A/N: This... This one was actually a pretty tough chapter to edit. Especially since I wanted to keep it between 2k at minimum and 3k at most... almost crossed 3k, but I somehow -somehow- managed to keep it within the restraints.

But rejoice! For it is finally done and we're getting closer and closer to the omake's! wheee... -shot-

Anyways, enjoy, and thanks to those that have put this story on their favorites/follow list.

Disclaimer: See first chapter.

[Woruba: the World in a Basket] Chapter 7 (Word Count: 2,971; Post Date: 8/22/2014)

"..." Juliana stared blankly at the two animals before her for a moment, shock clear on her features as she just sat there, gaping.

To say that she was surprised when the two in front of her turned into animals as well was...

Well...

Outside the Bonnefoy house, the mailman carefully stopped his LLV (as it's apparently called) in front of the lawn.

At first glance, there didn't seem to be any driveway for the house. But hidden near the side was a small path that had been paved just for the Mail Vehicles after some of them complained of having to walk up the entire mountain (which was an exaggeration, really. It was only half!) just to deliver the daily letters.

Not to mention how much time was consumed. Thankfully, the man living there had been kind enough to agree to build the path just for postal services once the fact had been pointed out.

After all, the house was completely surrounded by vegetation with no paths other than the man made trails that... really weren't drive-able.

But anyway, humming cheerfully as he went around pack to retrieve a few parcels and letter from for residents, the mailman walked up to the front, pressing the doorbell.

There was a package he needed a signature for.

Unlike the previous others, this man actually rather liked his route, seeing as the people living here were not only nice and polite, but they always tipped him at least once a week, or whenever he had any important packages that needed signing.

"...? Mr. Bonnefoy...?" he called, once the second ring produced no answer. "Hello?" he called, somewhat confused when no one appeared by the third ring.

Odd, he was usually here this time of day...

"Huh?" he blinked, the sound of feet pounding down the hall meeting his ears.

What the...? he thought. So there was someone there? he blinked, patiently waiting for the door to open.

Perhaps he'd woken up late? he thought, curious about the strange deviation from the norm.

Still, to say he was startled when the one who opened the door starting babbling in his face (something about animals), and wasn't even a guy...

Well, one can probably imagine how surprised the poor man looked.

"Uh... Hel...lo...?" he blinked, staring wide-eyed at the girl that was still ranting(?) before him.

"THEY'RE ALL ANIMALS!" she exclaimed, somehow holding what looked to be a very large cat (was that a Lion?) and two off birds (...that was a Crane and a Rooster wasn't it? the man thought, startled, though he didn't think too much about it. He knew that the residents of the house were rather well-off, after all)...

"Uh...yeah...?" he blinked, a bit taken back. "Those...are animals..." he agreed slowly, backing away a step. "Does Mr. Bonnefoy have pets now...?" he asked, sweating slightly.

He could see the eccentric -and sometimes theatrical- man keeping such an odd choice in animals...

Though, the Lion did kinda make him nervous.

"Wh-wha? No, th-that's not..." she started before trailing off, sweating when she realized how crazy she must have sounded.

"I-in any case, I have mail for Mr. Bonne...foy...?" he blinked, feeling something class his pant-leg and looked down to see...

The Rooster. And it was holding a five-dollar bill in its beak.

"Ahaha... what a smart bird!" he laughed, bending down to accept the tip, "Thanks!" he grinned before leaving once the strange girl accepted the packaged, signing for them dumbly.

Still, it was curious...

Does Mr. Bonnefoy have a niece...? he wondered, knowing that he had at least one Asian relation. Or maybe they'd finally hired someone to clean around the house? he mused, driving off. He'd been in the house before, and considering that at least a third of the rooms he'd seen on the first floor had been completely buried in rubbish the one time he'd had permission to enter... Well, it was rather sad, to say the least.

"Eh..." Juliana slumped, mind in turmoil as she felt her legs give out, still holding the mail, as she wondered if, just maybe, she was actually starting to go insane...?

