Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or certain ideas from Atama Ga Kuru Teru's story 'World is Ours', but I do own my characters and this plot.

Chapter 10: Magellan's "Expedition"?

You know it's not going to be a good Saturday when you're awoken by an almighty crash. And, unfortunately, that is my wake-up call this morning.

At the sound of the crash I fly out of bed half asleep, but still ready to alternatively scream bloody murder or punch the thief's/rapist's/serial murderer's lights out. My confusion and panic begins to fade as all countries- and I'm pretty sure it's all of them- begin shouting from the main room.

And then the panic comes rushing back. Shit! What did they break this time?!

I slam my bedroom door open just in time for Danny- who has come thundering down the stairs- to run into me. We both stagger for a second before we regain our balance and are able to turn our attention to the scene before us. Apparently our entrance hasn't been noticed as the shouting match continues.

"Alright, alright, I've had about enough of this bloody insanity! Who's fault was it?!" Britain shouts angrily in an attempt to restore some semblance of order.

"Ah, calm down amigo. Who says it was anybody's fault?" Spain asks good-naturedly.

"Of course it was someone's fault! Things don't just break on their own!"

"But-!"

Romano silences Spain's protests with a quick slap to the back of his head. "Shut up you stupid tomato bastard!"

"How do we know it wasn't your fault?" France asks Britain slyly.

Britain swells up indignantly. "Of course it wasn't my fault you bloody, stinking frog!"

"Aw who cares whose fault it was! It was freaking hilarious!" America interrupts with poorly contained laughter.

"It's all of your faults!" China declares loudly. "If you all hadn't been so careless and paid more attention…"

China trails off, his voice dying quickly as Russia steps behind him. "Don't say that. It isn't very nice." China meekly tries to move away, but Russia keeps following him.

"If everyone could just calm down for a moment I'm sure we could figure out what happened…" Japan says. Or tries to say. His voice is easily drowned out by the racket being made by the louder countries.

Germany, it seems, has finally had enough. Danny and I watch him take a deep breath before opening his mouth and drowning out all the others with a tremendous shout.

"ENOUGH!"

There is a collective flinch from the other nations and they quickly quiet down and shuffle away from Germany after his outburst. This allows Danny and I to finally see what the fuss is all about. "Oh shit…" Danny mutters, alarmed, his voice carrying easily now that the room is silent.

Oh shit is right. Aaron isn't much of a heavy drinker, but he does have one contribution to the college stereotype of drunken debauchery in the form of his beer bottle collection. It usually occupies the mantle of the fireplace (that we can't use because it's bricked up, unfortunately) but now the vast majority of it is lying shattered on the floor. That certainly explains what the crash was. Aaron is not going to be happy when he gets home from his band trip tomorrow.

I step forward and put my hands on my hips. "Ok guys. Seriously, what the hell happened?" All the countries turn and stare at me, though none of them answer. I quickly lose my patience. "What?!"

"Your bed-head," America replies, stifling a laugh.

I stare at him dumbfounded for a moment before blushing furiously from embarrassment. "Just ignore it!" I snap at him, running my fingers quickly through my tangled hair.

"Ah, don't be like that señorita, you look very cute!" Spain tells me while smiling encouragingly.

My blush deepens. Behind me Danny snickers. "S-shut up!" I shoot an angry glare back at Danny before turning got face the nations again. "Just tell me what happened already!"

"Ve, I can!" I look up to see Italy bounce out from his hiding place behind Germany. He crosses the room before stopping in front of me and shoving something into my face. "It was the kitty!"

Italy is indeed holding a cat, which hangs in his grasp and looks back at me with an apathetic stare as I examine it. It's a plain thing really, just a brown tabby with yellow eyes. It's young and still in that awkward, leggy stage between kitten and cat.

"So…it was the cat's fault?"

"Sì! He's a naughty kitty!" Italy coos.

"Um…do you wanna explain that in a little more detail?"

