"Comrade Matvey will play a game with me, da?" the Russian demanded more than inquired of the petite Nation kneeled in front of a polar bear nearly twice his size, a childish grin fixed upon Ivan's face.
Matthew quickly turned his head to Ivan, regarding the Russian with wide, excited violet eyes. He shot to his feet instantly and wiped dirt off the front of his much too large maple leaf hoodie before responding with a nod, wheat colored hair bouncing with the enthusiastic motion. The Canadian always loved playing games.
"Oui!" Matthew chirped, his soft voice never rising above a whisper. "What are we going to play, eh?"
Ivan continued to grin. "Prison," he responded, voice slightly muffled by the white scarf pulled up over his lips.
The Canadian, having not heard of this game, blinked and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Prison?"
"Da,"
"How do we play?" Canada questioned, genuinely curious about this new game. "I've never heard of it, eh."
Russia let out one of his famous 'kolkol' chuckles and pointed a small finger towards the jungle gym. "You get in the jungle gym, da?"
Matthew moved his gaze to the jungle gym and headed over, tiny feet taking each step with determination. Soon he, along with Kumajirou and Ivan, finished the journey to the piece of playground equipment. Canada took a hesitant glance at Russia, who merely gestured to the jungle gym once more, and climbed inside. His polar bear wasn't far behind him.
"Now what, eh?"
Chuckling once more, Ivan stared at the dainty boy behind the bars and held out his hands. "I tie you to the jungle gym and leave."
"Oh," the Canadian stated simply, glancing down at the sleeves that hung loosely off his arms. Because he was naïve, Matthew smiled and thrust his arms out. "Here ya go, eh."
"Stupid," Kumajirou commented vaguely and rested himself by Canada's feet, provoking another laugh from Russia and a whine from his master.
"Non, I'm not stupid, eh!" Canada responded hotly to the polar bear, paying no mind to Russia as he tightly tied his long sleeves to the jungle gym. It was only when the Russian boy stepped back to admire his handiwork that Matthew fixed his attention back to Ivan. "So what do I do now, Ivan?"
"You just stand there, da." Ivan nodded and turned away from the Canadian, satisfied with the joke played on the naïve Nation.
"When will I get free, eh?" Canada asked quietly.
Russia shook his head and threw the other country a sick smile. "Oh, you don't."
From inside the jungle gym little Matthew watched his friend walk away, soon to be gone from his sight. The blond rested his forehead against the cold bars and a slight frown occupied his delicate features. He swept his gaze around the busy playground, his worst fears being realized. Canada closed his violet eyes. Everyone had someone, and he was alone, destined to be forgotten again. As always.
...o0o...
"Hey bro! What're ya doin'?!"
Matthew opened his eyes to the sight of his brother staring incredulously at him. The Canadian blinked and looked around, noticing that everyone seemed to be crowding around the building. Recess was almost over.
"Oh, I'm playing prison with Ivan, eh," Canada replied with a smile.
Alfred let out a loud gasp and frowned. "Ah! You're playing with that damn Commie?!" This reaction made Matthew frown. The petite Nation opened his mouth to say something but his brother only interrupted him. "I can't believe you, bro! I thought we were brothers! You're not supposed to be hanging out with Commies!"
Canada huffed and rolled his eyes at his brother's dramatic rant. "Oui, but he's not a Commie. He's a Socialist now, eh."
America pursed his lips and puffed out his chubby cheeks, obviously displeased that Canada wasn't agreeing with him. He stomped his feet in fury and balled up his fists, forcing childish tears of frustration to his eyes. "He's definitely a Commie!" Alfred whined, trying his best to convert his slightly younger brother to his beliefs.
"Non, Alfred," the small Canadian shook his head, pushing all of the other's attempts away. "Now can you please untie me? Recess is almost over, eh…"
The American crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows. "Not unless you promise to stop being friends with that Commie!"
Matthew blinked in surprise. He didn't expect his own brother to actually give him an ultimatum. The meeker of the two blonds cast his gaze downward and sighed heavily. "But I like him a lot, eh. I can't stop being friends with him…"
"I guess I'm not untying you then," Alfred snapped and narrowed his ocean blue eyes at Matthew. He continued to stand there though, as if he were waiting on the Canadian to change his mind.
However, Matthew only lifted his head and stared at his sibling neutrally. "I guess not."
"Hmph!" America huffed, stomping his tiny foot once more. "I'm going to go play with Britain!"
"Oui, go ahead brother,"
"I am!" was Alfred's last shout before he stormed off toward the building, where Britain most likely was. Matthew glanced down at his pet and saw that the bear was staring up at him with those black, beady eyes.
"Lonely?" Kumajirou spoke, tilting his head to the side in question.
"Oui, very…"
...o0o...
Spain ran a hand through his light brown hair as he tried to count the heads of the bustling elementary Nations. It was a frustrating process really. Though they'd just no doubt ran around for thirty minutes and released most of their hyper energy, the children continued to run and fidget about, making Antonio's job much more difficult than it should be.
"Children!" Spain called, trying his best to bring their attention to him. "Cálmate! Cálmate!"
The little Nations went on to ignore him, finding themselves caught up in their own conversations, dramas, and so forth. Antonio closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, becoming easily frustrated with these practically infantile countries. Finally, the Spaniard found that he was at his breaking point.
"Alright niños! Settle down now!" Antonio shouted above all the senseless chatter. "Line up and respond with 'here' when you are called!" The ruckus calmed down and one by one all of the tiny Nations lined up.
The Spaniard exhaled with relief and picked up his clipboard, beginning his daily roll-call.
"Alfred?"
"The hero is here!"
Antonio sighed and checked off the American's name.
"Arthur?"
"Present."
Check.
"Gilbert?"
