didn't deserve this. Besides, if anything was going to be done Russia needed to be free, whether that was through force or diplomacy.
"Of course you are.." He comforted him in Chinese and planted a kiss on his forehead. It was almost too much to bare, watching him suspended in chains. In this time it was difficult to imagine that before the war he would have probably liked to do something like this to Ivan. But that is what he deserved for trying to occupy his home uninvited. It was the rudest gesture Ivan had ever done to him and he even tried to justify it! But before his head swam too much with that thought he tried to remember all that Ivan had been through.
He was young…and lonely…and with that much, Yao could relate.
"I am a part of the Japanese Empire. Kiku allowed me to come see you.. Though now I see that it's under heavy supervision." He paused, thinking back to what they did to him before he was brought him here. It was clear to see by looking at China that he wasn't treated well in this hell hole either. Germany had allowed the visit but now he was going to have something that Yao hadn't intended for him to get. Yao bit his lip… Maybe it was best for him to keep his mouth shut about it.
As much as he wanted to tell Ivan what they'd done in that room, there was nothing Ivan could do about it and nothing that Yao could do to stop it. But he could at least inform him that this might be his last visit. He doubted after that picture got to Germany that he'd be allowed back, but maybe he could try. " They strip searched me… I don’t…know how long they'll let me stay now, or if I'll be able to come back." He hinted that something happened but he wasn't going into detail on what. "Tell me what you need." Yao demanded directly after emphasizing that he was probably short on time. His fingers pushed back Ivan's matted and dirty hair. He wished he could give him something here, anything to alleviate the pain.