With a heavy sigh Germany steps forward. "He found the cat outside this morning and, well, Italy can't resist anything cute…" We both glance at Italy who has quickly returned to playing with the cat in his arms now that he isn't the center of attention. "He brought it inside in hopes of keeping it, but he got distracted when Romano started yelling at Spain to make him some pasta. The cat got away from him and…" Germany motions to the shattered glass all over the floor.

"Man, you guys are toast when Aaron gets back," Danny says, sounding far more gleeful than he really should as he picks his way over to Germany and I.

"Why do you say that?" Britain asks, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "It's a mess, granted, but it was just a bunch of beer bottles."

"That was Aaron's pride and joy! He's been working on that collection since freshman year!"

"I hate to say it," I add, looking at the diminished number of bottles on the mantle apprehensively. "But he's right."

"Naw, don't worry dudes. Everything will work out!" America declares as he cheerfully slings an arm around my shoulders. I catch him shooting my still ruffled hair an amused glance and, annoyed, I poke him harshly in the ribs. America steps away from me looking wounded before slinging an arm around Danny who doesn't seem to mind.

"So can we keep him, ve?" Italy asks, suddenly appearing before me again with the now disgruntled looking cat in his arms.

"Sure," I say turning away to head back to my room and hopefully back to sleep.

Italy begins to celebrate, but before I can get more than a couple feet Germany stops me. "I don't think you quite understood what he meant." I raise an eyebrow at him over my shoulder. "The cat cannot stay with Italy."

I turn all the way back around now, frowning heavily. "What? Why not?"

"Romano doesn't like cats," Italy all but sings as he dances by, the cat swinging from his grasp.

"So what exactly did I just agree to?" I ask Germany.

"Keeping the cat here."

"Like in the house here?"

"Ja."

"Oh hell no!"

All the activity around me ceases as everyone turns to stare at me, surprised by my outburst. I round on Italy, glowering angrily. "I'm not keeping that cat here!"

"But…but...ve, you said you would…" Italy's expression is crestfallen. Everything about him, even that funny curl that hangs off the side of his head, sags. Instantly I feel guilty. Damn it! Why does he have to be so freaking cute?!

"Oh no…Italy…come on…" My tone is pleading.

Italy is not to be swayed. His lower lip trembles as tears start to pool in his eyes. "But," he sniffles loudly. "You said you would…"

Crap. Crap, crap, crap.

Glancing around I see that everyone is giving me looks somewhere between accusation and irritation. Germany is glowering at me. Japan's face is as neutral as always, but there is an accusing glint in his eye. America and England both look surprised though faintly disapproving. China just looks down right irritated while Russia looks surprisingly not cheerful. Danny looks plain confused while Spain has lost his smile. Even Romano is giving me the stink eye.

Italy lets out another obnoxiously loud sniffle and the cat yowls mournfully in counterpoint as if to reinforce my guilt. Damn it all. I'm not getting out of this one.

"Fine," I sigh, defeated. "We'll keep the cat."

Italy's reaction is instantaneous. He immediately throws his arms around me with a cry of joy, tears apparently forgotten (or was he just faking…?), the cat squished in between us. "Grazie Jordan, grazie!"

Before I get the chance to try to slip out of Italy's surprisingly vice-like hold Spain throws his arms around me as well. "Ah, Jordan you're so sweet~! Look how happy you've made little Ita!"

The three of us are off balance now, our legs as tangled together as our arms, and we tilt heavily to the right. Before we can fall over America sweeps all three of us up into a massive bear hug, lifting our feet off the ground. "This is so awesome! We get a pet!" he exclaims so loudly I'm almost certain he's blown out my eardrum. "And a group hug from the hero is the perfect way to celebrate!"

"America! I…can't…breathe!" I wheeze. Ok, that's not entirely true. While America's hug added on top of Italy's and Spain's has made it difficult for my lungs to work, the real problem is the fact that all three of them are this close to me.