No response.
Spain raised his eyebrows and swept his gaze around the room. "Gilbert? You're supposed to-" The brunette cut himself off at the sight of a certain albino sitting by himself in the corner, nibbling on a yellow crayon. "Gilbert…why on Earth are you eating the crayons, chico…?"
The white haired boy instantly looked up, suddenly becoming flushed, "Uhhh, well I thought maybe that they would awesomely taste like bananas or blueberries, ja. Since they were awesomely the same colors and all. I'm awesome!"
Antonio passed a hand over his face and shook his head in dismay. "Ok…ok…Gilbert, just because it looks like a certain food, does not mean it tastes that way."
"I know that! I'm too awesome not to know that, ja!"
Spain continued on with the roll call, finally coming to the one country everyone was prone to forget. For moral reasons though, he had to force himself to remember. "Matthew?"
Not a word was spoken at the mention of Canada's true name.
"Matthew Williams…? Does anyone know where Matthew is?" the Spaniard asked, looking to every one of his students for an answer. He couldn't afford to lose that country. France would kill him if he dared lose the Frenchman's precious Matthew.
"Da. I know where he is,"
Spain shifted his gaze to the young Russian, quirking an eyebrow at him. "You do?"
Russia offered Antonio a knowing smile and nodded. "Da! I killed Comrade Matvey!"
An unsettling silence hung over everyone in the classroom at Ivan's claim. This silence was short lived, however, as a horrified gasp sounded from America. The chubby Nation charged forward, standing nose-to-nose with Russia and glaring.
"You d-damn Commie! Why would you do that to my brother?! Y-you stupid Commie! I warned him!" Alfred started his usual rant about the Russian, his eyes flooding with tears the whole time. "I should have let him go! It's my fault! I'm supposed to be a hero! But I didn't save Mattie from a villain because I got mad! I got him killed! How can I be a hero now that I let my little brother die?!"
Spain, though just as shocked, did his best to compose himself and grabbed both America and Russia by the collars, dragging them toward the door. "Children, you stay inside and behave! We'll be right back." As soon as the three were out the door, the Spaniard released the tiny Nations and looked to Ivan harshly. "You show us where he is, Ivan. Right now."
Russia merely smiled, as though he were proud of himself, and nodded. "Da, I will show you." With that, the Russian turned on his heel and made his way to the jungle gym where he'd earlier tied Canada. Spain and America followed anxiously behind.
It wasn't long before the three Nations arrived at the jungle gym. Spain stared in disbelief as he took in the sight of Matthew, very much alive, with his long sleeves tied to the playground equipment. Alfred immediately rushed forward and frantically asked about the well-being of his brother and shouted apologies. Ivan, however, seemed disappointed.
"Comrade Matvey, you aren't playing the game right. You were supposed to be dead, da?" he mumbled, no longer taking any enjoyment in the situation.
Canada blinked in confusion, tuning out his brother for the moment. "Non, you never said I had to play dead, eh!"
"I said nothing about playing,"
"Ivan!"
Russia turned his gaze upward to raise his eyebrows at the Spaniard. "Da?"
Antonio took a deep breath and picked up the hysterical American. "I want you to untie Matthew and be back in my classroom in no longer than five minutes. Ok?"
"Da…" the Russian agreed reluctantly, sending a malicious glare his teacher.
"Good," Spain nodded and headed back to the building, trying his best to comfort Alfred on the way.
Ivan stared after the two until they were gone from his sight, his mood souring. He was having quite a bit of fun messing with Matthew, and he certainly didn't want to have to untie the small Nation. With a dejected sigh, the Russian turned back to Canada and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight before him. It normally took a lot to put Russia on edge, but what he was seeing he had to admit unnerved him. Matthew, who earlier could clearly be seen, was now nothing more than a faint outline of a person. He could easily be compared to an apparition. Ivan looked at the petite boy in disbelief.
"Comrade Matvey, what is wrong with you?" the Russian blurted, flushing softly at his own concern for the Canadian.
The transparent figure blinked. "Oh…sometimes I fade out, eh. Mostly when people forget about me. I just sorta disappear. It's not fun."
Russia rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't just seeing things, and took a step back. "That's very strange, da?"
"Oui," Canada spoke, so much softer than his normal whisper that Ivan had to strain to catch the words said. "So…could you please untie me now, Ivan? I'm not having fun anymore."
Ivan hardly took the time to think over the question before responding, "Нет." The Russian spun on his heel and started off, not caring at this point whether or not he got in trouble with Spain.
"Ayez pitié!" Matthew startled Ivan with his use of French. Russia stopped and looked at the Canadian over his shoulder. "Please, Ivan, I don't like being alone. If you leave me out here, I'll be all by myself. Everyone will keep forgetting about me too, eh. Then I'll stay transparent and I don't like that either! Please untie me…"
Canada seemed close to tears and though the Russian wasn't known as a kind or merciful Nation, he couldn't ignore the small seed of guilt that planted itself in his stomach. Ivan turned back to the jungle gym and sheepishly shuffled over to the almost invisible Nation, reaching up and loosening the knot of the long, red sleeves. Matthew watched Russia, grateful, and immediately climbed out of the jungle gym the moment he was free.
"Thank you, eh,"
Ivan shrugged and hid his slightly red face behind his scarf. Canada chuckled softly and reached out, taking hold of the one of the ends of the scarf.
"Why do you wear you scarf in that style? It covers up your cute face this way," Matthew commented, causing the Russian to flush even darker. "Here, wear it a little lower, eh." The Canadian stepped a bit closer to Russia and began to adjust the scarf.
"Нет!" Ivan, embarrassed, quickly backed away from the Canadian and high-tailed it back to the classroom. Canada, with a wide grin, followed behind him.
