World War VII

-_.:In Italy:._-

March 17th, 2314. Feliciano and Lovino's birthday. Centuries had passed since their birth, and every anniversary was celebrated with friends and family… except for this one. Lovino sat at their Italian cottage, waiting for Feliciano to walk in the door with his goofy grin. It never happened. Not that day. Not that week. Waiting seemed to turn into searching, and then to hoping. Hoping Feliciano would come home.

Rain fell from the blue sky, covering the narrow streets with puddles. The sun cowered behind the clouds, who openly showed themselves to those who looked. Shadows spread across wide areas leaving no mercy to the light.

Somewhere, sitting along a wall down an alley, sat one of the many Italians living in Italy. His head lay on his knees and he did the one thing he knew how to do well. He cried. His heart was torn from one sentence, said by his best friend. This sentence was everything he hated—despised—and the worst thing he could have thought about on his birthday.

What is he thinking? Is he planning on revenge on the other countries? What will he do with me? His mind was full of all these questions, but the most confusing was, Why didn't he tell me about this decision?

Feliciano stood up and wiped his tears on his sleeve. This was no time for crying. He needed to be strong and do the right thing—even if it did mean taking his heart out of his chest and ripping it to shreds. Walking was the only thing he seemed capable of doing currently, though. His mind had no thoughts, his eyes had no sight, his ears were sans hearing. He stumbled towards the one place he felt safe.

The Roman Catholic Church.

-_.:In Germany:._-

Four Hours Earlier

Feliciano was woken up by the warm rays of sunlight peeking in through the window and birds singing little hymnsongs. He stretched and sprawled out across the bed before realizing what was missing. Ludwig. He lazily rolled off of the bed, taking the comforter with him, and made his way to the door of the bedroom.

"Ludwig?" he called, but no answer.

He continued to walk and ended up at the top of the stairs when he called again. Still no answer, so he continued down to the kitchen door where he heard murmuring coming from what sounded like his two best friends.

"Ludwi-" he started but then stopped when he heard a certain word come from a certain person.

"Why do you want to start a war?" Kiku asked, very concerned for what Ludwig might say.

"I… I have my reasons." The German looked down at his hands, "I need your help though, would you consider lending me some of your resources?"

"I would appreciate if you told me what you were planning to do with them first," Kiku looked at Ludwig before giving up, "But I guess I'll make an exception this time. What do you need?"

They started discussing Germany's ideas on the war, and little did they know Italy was right outside the door.

Feliciano was struck. His heart had stopped long before and now it was ripping itself in half. I thought after we settled the last war, everything would be fine… he fell to the ground and covered his face with his hands. Almost every country was involved in the last war and more than half were critically injured—on the verge of death… what about this war does he think will do good?

He stood up from the ground and looked around for the calendar. Our birthday… he remembered how he had told Lovino he would come home to celebrate, and he had told Ludwig of his plans too. I guess I'll tell Germany I'm leaving as I planned… he walked up the stairs to go get his bags together.

"I have one more question, Germany-san."

"Ja?"

"What about Italy?" as much as Japan felt uncomfortable around Italy because of his outgoing and very open nature, Italy was his friend…

"I did not want to tell him today, seeing as it is his birthday. Truthfully, he is the reason I am starting this war. I need to protect him." Kiku nodded at Ludwig's statement, not wanting to pry, and made his way to the front door.

"Sayonara," Kiku said and waved his goodbyes.

Ludwig sighed when he heard the door click shut.

"Might as well go see if Feliciano is awake…" he mumbled to himself.

The walk up the stairs and to the bedroom seemed like a lifetime, but then all time stopped when Ludwig realized Feliciano wasn't there. It started when Feliciano wasn't found lying in bed, where he is normally found when lost. Then Ludwig noticed his bags and belongings were gone too. His heart started racing at the thought of Feliciano being kidnapped, but why would they take his belongings too? Did Feliciano leave for some reason?

"West!" the voice of an albino was heard coming from downstairs.

Ludwig walked down the staircase to seek assistance in his not-so-helpful brother. "I have something to ask you, bruder."

"Same here, do you have any money? I have major debts at the bar down the street! They know where we live!"

"Answer my question first: Do you know where Feliciano went?"

"Feli?" Ludwig glared at him, "Sorry, I mean, Feliciano? It's his birthday right? He would probably want to spend it with family…"

"Oh… ja… he did tell me he would be spending the day with Romano…" he cringed at the thought, "I would have given him a ride to his house though."

"Maybe he didn't want to see your unawesome face on his birthday…" Gilbert said under his breath.

"Bruder…" anger radiated off of Ludwig, "OUT."

"Okay! Okay!" Gilbert yelled before quickly making his way out the door.

The house became silent. Ludwig forcefully sighed before going to his office to get work done.

-_.:In Italy:._-

The stained glass windows along either side of the church portrayed a different part of the nativity scenes, and each human looked as if they were crying. The rain hadn't seemed to cease falling, creating a much gloomier day for Feliciano. His tears, though, had been gone a little after he entered the holy building.

He had been kneeling at the altar for nearly an hour now, his knees getting sore but he kept praying. He prayed for everything to be a joke. He prayed for peace. He prayed for love. Would God answer his prayer? Yes… in time, God would answer this poor Italian boy's prayer.

Though some results show up in an instant, some tend to grow over time. When praying for something, asking for something, fighting for something… patience is key. God works in mysterious ways, and though every Christian believes and says that… What does it matter if you cannot seem to see it within your own life? You sit there waiting and asking God, Why haven't You answered my prayer? I prayed every night for so long, and You have yet to show me the way, or even give me a clue… What is it if you cannot look at yourself and say, Be patient, God works in mysterious ways… He has not abandoned you, He is simply waiting Himself for the perfect moment—the one time to give you all you have asked and prayed and fought for. He will come around.

Feliciano stayed still, knees red against the wood, palms touching and fingers pointing to Him. Praying with his heart to the one who would listen the best.