Italy's closeness, as always, has a strong effect on me. He is warm, and he smells amazing, and he somehow has this ability to cuddle up next to me in a way that makes me feel like I'm on fire. Spain's body is lithe and strong, and with my back pressed up against his chest I feel safe and contented. America's arms are muscular and he lifts Italy, Spain, and I up with ease. He has his typical huge, cheerful smile on his face and his mood is infectious.

With all three of them it's way too much. My face feels like it's burning up and I'm certain it's so red that it's glowing as my heart thunders in my chest.

I can't handle this.

"America, please," I beg. Please just put me down so I can catch my breath and get a hold of myself.

America, as unruffled as always, laughs and gives us one final squeeze before opening his arms. Italy and Spain bounce away happily (though I think the poor cat may have passed out), but for me it's more like a scramble. I give the three of them a wary glance. America and Spain cluelessly smile back at me, but I would swear that Italy winked at me before turning to Germany and beginning an excited monologue about how happy he is. It disturbs me greatly to think that Italy might actually know the effect that he has on me. That could definitely be trouble.

"Anyways," I begin after clearing my throat. "Let me get cleaned up and then I can call Kaylie so we can go and get stuff for the cat."

"Huh? Why are you calling her?" Danny asks.

I snort. "I don't have a car. Are you going to let me use yours?"

"No."

"Exactly. And it's way too far to walk to the store." I pause here to think for a minute. "Then again I'm not entirely sure what all we need to get."

"Ah, excuse me Jordan-san, but I think I can be of some help with that."

I turn to Japan slightly surprised. "Oh good. You know what we need?"

"Personally I do not, but I do have a friend who knows many things about cats," Japan tells me, offering me a small smile. "If you don't mind I can go and find him and he can come along."

"Ok, thanks Japan," I reply as I smile in return. It's great that he's always so nice and polite and helpful.

"Excellent. I will return shortly."

As Japan departs the brief calm that all the discussion about the cat has generated begins to dissipate in an explosion of bickering. With a sigh I turn around, throwing Germany a grateful glance as he begins to clean up the mass of broken glass on the floor. It is way too early on a Saturday to be dealing with this stuff. And I need a shower.

…

By the time I step back out into the main room clean, dressed, and ready for the day everything is pretty much back to normal, minus the glaring absence of about thirty beer bottles on the mantle. The rest of the room is spotless thanks to Germany and the countries are spread out, involved in their own activities.

America and Danny are playing video games once again, and somehow they managed to rope Britain into playing as well. Most of the noise in the room is from him cussing at the fact that he's losing horribly. France and Germany are seated at the table, both of them reading, while Italy sits on the floor nearby playing with the horribly put upon cat. Spain is in the kitchen bothering Romano as he attempts to cook and a glance out the window shows me that Russia is outside tending the sunflowers, with an anxious China assisting him. The only nation not accounted for is Japan, who I'm surprised to see hasn't returned yet.

I sneak into the kitchen to get together a bowl of cereal and I manage to escape with a minimum amount of touchy-feely-ness from Spain and glaring from Romano. I end up settling at the table next to France, inhaling my breakfast in record time in order to make up for all the excitement this morning. About twenty blissfully normal- or as normal as things get around here- minutes later there is a quick knock on the front door immediately followed by it being slammed open.

Kaylie bounces into the room. "Hey guys!" she calls cheerily, beaming.

There is a chorus of greetings from the countries. France begins to stand, a lecherous grin on his face, but I grab the back of his shirt and pull him back into his seat. "Down boy".

France throws me a very convincing pout, but we're both distracted when Italy leaps in front of Kaylie and shoves the cat into her face. "Ve, look! Isn't he cute!" Italy exclaims excitedly.

"He's adorable!" Kaylie squeals, reaching out to scratch the cat under the chin and immediately eliciting loud purrs.

