A/N: So first Hetalia fic! I don't wanna tell y'all too much (I'm super excited to be finally releasing this story actually) but I got two terms just to make reading easier.

In case you don't know them, Niconico is a popular Japanese video sharing website and a utaite is a Japanese term for people who upload their covers to this website (they're usually covers of Vocaloid songs).

And that's it! Hope you enjoy Chapter One of the World Vision!

~O~

"You did what?!"

Feliciano could be... an airhead, to put it lightly. And that was putting it very lightly. But of all the things he'd done, this was easily the worst.

"Please don't be mad!" Feliciano cried, waving his arms. "I just thought it'd be fun, and then we wouldn't have to work alone all the time! And then we'd have more friends! And... and..."

"You should've asked me before you agreed!" Ludwig said, but unfortunately, whenever he said things like that, it usually came out more like a shout and scared Feliciano. And this time was no different.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just thought it'd be better, because you said it was really hard to work alone like we're doing, and then I thought if we worked with a band, it'd be easier..."

The almost pleading look in Feliciano's eyes made Ludwig feel guilty. He had said that... maybe weeks ago, but he did say it... And even if Feliciano did the most outrageous, incredibly stupid things, he had meant well, in his own way. It almost always went wrong, but at least he tried.

"I thought it'd make you happy, so..." Feliciano was just rambling at this point: he didn't even notice the stare Ludwig was giving him. "I didn't mean to make you mad, I just wanted to... oh."

Feliciano finally noticed. He smiled nervously, not meeting his eyes.

"...Show me the email," Ludwig said. It, again, came out more like a command and made Feliciano visibly tense up, but at least it made him hurry. In less than a minute, the email was loaded up in record time.

He hoped it was one worth responding to.

- Hello there, you two! I only discovered your songs recently, and I'm surprised by how good they are! They're seriously amazing!

- Not only that, but I also have an opportunity to offer you! I know you two work alone right now, so I'd like to give you a chance to work with a much bigger label! I'm starting a band and would love you for you two to be in it. An extremely unique band with people from all around the world! We would teach about history and culture in a fun, lighthearted way through our songs! You guys would have to move out of Italy, sorry, but I promise you, it'll be worth it!

- The band is called the World Vision! Email me back if you're interested.

~ Alfred F. Jones

"We have to move out of the country?!" Ludwig asked, incredulous. This was the exact kind of thing Feliciano would decide to do without thinking, and the exact type of thing he was afraid he would do.

"W-Well, I didn't him that we were going to! Just that we were interested...!" Feliciano tensed up again, and even if Ludwig would've noticed, he probably wouldn't have cared. Joining a random band was bad enough, but one in different country?! That was out of the question. "But if we do it, I'm sure it'll be good! I looked him up and he's a popular singer and he's really good so I'm sure it'll all be fine!"

By "him", Ludwig assumed he meant whoever signed the email. This "Alfred F. Jones" person... What kind of person sent emails like this? He couldn't really expect people to move so far away just for a band... Well, maybe if it was close, it wouldn't be too bad... "Where does he live?"

"U-Um... America..."

"That far?!" That was on an entirely different continent! That was stretching it way too far. How did he expect people to want to do that? "Did you know that before you agreed?"

"I-I did! I looked him up and researched him and everything!" Feliciano's eyes suddenly sparkled. "He seems like a really good person! And his songs are great too! I know that it's a really far away but I think if we end up doing this, it'll all be fine!"

It'll all be fine... There was a multitude of things that could go wrong, and a lot of them could end in them being stranded in an unfamiliar place, but... maybe he was being too harsh on him. Maybe he had a point.

"...If you really want to... I guess we can look into it more," Ludwig said. He meant it to be a neutral response, but of course Feliciano took it too far and interpreted it as them actually doing it, from the overexcited smile on his face.

"Really? We're actually going to do it?!" Ludwig wanted to correct him and tell him that he didn't say anything close to that, but the naïve hope that radiated so clearly through his expression... it was hard to say no when he was like that.

