Meeting

I skipped down the hall in triumph. I hummed a tune as I made my way to the band room.

"Whoever signs up first gets to use the band room first!"

"You know I'm always there on time."

"We'll see about that…"

I grinned. I won this time! I beat that Ludwig! I stopped in front of the room's door. Now, as leader of the band I should be first to be at the meeting too~

I pushed the door open, expecting to see the room to be empty but my hopes sunk the instant I smelled some kind of weird aroma.

Arthur looked up from his tea that he had apparently made, "Hello Alfred."

Whaaaat? "How are you here before me?" I walked all the way into the room and dropped my hero backpack down next to my seat. "I didn't tell anyone I won the thing!"

"I think anyone would be able to tell from you shouting in the halls…" He sighed and set his cup down. "I texted the rest too so they should be turning up soon."

"Sheesh Artie." I sat down across from him. Not only did he come early but he rearranged the tables and chairs so there would be a meeting area aside from all the instruments.

"Take responsibility if you're planning to lead us in winning; which, knowing you, I still doubt you could." He stared at me with condescending air around him.

I tried to wave it away. "What makes you say that?"

"For one…" He stared at my open backpack. Sure, I stuffed handouts and lose my homework and pencil in there but what's wrong with that?

I laughed, "Dude, you know this hero could pull off anything. This band thing will be a breeze." I tipped my chair back and put my hands behind my head.

Silence rested in the room for a moment but the door suddenly opened. I lost balance and fell backwards.

I landed on my head with a thud, "Ow!"

"We're here now, comrades."

"Oui, sorry we're late."

I stood back up, rubbing the back of my head. "Took you guys long enough."

Ivan took his seat, "You hurt yourself, da?"

Francis sat down as well, "You can't blame us. We've had a long day."

He and Ivan glanced at each other and sighed.

Arthur raised a brow, a thick brow that is. "Now, what could have possibly brought the both of you down?"

Ivan casted his eyes down, "Little sister…"

Francis glanced to the side, "Antonio et {and} Gil…"

I plopped back into my seat. "Okay, I get Ivan's lil' sis stalking him, which is still really creepy, but what did Tonio and Gil do to you?"

Francis sighed, "Well…"

About thirty minutes passed. I am so gonna smack myself later for this…

"Gah, what the heck are we doing guys?" I banged my fist on the table and stood up, "There's supposed to be a band meeting going on right now!"

"I thought we were waiting for Yao." Ivan looked around the room, "And it doesn't seem like he's here yet."

I groaned, "Where is that panda-lover?" I pulled out my phone to call him but its batteries were already dead. I dropped it into my backpack and turned to the gang. "Okay so yeah, meeting is officially starting."

"About time," mumbled Arthur.

I decided to ignore him. "I thought we should start off with what instruments you guys can already play and go from there."

"I can play the electric guitar and bass," commented the Brit.

"Je joue la guitare acoustique, la flute, les-"

I put my hand up, "Dude, English, please. I don't know what the heck you're saying beside 'flute'."

"Fine, Monsieur Americain {Mr. American}. I play the acoustic guitar, flute, drums, keyboard or piano, and accordion."

"That's pretty impressive." I nodded in approval and turned to Ivan. "And you, commie?"

He only giggled. "I can play the guitar and bass like Arthur, drums and keyboard like Francis, and also the cello and the Svirel."

Svi-what? "What's that?"

"What's what?"

"That Svi-something something."

"It's a traditional Russian flute."

"I knew that…" I reviewed what everyone could play. We have a pretty talented group, that's good! "I can basically play the electric guitar, bass, and drums."

Arthur nodded. "Seems like the guitar's popular, but I'm sure you only need about one or two guitarists."

"Right!" I raised my hand, "Of course I'll be the lead."

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Cheater-"

"Aiyah, did I miss anything?"

I watched as Yao nonchalantly go to his seat. When did he come in? "Dude! Where the heck were you?"

Yao crossed his arms, "I will not apologize. I had to help teach a cooking club, aru. It's your fault for suddenly setting up a meeting when I already had plans."

I crossed my arms too, "Meetings are meetings; you need to come on time. Or you could have at least told us that you were gonna be late."

He pulled out his phone, "I did, aru. But who didn't answer? You."