"Sì, sì! And Jordan says she's going to keep him! She's so nice! I'm so happy, ve!"

"Oh, so that's why you called me," Kaylie says to me around Italy, something in her gaze looking far too knowing for my comfort.

"Jordan who's your bonita friend?" Kaylie has to suppress another squeal as Spain steps out of the kitchen wearing a charming smile. Romano, who despite his virulent denial that he follows Spain around like a lost puppy, pokes his head out of the kitchen as well and quickly breaks into a lady-killing grin of his own.

I shoot Kaylie a warning look, but she's so focused on the two countries that she doesn't see it. Sighing slightly I decide I might as well get on with it. "This is my friend Kaylie. Kaylie this is Spain and Romano. They're also members of the International Club."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Spain exclaims, plant a kiss on both of Kaylie's cheeks as she blushes prettily. "Any friend of Jordan's is a friend of ours!"

"Sì, it's a shame we haven't gotten to meet you sooner," Romano says, stepping forward as Spain moves away. Romano takes Kaylie's hand and gazes deep into her eyes. Kaylie, being the hopeless romantic that she is, falls for it completely and quickly loses herself in his gaze.

Yea, that's not going to fly.

"You better watch him Kaylie," I say, trying to sound casual.

"Hm? What do you mean?" she replies absentmindedly, all her focus still on Romano. Romano shoots me a dirty glare.

Smirking I continue. "Well, he's got a pretty nasty temper."

"What? Really?" Kaylie asks, seeming slightly more aware now.

My smirk widens as Romano's face begins to turn red. His fuse is definitely lit. "I think you should shut up," he growls at me and I don't fail to catch the 'donna stupida' that he mutters under his breath.

"Oh yea. He curses all the time. It's super charming," I say, placing as much sarcastic emphasis on 'super' as I can.

"Shut up," Romano, growls louder this time. His face is starting to get really red.

"Aw, Romano, don't be like that!" Spain chuckles, slinging an arm around the other nation's shoulders. "I think it's cute when you curse!"

Three…two…one…BOOM! Romano explodes. "Damn it you stupid tomato bastard! Do you ever shut up?!" he screams, his face now as red as the fruit he so covets.

Almost instantly Romano pales, his eyes darting back to the now surprised Kaylie, before he flushes red with embarrassment. With a cry of 'Chigi!' Romano dives back into the kitchen, leaving the rest of the room laughing. Spain follows to try and console his friend, but I don't know how much luck he's going to have as he's still fighting to stifle his own chuckles.

"Wow…" Kaylie murmurs, before turning to me. "Geez Jordan! How many hot new friends do you have? And how many more are you hiding?!" My only response to that is to sigh. Kaylie is, as always, unperturbed.

"Ve, so we're going to get some stuff for signore kitty, right?" Italy interrupts suddenly, the cat now lying across his shoulders like a shawl.

"Of course," Kaylie replies, her smile as wide as his. "Hey, you and that other guy look almost exactly alike!"

"That's because Romano's my fratello, ve!" Italy says brightly.

"Oh, cool! Are you twins?"

"No, just brothers!" Kaylie gives me a slightly confused look at Italy's vague response, but I just shrug. I mean I can't actually explain their relationship to her. That's territory that I definitely do not want to deal with today.

Kaylie brushes her confusion off and turns back to Italy, reaching out to stroke the cat's head. "Well, let's get going then! I can't wait to get the store and get this guy all kinds of cute stuff!"

I snort at that. We're going to be getting whatever's cheapest since I'm going to be paying for it. But, unfortunately, "We can't leave yet. Japan said he's got a friend who will know everything we need to get, but he's still not back yet…" I'm starting to get worried now actually. What could be taking him so long?