"...Yeah, we can-"

"We can? Yay!" Feliciano's smile only grew even wider. "That's great, because I told him earlier that we could do it-"

"You told me that you only said we were interested."

"...Oh." His smile faltered under Ludwig's stare. "W-Well, um, now that you said we can do it, everything should be fine, right?"

Feliciano was really a handful sometimes.

~O~

Not a moment after the door clicked close did Arthur want to collapse on the ground. Needless to say, the past few days in the studio had been... tedious, to say the least. Ever since his band had released that hit, it'd been stressful beyond belief. And not only because they had to deal with fame: no, his band had decided it could've only been one of them that had made the band successful. Arthur could barely do anything without hearing their arguing voices, and that included while they were trying to record songs.

What idiots.

He dropped his bag off near the door, where he always did. Despite all the madness going on with the band and recording, he had kept his apartment in order. It was a stress relief thing, really: it was the one thing he had control over. That, and he could barely live in a space that wasn't neat.

Living in madness was turning out to be his new reality, though... He didn't know if he could handle things going on like this. After only a week, he was seriously considering quitting. Sure, going on his own might be harder than having an entire band to back him up, but he didn't want any of their help if they continued on like this, and unfortunately, it seemed like it would.

He sighed, sitting down on his couch. He really didn't know what to do... It's not like he could just quit and expect everything to go alright. He was the lead singer and all, but that completely changed if he left the band. Then he was just him, lead singer of nothing. There would be people that would like him less just because he quit, and then there would be people that would like him less because his songs would sound different afterwards. If he quit, he was losing fans, period.

But he knew it wouldn't be long before he snapped, and then the band would be disbanded anyways. There was really no winning.

He took out his phone. Lately, it seemed the only positivity he could get was from fans, specifically of their most recent song. It was still trending on most social media, even if had been released over a week ago. His feed had been flooded with countless people expressing how much they liked it. He never responded to any of them, of course, but it really did make him happy to see that people enjoyed their songs.

It was probably the last one they would create.

A red dot flashed in the corner of the screen. He groaned. A PM. It was probably another of those weird fans that sent him some... odd fan mail. He could be completely wrong, and it could be completely innocent, but if they were PMing him, they probably didn't want the rest of the internet to see it... which meant some... bad things.

He would have to delete it if it was bad, and if it was good, then there was no problem reading it. So he clicked on it, hoping for the best.

- Hey there! I gotta say, I just listened to your band's new song, and it was amazing! You're talented, really!

- Now, I also got an offer for you. I know you're already in a band, but I'm starting one of my own, with people all over the world! I know, it sounds really ambitious, but the band would be one of a kind! It's a band that would not only sound great, but teach about history and cultures from around the world! You would have to quit your band and move out of England, sorry about that, but I promise you, this band would be one of the most unique bands out there!

- The band's called the World Vision! PM me back if you're interested.

~ Alfred F. Jones

...That was not what he expected.

This person — "Alfred F. Jones", it was — had probably just sent him the strangest PM he had ever received. And it wasn't the traditional strange, either: he sent a him message hoping he'd join a band that wasn't even created yet, with people he didn't know.

He looked up this Alfred person, and apparently he was some popular American singer, but he seriously thought that Arthur would quit his own band, join his, and move out of the country for it, too?

"What an idiot," Arthur muttered to himself. Yet... he found his fingers hovering over the keyboard, trying to find words to say. For such an ambitious, reckless offer, he found himself strangely drawn to it. Being in a band with entirely new people might be somewhat better than what he was doing new. And portraying history... it certainly did sound very interesting, maybe even a bit enjoyable. History had always been one of his better subjects, and, at times, sometimes even his favorite...

His band was probably going to fail in the next week anyways, and with the revenue he got from their most recent song, he would be able to afford to move and live off it for a while.

He found himself hitting reply within only a minute.

- I'm interested.

~O~

It got a little too lonely every time it snowed.