"Great, how the bloody hell are we going to explain this?!" a rather familiar voice made her turn around, staring at the animals in shock. Th-

"Ohhh, don't you dare try to pin this on me, idiote! You're the one who got us all into this mess affreux!" The Rooster was glaring at the Lion, whose hackles were raised hissing at said bird as the Crane sighed on the sidelines.

They could talk?! she thought faintly, starting to really think she was going mental. First all that good luck, and then the person fall through the roof, and all of them turning into animals!

Noticing her look, the Rooster sweat bullets, crowing as if he hadn't just been having an argument with a lion. Judging by her expression however, she didn't seem to buy it. Especially having just seen and heard them talking.

Oh well, it would've been a mite mean to make her think that she was really losing it...though, considering the way her thought process seemed to work so far...perhaps she wasn't all that far off to begin with? The male thought.

Well, it wouldn't have been nice if it were their fault, anyways. They were quite different from 'normal' people after all...

"..." The crane sighed, sounding remarkably like Kiku for all that it was white with a black lower-body and more black that went from neck to beak, with a red 'crown', almost like a cap.

"I really don't think this is working..." the Crane said.

Yup, definitely Kiku, she thought, as it stepped between the two, forcing them to stop their argument. "She's already seen and heard us," he pointed out. "So we might as well tell her, before she starts thinking that she'd gone mad..."

The two feuding animals exchanged a look before sighing, forcing themselves to calm down.

"Oh, very well..." the Lion grumbled grudgingly, as the Rooster ruffled its feathers and settled down.

"Alright, Jeune Kiku," it -he- sighed.

All three turned to Jules, who jumped slightly, startled at the sudden attention.

"Uhm..." she blinked, sweating slightly as they continued to stare at each other.

"...Bennett-san, I know this may be a bit hard to believe but...

"We are the reincarnations of the Personifications of the World's Nations," he began. "We are humans who have been cursed to become our National Animals when our bodies become weak for whatever reason, or when we come in contact with those of the opposite gender. And seeing as there are so many nations in this world... You can probably guess that there are many of us who have been cursed with this...ability.

"As you can see, I am possessed by the National Animal of Japan, the Red-Crowned Crane; while Francis-san is possessed by the Gallic Rooster, the National Animal of France," he continued. "Arthur-san is possessed by the Lion, the National Animal of Britain."

"Oh.." Jules' eyes widened as Kiku continued his explanation, neither Lion nor Rooster were really willing to look her in the face as he spoke, however. Francis staring steadily at the ground, while Arthur -England, apparently- glared at a wall to the side.

"For thousands of yours, those of our... family and lineage have been cursed with these... differences.

"And we don't really have any 'special powers' or anything but... -Bennett-san...?" Kiku was startled when he was suddenly picked up and hugged, having averted his eyes during the explanation as well.

"I'm...so sorry..." she cried, surprising them all, as she gathered them all into a warm hug, tears in her eyes. "I... I didn't know...!" she sniffled.

"...Bennett-san..." "Jeune Juliana..." "..." all three stared at her teary-eyed face, eyes softening at the girl who seemed to care so much about them...

"Ahem-!" one of the three coughed after a while, causing her to let go, blushing as she realized what she'd done.

"S-sorry-!" she squeaked, still blushing sheepishly. "I'm so sorry, I don't know... Well, I do know, but... I- uhm, erm..." she sweat, face steadily growing brighter in embarrassment.

Oho, how cute~ Francis chuckled, though it sounded more like clucking since he wasn't actually speaking out loud.

"..." Both Lion and Crane shot him looks that probably meant that they had both figured out what he'd been thinking, and were calling him some form of 'pervert' in their minds.

Francis didn't seem to notice. Or, if he had, ignored it. "In any case, Jeune Juliana," he picked up from about where Kiku had left off, catching her attention. "We do change back into humans after a while, but..."

