Chapter 2- Segui Il Leader
"Romano! Romano! Did you read the giornale today?!", asked Veniziano to Romano excitedly.
"No, I didn't... imbecile.", replied Romano with a tone of annoyance in his voice.
"Mr. Sweden's in the hospital! It says that he was found in a pool of his own blood by mortals yesterday."
"Really!"
"Si!"
"What else did it say?"
"It says that he sustained injuries resulting from gunshots."
"He was shot?!", asked Romano, shocked.
"Si!", shouted Veniziano.
"Will he live?"
"Of coarse he will. He's a nation, remember.", replied Veniziano confidently.
"The doctors don't know that, imbecile!"
"Oh... right... Ho dimenticato che. The doctors consider it to be a miracle, considering the damage done to his windpipe.", Veniziano read off the paper in his hands.
"It was that bad?"
"Si, Romano."
"Do they know the gunman?"
"No. They only have a slight discription of him."
"It's a him?"
"Si."
"What's the discription?"
Veniziano began: "A woman saw a man, about five feet tall, walking away from Sweden's house shortly after hearing gunfire. Her eyesight's bad, so she didn't see much; only that his hair was blond and that he was wearing a blue shirt."
"Sounds strange.", said Romano.
"Si. It does. Poor Sweden... Who would want to hurt him anyway? What did he do to make someone that mad at him?"
"I don't know."
"It's just so weird... Oh well, at least it wasn't one of us!", Veniziano said happily.
"Si, for that I am thankful."
"Si... I'm going to start dinner now. We're having pasta!"
"Fine. Just go away now.", retorted Romano grouchily.
Veniziano retired to the kitchen, leaving Romano with his circulating thoughts. Veniziano's question kept running through his head: "Who would want to hurt him anyway?" Over and over... searching for an answer. It was a good question. Who would want to hurt Sweden-a once great, but now nearly invisible country buried in snow twenty-four seven.
Romano began serching even harder for an answer, posibly even one that pits it all on that potato bastard Germany. "No. That doesn't fit together. Chigi! I so hoped to that this would all be Mr. Krauty-Kraut's fault!", Romano thought to himself quietly, "Maybe it was a fellow Nordic?", he thought, " Perhaps Denmark. They hate each other right? No. That couldn't be it; Denmark has calmed down in the past few centuries. He's too gentle now. Besides, he hates Norway more than Sweden anyway..."
Romano remained in this silent state for another half hour, then Veniziano called him to dinner. During dinner Romano was again silent, listening (or at least pretending to listen) to his brother ramble on about his day with Germany and Japan. He was acctulay contemplating over Sweden's assailant. He began thinking to himself. "Blond hair... vest... blue shirt..." Suddenly it came to him. "Oh mio dio!", he shouted out loud, causing Veniziano to stop talking and look over at him, startled.
"What?! What happened?", Veniziano asked, still startled by Romano's outburst.
"Finland!"
"What about Finland?!"
"Oh... nothing.", said Romano, trying to hide his suprise.
That said, he bolted from the table, leaving Veniziano with his pasta, and ran for the telephone. With shaking fingers he dialed the number for Finland's house.
It didn't take long for Finland to answer. "Hallo, this is-"
"I know who you are you maniac!", shouted Romano angrily.
"Who is this? What do you want?", asked Finland angrily.
"This is Italy Romano, and I want to know why you shot Sweden."
Finland's reply shocked Romano. "What!? I didn't hurt Sweden! He's my friend. What makes you think that I would hur-"
"You shut your face! Iv'e figured it out!", Romano continued, " A woman says that she saw a man that looked like you leaving Stockholm after hearing shots coming from the area around Sweden's home! Give up! Stop making the exuses!", yelled Romano quickly into the phone.
After what seemed like an eternity , Finland's voice once again came through the reciever; this time soundiong serious and malevolent, "Fine... Yes, I shot Svergie. But I had a good reason!"
"And what reson is that?"
"I remembered.", began Finland, " I remembered the fifteenth century; all the years of oppression and unjust rule... He called me his WIFE for Christ's sake!... Then I contemplated my current position, still a nobody... Just a little boy standing in the shadows of the other Nordics."
"But why shoot him?"
"Because I was looking for a change. I could have just insulted him, but what would that do? I'll tell you what it would do; NOTHING... absolutely nothing..."
"You didn't have to do what you did! That's pushing it too far! I can't believe that you're that crazy you slavic bastar-" Finland stopped him there and suprised him by asking: "How's Spain doing?"
"What?", asked Romano, taken back by the sudden inqiry.
"I said: how's Spain doing?"
"Fine, I guess...", replied Romano quietly.
"Does he still pull on your face?"
"...no."
"He still likes your brother more than you, yes?"
Romano fell silent for a moment, then replied: "Yes, yes he still prefers Veniziano."
"Tell me, does he coddle Veniziano every time he meets him?"
Gloomily Romano replied: "Si."
"Is that fair to you?"
Again Romano was silent. After a few moments he was able to put together an answer: "No..."
"Do you sitll like Spain?", Finland asked.
It took Romano several moments to think the question over in the hopes of finding a new answer, but he could only repeat what he had said before.
"No!", shouted Roamno angrily, "No I dont! I hate that uncaring, nasty, taco eating bastardo!"
What are you going to do about it?", asked Finland in an emotionless voice.
"I... I don't know...", replied Romano in a quieter tone .
"Wrong answer."
"What?"
"Wrong... answer..."
"I'm hanging up now. Arivaderchi dumbass!", said Romano as he slammed the reciever down on the body of the phone.
Again, many thoughts swirled through his head; the chief one being- should he take revenge on Spain?
"This is a stupid thing to mull over", he said to himself, "I'll go to bed and forget all about what that bastard Finland said by tomorrow."
So that's my second chapter. To anyone reading this ending- Thank's for powering through all the dialogue! I know it seems like a pain, but it's all important to the future of the story. Again, please review!