Ivan could usually handle living by himself. It's what he had spent the past few years doing, anyways. He ought to be used to it — he had lived in Russia his entire life, after all — but now that he had nobody to talk to... the frequent snowstorms made him feel more alone than he usually would. It reminded him that he was trapped in here until it passed, which, at times, could take days.

The one thing that eased the loneliness was the computer in his room. He always wondered how the power stayed on during intense blizzards like these, but now he was mostly just grateful that it did. If the power went out, that meant no computer. No contact, no internet...

More loneliness.

So he put aside his thoughts and logged on, wondering with a smile what awaited him this time. He hoped it had something to do with his songs. It always made his day whenever somebody liked them. He was fairly unrecognized, and considering that he was an independent singer, it was no surprise. But as long as he made some people happy, that made him happy, too.

Being an independent singer was fun, but... challenging. He was able to create whatever songs he wanted, whenever he wanted; as long as he could get to a studio, of course. Everything was completely, one-hundred percent his. And he liked it like that. The only time when it was a problem was when he ran out of ideas or he couldn't get to the studio — that he had to pay to rent, unfortunately though obviously — which was usually because of blizzards just like these.

He really hated not being able to do what he wanted, but at least he had the internet...

As soon as the computer logged on, a tiny notification caught his eye, right above the email icon. It'd been so long since someone emailed him that he didn't believe it at first. But no, someone had actually sent him a message.

Someone took the time out of their day to send him something... He smiled, though he didn't know what it said yet. Even if it's something mean or rude, at least they sent something to him. He couldn't remember the last time someone did that.

- Hey dude! I just listened to your songs, and I gotta say, they're great! I'm surprised you aren't more famous yet!

- Considering that, I've got an offer for you! How would you like to be in a band? And not just any ordinary band, either! This one is with people from all over the world! The band is all about teaching history and culture, with some of the best singers from everywhere around the globe! You would have to move out of Russia, and I know it's a pretty long trip, but trust me, it'll be worth it! This band will be amazing!

- It's called the World Vision! Email me back if you're interested.

~ Alfred F. Jones

So it was a good email after all.

The fact that whoever Alfred was chose him specifically for this band already made Ivan smile. He had thousands of other artists to choose from, all more popular than him, and he had chosen him, one of the lesser known ones. One of the ones somebody would never expect to be chosen.

And joining a band didn't sound too bad. Bands seemed fun to sing in. Getting to sing with more people, getting to know more people... it all around sounded much better than being alone. Alfred seemed nice enough. It should be fun making a new band, especially with other people from different places, too.

The whole idea was great, too. History and culture through songs? It was so unique compared to any other band he had heard of. He loved history, and he loved singing: combining the two together should be amazing.

The only problem seemed to be traveling. The email said he would have to move out of Russia... He didn't have any particular attachments, but moving out his country would be a big leap. And upon looking about Alfred's name and finding out he was an American singer, Ivan realized it was going to be an even bigger leap. America was so much different from Russia, and so far away...

But... he really did want to do this band. Being an independent singer was fun, but singing together with other people sounded even better.

He wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

He smiled as he sent back an agreement.

- I think it sounds fun! I'll do it~

~O~

"Kiku! Come here and look at this!"

If Yao was already shouting within minutes of getting home, Kiku could only assume it was either very bad or extremely good. Unfortunately, it wasn't a fifty-fifty chance; more of a seventy-thirty chance, with the seventy on the bad side. If he asked, though, Yao would say that it was good either way. Their opinions on good and bad differed a little, to say the least. Or maybe Yao was just always manipulating him to play video games with him.

"It's good, I promise!" Yao said, which didn't reassure Kiku anymore, but Kiku went anyways. There, Yao was sitting in front of their computer desk with the tab open on Niconico. He pushed his chair backwards off the desk — which he liked to do a lot, since it rolled — and grinned.

"What is it?" Kiku asked, to which Yao just smiled even more.

"Just look at the computer!" Yao motioned towards it. Kiku gave up, and to his surprise, it was actually good. Extremely good.