…Oh. "My phone was dead!" I laughed nervously, "Okay, so, moving on. What instruments do you play, man?"

Yao thought back. "I play… the drums, keyboard, flute, and Erhu."

"Err… who..?"

Yao scowled at Arthur, "It's 'Erhu', aru! It's a Chinese stringed instrument."

Eyebrows put his hands up in defense. "No need to get all hyped up."

"So, basically everyone can play the guitar or drums." I looked at my scribble of notes. "I call lead guitarists 'cause I'm the best player, and-"

"I'm against that."

I looked up from my paper and at Arthur. "Why?"

He set his teacup down, "You can't just go around deciding for yourself."

"I'm the leader; I can do whatever I want." I went back to my paper. "I think Ivan should play the drums-"

"I object, aru!"

I looked at him. "You forgot to do the point thing."

"What point thing?"

"You know, the 'Objection!' thing with Phoenix Wright?"

Yao just stared at me and shook his head. "Anyway, I do not agree with that. I can play the drums just as well."

I groaned. Such babies. "We all know I could play awesomely since middle school."

"But I've actually performed at places," Arthur retorted.

Okay, true… "I did too!"

He smirked, "Your brother's birthday does not count."

"Why don't you just have a lead acoustic guitarist?"

Arthur and I turned to Francis, "No. You're not in this."

He pretended to get shot or something. "Ouch, Big Brother's hurt."

"Enough about fighting over who will be the lead guitarist and focus on my problem, aru!" Yao shouted, "Why did you choose Ivan to play the drums?"

"Because I thought you should play the keyboard," I made a thumbs-up, "Asians are good at that, right?"

"I feel offended, aru." Yao pouted.

Ivan patted his head, "Now now comrade. There's no need to fight over an instrument."

"It's not fair, aru."

"I still want to be lead," Arthur added.

I slid my hand down my face. Why won't they just deal with what I say?

"Count off."

"Ichi {One}."

"Ve~ Ludy, were not doing physical testing training."

"Ja {Yes}, I know." He opened his notebook and clicked his pen.

Ludwig-san had lost to Alfred-kun in signing up first, so we were forced to meet somewhere else. Since he and Feliciano-kun were both in the European dorms, we decided to go to Ludwig-san's room for their convenience.

"I apologize that it's a bit messy. I keep telling my bruder to keep his side clean but that never happens." He titled the page for this notes and glanced up at us.

I kept my gaze down on my lap. It was rude to stare or to wander one's eyes around another person's place. I had never entered someone else's dorm besides the ones in the Asia hall so I couldn't bring myself to be comfortable. I looked over at Feliciano-kun for hopes of relief. E-eh?

He was lying on the ground, stretching; completely making himself at home. Well, they are really close so I suppose that's expected…

The Italian rubbed his eyes, "So Ludy, what are we going to talk about today?"

The German cleared his throat, "Well, I thought we should start off the first meeting talking about our experiences with music."

Feliciano-kun sat up and raised his hand, "Oh! Oh! Pick me!"

"We're the only ones here; there's no need to raise your hand… but all right, Feliciano." Ludwig-san got ready to write.

"Ve~" He held his hands up to count on his fingers, "I play the acoustic guitar, keyboard, accordion, flute, and the triangle."

"Triangle…" Ludwig-san nodded slightly, "They're basically instruments that are very peaceful, aren't they?"

"Si {Yes}, because loud sounds scares me. One time, I tried to play Alfred's electric guitar and I didn't realize that the amp thing was on and when I strummed it, it make a super super loud sound, and-"

Ludwig-san held up his hand, "I get the big picture."

I knew Feliciano-kun was very artistic but it was surprising to know that he knew how to play so many different instruments. I smiled lightly. They suited him well.

"As for me…" I snapped out of my thoughts by the deep voice and looked at Ludwig-san. "I play the bass, guitar, drums, and saxophone."

"Ve~ they match you; big and bold."

I nodded in agreement. I gazed past my bulky friend and saw a bass resting against the wall. He had never mentioned about playing it but that was another surprisingly discovery. It suited him as well.

"How about you, Kiku?"

I blinked and casted my eyes down. "I… do not play very many instruments like you two."

Feliciano-kun patted my back, "No problem~ you're still super talented anyway."