"Eh?" she blinked as a poof of smoke appeared again, gasping as she covered her eyes. Blushing brighter than a tomato at their current state.

"Well, we're usually completely naked, mon cherie~" he finished rather cheerfully. In fact, perhaps a bit too cheerfully, as he held up another rose from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Ah-!" she screamed, immediately turning away from the scene at the first hint of their...well...nudity, and blushing brighter than she had before, were it even possible.

But seriously, where did he keep pulling those things from?

"Ah, désolé, désolé~" Francis laughed, apologizing a bit more sincerely now that they were all dressed again. "We did not mean to d'exposer anything you were not ready to see, Jeune Jules," he smiled. "Er... Are you... feeling a bit better now, mon chére?"

"I... I'm getting there..." she answered honestly, still feeling a little frazzled and incredulous that this sort of thing could happen in real life...and to her, no less!

"..." Kiku, meanwhile, said nothing, studying everyone that was now gathered in the room that he and Francis had first seen her the previous day.

Arthur was still sulking on the patio, leaning against the door frame, while Juliana seemed to be gathering herself to make proper sense of all that'd happened, while Francis tried to help.

Keyword: tried.

'Are you sure you are feeling better, Juliana? You still seem a bit, ah... incarnat," he admitted, comparing her color to the rose in his hand. "Oui, incarnat," he decided.

"..." This only made her flush more.

Kiku sighed, "Stop teasing her, Francis-san. I'm sure she's been... upset... enough today," he continued, not quite able to find an appropriate word to describe the incident.

Shocked? Disgusted? Surprised? Just what single word could be properly used in this case? he wondered.

"Oh, very well," Francis huffed, "I shall stop," he promised, muttering under his breath, "Rabat-joie..."

"Eh?" She blinked, finally realizing that she was being teasing. "Th-that's not very nice, Mr. Bonnefoy!" she sulked, embarrassed that she hadn't realized it earlier herself.

"Non, non, mes fille! You must call me Francis, oui?" he chided.

"Oh... M-my apologies...Francis..."

The Frenchman beamed, "Now that that's settled, how would you like to know a little secret~?" he asked, grinning cheerfully.

"Eh? A s-secret...?" she asked, eyes wide.

"Oui, oui, un secret~" He grinned, "You know Jeune Arthur, over there~?' he asked, gesturing towards the sulking blonde with his rose.

"Y-yes...?" she gulped, not quite sure whether she should be listening to this or not.

"He is Angleterre, mon chére, England~" he revealed.

"E-eh? R-really...?" she asked, eyes widening, "Wow! Wh-what's... he like...?" she asked, curious yet shy at the same time.

Francis chuckled, "Well~" he started, raising his voice loud enough for the others to head as well, thereby causing Kiku to sigh and shake his head at the man's stupidity seeing as he had a feeling that he knew where this would be going.

"He is..." he paused, purposely letting the anticipation build.

"H-he is...?" she urged.

"Ill-tempered, easily drunk, delusional," he listed, continuing on as he aimed and shot every arrow at the green-eyed man.

"...!" Every one seemed to hit its mark as the blonde trembled with the weight of his growing anger. Especially as Francis was still continuing his tirade.

"E-eh...?" Juliana was already quite overwhelmed by the by the long list that was still forming, as Francis showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

In fact, he didn't even seem to be halfway through, as he joyfully went on about the green-eyed nation.

"And he has those sorry excuses for eyebrows, and-" he continued.

Something snapped.

"ARRRGHHH! THAT IS ENOUGH, YOU BLOODY FROG! I AM GOING TO BREAK YOUR NECK RIGHT HERE AND NOW, YOU WANKER!" Arthur screamed, shooting out of his seat as Francis smirked. Face a mottled red.

"Ohohon~ that is because it's all true, Angleterre, is it not~?" he retorted, arms crossed smugly.

"E-ehhh..." Not quite sure what to do, Juliana looked from one to the other, then to Kiku. "Wh-what should we do?!" she asked, thinking that it was her fault some way as Kiku sighed.