Although they both went to college, they had sort of a... Well, they were utaites. A duet. They'd be friends for as long as they could remember, and when the Vocaloid software came out, they both got into together. They loved the songs and how unique each one was.

They hadn't actually started making covers until this year, though they'd known they both loved Vocaloid and singing. Kiku couldn't remember what either of them had said to start this whole thing, but it's been fun to do, even if it was nerve-wracking at first.

Sebonzakura was maybe the third cover they did, and now... he was looking at a screen detailing its status. 50,000 views. Countless people had added to their lists. They had just uploaded it yesterday.

Turned out, it was finally the thirty percent this time.

"How did it..." Kiku couldn't even finish his thought. It just... Niconico was a popular site, for sure, but this should just be... impossible.

"I don't know, but it's amazing! You haven't even seen to comments yet." Yao pulled his chair back up to the desk. "They're all so positive! I have no idea how it happened, but we're basically the next viral video on Niconico, Kiku!"

Next viral video...?

"Well, not basically, we are." Yao clicked to the homepage, and there their cover was, in the top ten. "It's kind of... odd, seeing it there, isn't it?"

"...Yeah, a little bit." It was still all processing for Kiku. He had been struggling with "how" for a while now. He decided that if he ever found out one day, that'd be amazing, but he was probably never figuring it out.

"Hey, look at this," Yao said, shaking Kiku out of his thoughts. He looked back up to see they were on a completely different page now. A... message? "Someone PM'd us... And it's all in English..."

English? Niconico was completely in Japanese... Even if they used the English version, they had to have saw that their username was in Japanese... And they just covered a Japanese song...

- Hello, you guys! I listened to your duet, and you two are amazing, seriously!

- That being said, I would like to propose you two an offer. I'm starting a band, with people all around the world! It's ambitious, I know, but the end result would be amazing! With people from all different places and cultures, we could create a band that not only sounds amazing, but one that teaches about cultures and history! Of course, you two would have to move out of Japan (I'm assuming), which can't be avoided, I'm sorry. But I promise you, this band will be good! This could be your big debut!

- It's called the World Vision! PM me back if you're interested.

~ Alfred F. Jones

"...Lucky for him that we can read English," Yao said, still staring at the screen. Kiku didn't say anything: he had no idea how to respond to something like this. A band...? They would have to move out of Kyoto, quit college... give almost everything up.

And though their credits would still be kept, dropping out of college wouldn't be received well by anyone. They could come back one day, but if they moved out of the country... that would be highly unlikely. If this band failed, they would be stuck in another country with nothing to support them.

"Well, at least this isn't just some random person." Kiku looked back up at the screen, where Yao was circling with the mouse. "Alfred F. Jones" was, apparently, a popular American singer. So that diminished the chances of this band failing by a wide margin.

But still... if any of this went wrong...

"So, what do you think?" Yao asked, leaning back in his chair. Kiku looked back and forth from him to the screen. It really was an amazing opportunity... he loved singing much more than college, no matter how useful it was, and with Yao, it only made him love it even more... But leaving everything he knew...

"...I don't know," he confessed, staring at the ground. "It's a great opportunity, and it really does sound amazing, but... leaving here would be..."

"Well, we don't have to figure everything out right now. He only asked us if we're interested." Yao shrugged. "I think it sounds really great, too! I'm little apprehensive about leaving Japan also, but I think everything will work out in the end."

That's what Kiku liked about Yao: he was usually so optimistic about everything. It made him less nervous about this whole thing. If Yao wanted to do it, too, then it should be fine. They were both in it.

"I'll PM him back and say we're interested, okay? If you want to, that is." Yao grinned. "And then, I'm going to beat your scores on Project Diva!"

Turned out, it had also been the seventy percent this time.

~O~

Being a famous singer wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world. You would be recognized everywhere you went, have to deal with fans, performances...

Well, to be honest, Francis wasn't really at that level yet.

His life was really nothing close to that. He didn't have a problem going anywhere, doing anything... and, well, famous wasn't the word to describe him, either. He didn't live what would be called a "famous" life — though he liked to think it sometimes — and the fact he had simply an apartment gave that away easily.