I smiled timidly, "Thank you." I thought back. I have been so caught up with school that I haven't made time to play or practice my instruments; not ever since eight grade when I was in band.

"Well," I started, "I can play the flute, some drums, and the koto."

"Ve~ what's a 'koto'?"

I faced my Italian friend, "It is a traditional Japanese stringed instrument. I believe you saw me playing it one day when you visited my home back in middle school."

"Oh! That wooden board with strings?"

I nodded, "Hai {Yes}."

"Flute…drums…koto…" Ludwig-san set his pen down, "Sounds good. What instruments are you two the most comfortable playing?"

"Me! Me!" Feliciano-kun was raising his hand again.

Ludwig-san sighed, "What did I say earlier?"

"Oopsy, sorry." The brunette recollected his thoughts. "I like playing my acoustic the most."

I thought about it as well. "I haven't played it for a while but I enjoyed the flute."

"The acoustic and flute, huh?" He leaned back against his bed's side. "And I'm most comfortable with the drums."

"Ve… it seems like a really… calm music group."

I nodded. It did seem to lack some energy; although it had a calm energy of its own from the gentle melodies of the flute and guitar along with the rhythm of the drums.

Ludwig-san crossed his arms and closed his eyes to think. "I'm pretty sure that Jones' group would be more upbeat knowing that he and Kirkland are big on rock."

"That is very true." I remember a time when Alfred-kun was practicing hard during the summer so he could play a song for his brother, Matthew-kun.

"In any case, I think we should-"

The door suddenly slammed open. "Yo, West! There's no more soda!"

Feliciano-kun and I were startled out of our seats by the sudden intrusion.

Ludwig-san only shook his head. "You drank it all, remember? And didn't I tell you that I was having a meeting here so you should knock before barging in?"

"Oh!" Gilbert-kun's attention went completely away from his brother's and onto us. "Hey, Feli. Hey, Kiku."

Feliciano-kun waved at him cheerfully. "Ciao Gilbert~."

I nodded at him, "Hello Gilbert-kun."

Gilbert-kun was usually out and about with Antonio-san and Francis-san, which causes him to get into various types of trouble. I was surprised at the size of his suspension record and despite that, he has never gotten expelled.

He settled himself on his bed and swung his legs between Feliciano-kun and I. "So I heard you guys were starting a band…"

"Nein {No}. You are not allowed to join, bruder."

"Why? You need someone with absolute awesomeness to be in your little band or else you won't go far!"

His brother only heaved a heavy sigh, "You are not to be involved in this. We have enough problems in our hands."

"Problems? The awesome me?" He scoffed, "As if!"

Ludwig-san crossed his arms, "Nein means nein. Plus you prevented me from signing up on time."

"Aw come on, West~" Gilbert-kun went over to his brother's side and placed an arm over his rather broad shoulder. "You could let that slide, right? Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Let me join or else I'll send the wrath of my awesomeness that is Gilbird!"

"No."

Gilbert-kun was starting to become desperate. "Why not? What's wrong with your big bro being in your band?"

Ludwig-san was starting to lose his patience. "Our hands are full enough. We have a good group already."

"Please!"

I saw my German friend's brow twitch and the pen in his hand slightly cracked. Before I knew it, Gilbert-kun was kicked out, literally kicked out, of the room.

Ludwig-san slammed the door shut and sat back at his place. He straightened his shirt and raised his glasses. Feliciano-kun and I looked at each other and then at the door. We heard scraping noises, which were probably clothes dragging on the ground, and some German being muttered from the other side.

Our German friend cleared his throat.

"…Shall we conduct our Newspaper Club meeting as well?"

Ja… I kind of got carried away with Germany and Prussia (not-so-argumental-) arguing. Oh well, it filled my space.

I wasn't sure what to do next so I decided to jump right into their individual group meetings. As for the instruments, I tried to stay true to their character and their nations (like how I mentioned the erhu, koto, and svirel).

I realized this chapter has more dialogue than description… oh well, it's a meeting; you're supposed to talk a lot (-cough-Itendnotto-cough-).

I feel like I need to say something else but it's two in the morning so I can't think… Well, it should come up eventually… Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

ps. School's back! Blah, I really don't know when my next update will be considering I have my other story to worry about too

pps. Characterization review is very much appreciated ~ (Because I have trouble maintaining so many people's personalities and traits…)

Grazie!