Before I can worry any further the front door opens again and Japan steps through. He looks surprised and then quickly embarrassed as he realizes that everyone's eyes are on him. "I-I'm sorry that I am so late," he says quickly, bowing in apology before hurrying into the room. "My friend is a heavy sleeper. Jordan- san, Kaylie-san," he adds, nodding at Kaylie as he spots her. "I would like to introduce you to Greece."

The arrival of this newest country- because that is undoubtedly what he is- is heralded by the cat. He wiggles out of Italy's arms and quickly crosses the room with a loud meow. The nation pauses as he steps through the front door to look down at the animal at his feet with olive green eyes. Absentmindedly pushing messy dark brown hair out of his face Greece leans down and picks up the cat. With the happy feline now purring contentedly against his chest Greece looks up and sweeps the room with a lackadaisical gaze, his expression very tired.

"Greece," Japan says, something in his tone suggesting that he's trying to reclaim his friend's attention. "This is Jordan-san and her friend Kaylie-san."

Greece walks up to the two of us. I'll readily admit that he is just as attractive as the other countries with that olive skin tone and muscular build, but there's something about his attitude that I just don't like. Kaylie is too busy ogling him to care. Greece looks both of us over carefully, taking enough time to make me uncomfortable, before nodding once. "It's nice…to meet you…" he all but sighs, his voice as sleepy as his expression.

"So that's where you went Japan! Ve, bringing Greece was a really good idea!" Italy exclaims.

"T-thank you," Japan replies blushing lightly, seemingly genuinely bashful at Italy's praise.

It's cute- really cute- and it's obvious by the way that Kaylie's eyes are all big that she agrees. However, now that Greece is here it's time to get down to business. I elbow her surreptitiously in the ribs and she shakes herself out of her boy-induced stupor. "Well, we should get going then!"

Italy, Japan, Greece with the cat now laying on top of his head, Kaylie and I all begin to head towards the door. Before I can follow everyone else outside, however, Germany steps in front of me like he intends to come as well.

"Um, Germany," I say, feeling rather hesitant to stop him. "You can't come."

Germany glances at me over his shoulder, his look frighteningly stern. "And why is that?"

"Sorry, but Kaylie's car isn't big enough," I answer, motioning out the door to the two-door hatchback sitting in the driveway.

Germany is obviously stumped, glancing between me and Italy's retreating back, his brow furrowing in worry. I smile slightly at this, remembering the bond of friendship that Germany described that day in the park. "Don't worry. We'll take care of Italy."

Germany's eyes snap to me, surprised, and he flushes a light pink. "D-danke. I hope your trip is successful." With that Germany turns around and stiffly walks back into the house.

Giggling lightly I make my way over to the car and climb into the front passenger seat after evicting Italy despite his whining protests. No matter how hard Germany tries to act it's good to know that he's really a big softie at heart. Or at least when it comes to his friends.

…

Kaylie pulls into the parking lot at Wal-Mart and we all pile out. As we head inside I grab a cart, watching, exasperated, as Italy cavorts about in excitement. "Ve! It's so big!" Italy exclaims as soon as we step through the doors.

"It is…quite spacious," Japan agrees, his tone bordering on astonishment.

"Welcome to America," I mutter under my breath. Now don't get me wrong- I don't mind Wal-Mart that much. I hate how they're always super crowded, but you can find pretty much anything you might need at one for cheap. But I sure as hell didn't want to spend my Saturday at one buying things for a cat that I don't really want to keep. With a sigh I turn to Greece who doesn't look the least bit impressed. "So, what do we need?"

"I'll…let you know," he replies sleepily, scratching the cat who now rests in his arms under the chin.

"Oh, Jordan! There are a couple things I need to get. You don't mind do you?" Kaylie asks, looking longing at the cosmetics section as we pass it.

"No, go ahead."

"Thanks!" Kaylie throws me a happy smile before darting down an aisle.

"Ve, where's Kaylie going?" Italy asks, sounding worried. "We can't let her go by herself! What if she gets lost?"

