Prologue

'The Letter'

Kiku dropped his backpack on the floor and flopped onto the bed, his eyes shut. He had a long and tiring day at school and he could feel the headache forming behind his eyes. He desperately wanted to take a nap but he knew he had an essay to write for the next day. He sighed, got up grabbing the backpack he had left on the floor. He went through the books and took a thick one out and sat on the chair. He placed the book on the desk, opened it at the right page and scribbled something on his notebook until he heard his mother scream. He stopped writing, pencil still in the hand when his mother stormed into his room looking very excited about something. She was clutching a letter in her right hand.

"There's mail for you" she said cheerfully and gave him the thick envelope she was holding. Kiku had no idea who would want to send him a letter and he hesitantly took it from his mother. He flipped it from the other side to read the sender's name and he saw a logo he hadn't seen before and Hetalia Academy written underneath. Hetalia Academy? He hadn't heard of it before in his entire life. And why would they want to contact him? He had a bad feeling about it and looked doubtfully at his mother who was urging him to open it. He tore one side of the envelope with trembling hands and paused for a few moments before taking out the slip of paper. He unfolded it and realized that the letter was written in English. He scratched his head and started reading aloud.

Dear Kiku Honda,

We are pleased to inform you of your admission into Hetalia Academy, an institute founded strictly for gifted and intelligent students. You are to begin attending your classes starting next week. In the envelope you will find a list with the items you must bring with you and a leaflet with the school's rules.

We're looking forward to your arrival,

The Headmaster

His mother squealed in excitement and clapped her hands and Kiku looked at her in disbelief. How could she be so excited about him going to a boarding school that he knew nothing about. Something wasn't right. He had never applied to this Hetalia Academy school, so why did he receive this admission letter?

"Mom, what is this about? I never applied…" his mother plunged into his arms cutting him off. She squeezed him tightly and Kiku put his arms around her back enjoying this unexpected display of affection. Although he knew his parents loved him, they rarely expressed their feelings to him so he indulged in such moments. After a few moments his mother pulled away and looked at him with moist eyes. "You finally got the letter…" she started, but the sound of a key downstairs interrupted her. "Your father's here. Get ready for dinner" she said quickly and left.

Kiku was staring at the closed door for quite a while, trying to understand what was going on. He couldn't understand how his mother was so excited about him going away. He looked again at the letter he was clutching all the while and looked through the rules of this so called academy. Everything was more or less normal, no baggy or skinny pants, no make up for females and weird hairdos for males. No bullying, underclassmen should respect their teachers and upperclassmen but the latter shouldn't abuse their power and so on. Kiku at least was relieved that bullying was prohibited because he had a talent attracting bullies.

"Kiku, dinner is served!" his mother summoned him for dinner. He folded the papers and placed them inside the envelope. He straightened his clothes and smoothed his hair with his fingers and headed downstairs. His parents were seated waiting for him and it was plainly obvious that they couldn't contain their joy. He took a seat and his mouth watered, when he realized that his mother had made all his favorites that evening. He picked up his chopsticks and was ready to dig in when his fathered cleared his throat drawing Kiku's attention to him.

"Your mother told me the good news" he tried to hide his smile but was unable to. Kiku nodded silently and let his father continue or at least explain what on earth was going on. His father put on a serious face and explained the whole situation, that Hetalia Academy was a school for intelligent students. The teachers in the Academy monitored the progress of students from all over the world and offered to the few lucky teenagers a chance to polish their talents and become great in their field. However, the biggest surprise for Kiku was that his parents were students there and that was where they have met and fell in love. Hetalia Academy wasn't just a place to gain knowledge but students also formed friendships and relationships that lasted for a lifetime.

"Why have you never mentioned this school before?" Kiku asked his parents. "Hetalia Academy is supposed to be secret. No one knows about it until they get their invitation" his mother spoke for the first time. "We were afraid you wouldn't receive the admission letter, but you finally got it today" she clapped her hands and gave him a big smile. He was sad that he would go away but that was obviously what his parents wanted for him and he couldn't go against their wishes. However, he couldn't help feeling sad for the friends he would leave behind. Sure, he didn't have that many as Kiku was a shy and introvert person but he had a few good ones he could call friends.