It seemed he was doing so far too often as of late...

"Nothing. It'll be fine, Bennett-san," he assured the poor girl.

"B-but-!"

"It'll be fine," he repeated firmly, "They do this every time they meet, you see."

That really didn't reassure her in any way. At all.

"Besides," he continued, cutting the girl off before she could even protest, "It'll probably be..."

"...?" It'll be...? she wondered, tilting her head marginally as she watched Kiku, whose eyes were still trained on the two from his place against the wall.

Francis was smirking as he jumped back, dodging a roundhouse kick, as Arthur scowled.

Juliana followed his line of sight to the spectacular display before them.

"...Arthur-san's win," he finished, closing his eyes as the two decided to end it with a decisive blow.

"Ah..." Francis winced as he was thrown into the wall, while Arthur barely skidded on the tatami floor. "It seems... you've gotten better, Angleterre..."

"Hmph! As if that makes me happy, when I have such a weak opponent, stupid Frog!" he spat, still scowling though he began to relax his muscles.

He didn't need to speak the words for Jules to hear the silent message, though. The confidence in Arthur's tone proof enough of his confidence in his own strength.

Francis tsked, "And you still have such a bad temple, non? You still haven't fixed it yet~?" he drawled.

The blonde winced, but otherwise ignored the jibe. Even if it was true. The two blondes' attentions were claimed when a reverent voice cut through their argument, though.

"W-wow..." Juliana breathed, eyes wide.

England...really was strong...!

"That was amazing!" she exclaimed, eyes shining as Kiku sighed once more. Arthur turned away with a huff, though not without the telltale shade of red tinting his cheeks.

"Th-that was nothing!" he insisted, clearly embarrassed by the praise.

Getting up from where he'd landed, Francis pout, feeling left out.

"...Please don't destroy the house," Kiku sighed, speaking up at last, and acting the mature adult, seeing as the other two had been acting so immaturely. "It may not be mine, but Francis-san, isn't it yours?" he pointed out.

"..." There was a moment of silence as Francis paled. "Sacrebleu-! It is my house!" he wailed, cursing the fact that he hadn't thought to take the fight outside to avoid property damage.

"Merde..." he groaned. His poor house!

Arthur tsked, "Serves you right," he grumbled, crossing his arms defiantly. It was not his fault!

"...Arthur-san..."

"Wh-what...?" he watched the other teen suspiciously, twitching slightly at the feeling that he knew what would be coming next...

"Wouldn't a gentleman do his part to clean up a mess he made?" he asked, smiling.

"Wh- But he started it!" he exclaimed, pointing to Francis.

"...I see, so you aren't a gentleman... Pity.

"To think, you also broke through the ceiling of the room Bennett-san was to stay in... A gentleman wouldn't allow a lady to live under such conditions after all, would he?" he asked, a false, almost ominous, smile plastered on his face as he tilted his head.

"Oh bloody- Fine, I'll fix the damn roof!" he snapped, grumbling the whole while, as he walked out of the room.

"Arigato, Arthur-san," Kiku smiled.

H-how scary... Kiku... the 'Prince'...was actually a very cunning person, wasn't he...? Jules thought, sweating as she watched him direct the Englishman to the tools, when the blonde stopped to asked where they were so he could 'keep his word' and 'fix the bloody roof'.

...No wonder he had top grades at school, was all she could think as he easily maneuvered the two elder males to do ask he 'asked'.

Wait a minute... she stopped, "S-school..." she started, causing the others to turn their attention back to her. "Ahhh!" she exclaimed, panicking as she realized something very, very important...

"W-We're going to be late-!"

"Eh... s...chool...?" the others blinked, eyes trailing to the closest clock.

"W-we have to hurry!" exclaimed Kiku, paling as soon as he caught sight of the time. He and Jules both raced off to gather their things.

There was no way in any or all hell(s) he was going to break his perfect record for something as idiotic as what had occurred between the blond idiots!