It wasn't that he was unpopular, and — at the risk of being called vain — he didn't think he was completely unrecognizable, either. It was just a small percentage that would recognize him, however. He had enough fans that he wasn't obscure.

His fans, however, was more of a cult than anything. More often than not, people just ignored him and his music. Was there something different about his music than most singers? Most definitely, and it didn't attract most "normal" people, evidently. Chances were that if you asked a person on the street about him, you'd get a confused response. The people that did like it were a very specific kind of person, and evidently pretty rare, too.

And it's not like he hated what he did, either. Singing was what he loved the most and did the best, and just because he didn't have the biggest fan base in the world — or even where he lived, in France, for that matter — didn't mean he didn't enjoy what he did. In a way, it made it more exciting: he still had a goal he was working for, and he wasn't stuck doing the same thing, as seemed to be the pattern with bigger signers. He liked being able to sing without restrictions.

It also meant no days off, which was why he was currently up at six in the morning to go in at seven... Well, he imposed that one on himself, so he couldn't blame that entirely on the job, but it was still the worst part.

It was precisely at that moment that a faint ding distracted him. It wasn't often that that happened, and his hopes rose. Perhaps it was a fan? That was even more rare than just a notification, but every time it did happen, it felt just as good as the first time. It simply felt nice to be recognized even once in the world.

He glanced down at his phone, and sure enough, it was an email, specifically to the one her used for things such as this. He smiled. So it really was a fan. An ever-rare, but exceedingly appreciated fan.

It didn't take any second thoughts for him to open it.

- Hey! How's it going? I just discovered your music recently and I love it! It's super unique!

- I also have a proposal for you! Would you like to join a band? It's not an ordinary band, either! I'm recruiting people from all over the world for it! The band's about history and culture, with some of best singers from all over the globe! It's ambitious, but it'd be one of the coolest and most unique bands out there! Of course, you would have to move out of France unfortunately, but trust me, it'll be worth it!

- The band's called the World Vision! Email me back if you're interested.

~ Alfred F. Jones

...Well, it definitely wasn't what he expected. But it certainly wasn't unwelcome. Maybe a little out there, but not unwelcome. It wasn't every day you got an offer like this, after all, and much less one with unique premise.

In all honesty, it was a strange email to get. But, somehow, he didn't find it all that off-putting like some others would. It was more interesting than anything he could ever think to get — a band centered around history was unheard of — and probably anything he ever would. In fact, he found it more intriguing than odd, even if the idea was outlandish.

But... perhaps outlandish was a good thing. The monotony of his life was starting to get to him: he was doing the same thing every day, and it barely seemed like anything was coming out of it. Maybe it was time for a change, and a band didn't seem too bad... and somehow, one about history and culture seemed even better.

He quickly looked up the name in the email, just to verify this was all real, and found that it wasn't just some random person: Alfred F. Jones was apparently a popular singer over in the US. So he would be moving to America. Very different from France, but that was the point, wasn't it?

There was always that slim chance that the band could fail, or it would never even be formed, or be just a disaster in general, but he decided in that moment that he would rather take his chances.

Either way, he thought to himself as he hit the reply button, it was going to be very interesting.

~O~

"Yeah! Five yeses!"

Alfred could barely describe the emotions he was feeling as he spun in his chair: excitement, relief, shock... well, especially shock. Some of those singers really had no reason to agree with him at all. He hadn't even known if two of them spoke English! Yet somehow, all of them had agreed to his crazy, somewhat ludicrous idea.

He didn't know what he was feeling, but it felt pretty damn good.

But, he supposed after the initial rush of emotion, he actually had to tell them how everything was going to play out. How he was going to get them all over to the US, how the band was actually going to work, and, well, how basically everything would work. It was... a little much.

But he could do it! They all could do it! He wasn't going to let his idea go to waste! He pulled himself back up to the computer and started writing once again. It was going to take a while — he had a lot to explain — but he still felt himself smiling as he typed it out.

This was gonna be so fun!