During the dinner his parents continued sharing stories about their time in Hetalia Academy and Kiku tried his best to keep up with them. He ended up having a terrible headache and went straight to bed. 'I won't have to write that essay anymore, will I?' was his last thought before he feel asleep.

The alarm in his side table went off and the piercing noise awoke Kiku. He rubbed his eyes and tried to register what was happening. He groaned, kicked the sheets away and with his left hand stopped the alarm clock. He stayed still for a few moments just trying to recover from the sleep when he suddenly realized he hadn't written the essay. Panic took over him and raced to his desk bumping into things in his way and making a ruckus. It was the first time he would go to school without having done his homework and Kiku dreaded the fact. Perhaps he could fake illness and stayed home? No, Kiku could never pretend he was sick when he clearly was not.

The noise brought his mother to his door and she knocked twice. "Son, are you okay?" she asked, worry coloring her voice. Kiku looked up from his notebook and straight at the door and reassured that everything was fine. His mother entered the room and looked at his flushed and panicked son. She approached the desk and put a hand on his shoulder. Realizing why he was in such frenzy, she chuckled softly and took the pen away from her son.

Kiku groaned and glanced annoyed at his mother. She continued laughing and she shut the notebook closed. "Darling, you don't have to do your homework. You'll be changing schools anyway" she said softly and patted her son's head. Only then did Kiku remember what had happened the night before. He was accepted to study into a weird Academy named Hetalia. His mood dropped even more at the thought that he wouldn't be able to see his friends but his mother reassured him that he would make new friends at the Acedemy. There was a rumor that every student there found real love and friendship during their stay. Kiku blushed at the thought of finding a lover. He was so shy and always believed he would be alone for the rest of his life but he really wished he could be like the others and had someone close to him.

"Well, you have to get dressed for school" his mother interrupted his thoughts. "We have to inform your school that you'll be transferring and I'm sure you want to say goodbye to your friends" his mother said giving a smile and Kiku only nodded. Saying goodbye to his friends would be difficult but changing school didn't mean they would lose contact with each other.

She gave him a kiss on the forehead and left him alone in the room. Kiku stayed there for a few moments and then started getting dressed. He didn't bother preparing his school bag and left it on the floor, his books lying here and there. He felt sad and lonely but he wouldn't disappoint his parents who seemed so excited.

A few minutes later he was in the kitchen taking his breakfast. His father had already gone to work and his mother was in the living room sorting some papers that were needed for his transfer. He finished eating and placed his plate in the sink. He went to his mother and they both left the house.

"And you're leaving like that in the middle of the school year. Why so suddenly?" whined a bespectacled tall guy, his long hair was tied behind in a ponytail. He was the captain of the manga club in which Kiku was a member as he had a love for art and especially manga.

"I'm sorry senpai. I know I'm leaving in the middle of our big project but I cannot defy my parents." Kiku hated to leave the guys like this and before they even finished the manga they had started creating but there was nothing he could do about it. He knew the guys would be able to make it on their own but it was a joined effort and he was sad he couldn't be involved in it anymore.

"It's okay Honda-kun" a girl joined in their conversation and smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, just focus on adapting at your new school" she continued and patted his shoulder. The rest of the club agreed with her and started saying their farewells and they all promised to keep in touch. Kiku felt touched with their words of encouragement and their support even though he was leaving the project without any notice. He only hoped he could make friends like them in his new school.

I know I'm an awful updater and I shouldn't start another story before finishing the previous but I had this chapter sitting in my computer for over 2 years. I know that if I don't publish it here I'll never finish it so here it is. The prologue is a bit boring and ends abruptly but please bear with it. I hope you like the story even a little bit so I can get some motivation to write it to the end. And again I'm trying not to make too many mistakes but it's impossible since I'm not native English speaker. So forgive me XD Till next time guys!