I roll my eyes. "Calm down Italy. It's just Wal-Mart." He still seems worried, but he follows Japan, Greece, and I as we head back towards the pet section. I pause once we get there, looking down a long aisle of pet toys, food, collars, and other assorted items. "So…what do we need again?"

Greece takes one long survey of the aisle, his head turning slowly from side to side. Finally he steps forward. "This…" Litter box. "This…" Cat litter. "This…" Cat food. The rest of us follow him down the aisle, me pushing the cart and Italy and Japan grabbing the things Greece points out. It's not a very quick process, unfortunately. Greece doesn't seem to do anything at a pace faster than an amble.

Greece pauses and as he leans down to examine some cat toys the cat wriggles out of his arms. I gasp and Italy let's out an alarmed 'Ve!' as he begins to trot towards the end of the aisle.

"Excuse me, Greece, but the cat seems to be leaving," Japan says, anxiously tapping his friend on the shoulder.

Greece looks down at his arms as though he hadn't notice the cat leaving- is this guy's brain as slow as the rest of him?- and then turns to see the cat's tail disappear around the corner. "Oh."

"Shit, shit, shit!" I hiss, sprinting down to the end of the aisle. I come to a screeching halt when I get there, frantically looking back and forth for the cat.

Italy, who followed me, crashes into me and nearly knocks us both down. "Ve! He's gone!" Italy wails once he's regained his balance.

"Why me?" I groan, slapping a hand to my face as Greece and a harried looking Japan join us. "I knew we shouldn't have brought that cat in here! If someone finds out they're gonna kick us out!"

"Ve! What're we going to do, ve! He's gone and we'll never find him and when I get home Germany's going to be mad at me and he's going to yell at me and then he won't let me eat any pasta and—"

Italy goes into meltdown mode. Japan glances at him with a mixture of sympathy and exasperation before turning to me. "Please don't worry Jordan-san. We will find the cat."

"Uh huh…" Greece adds.

"This is all your fault, you know," I tell Greece, shooting him a glare.

His response is to shrug nonchalantly. "…Sorry."

I sigh and grab Italy, forcibly holding him still in the hopes that he'll calm down enough to listen. "Alright, I guess we'd better spilt up."

…

I'm beginning to see why splitting up in horror movies is such a bad thing. I've been wandering around this stupid store for fifteen minutes and all I've run into is a couple of hung-over freshman and some very grumpy old people. Seriously, this store is way too empty for a Saturday morning. Now I'm just waiting for the monster to jump out and eat me.

But, in all seriousness, I think it's about time to find everyone and get lost. I know I haven't found that stupid cat yet, but I'm really more concerned about getting into trouble because we brought it here in the first place. And I'm sure someone else has found him. Right?

...Right?

Just as I'm about ready to pull my hair out I come upon the electronics section where Japan is standing in front of one of the long display cabinets. He looks like he's concentrating very hard on something. Curious, I sneak up behind him only to find that he's playing what looks like Pokémon on a Nintendo DS.

Freaking seriously?!

"So…I'm guessing you haven't had any luck finding the cat?" I ask, my tone saturated with fake sweetness.

Japan jumps violently and spins around. I scowl at him as he pales. "N-no, I haven't had any luck…"

"Have you even looked at all?" I growl.

"Yes, I did, but I couldn't find him and…" Japan trails off before visibly shaking himself. "I'm just offering you poor excuses. Please forgive my idleness Jordan-san," Japan suddenly says formally, offering me a deep bow at the end.

I let out a long sigh and with it as much of my irritation as I can manage. "It's ok, I guess. I just wouldn't have pegged you for a guy who would waste all their time playing video games. Though I guess you do make a lot of them…" I add, eying the DS suspiciously.

"Hai, my people do produce many video games. I am quite the enthusiast myself."

"How come you don't play with America and Danny then?"

"Well I used to frequently play with America. But I do not like many of the games that he is fond of and I quickly tire of his…energy."

I smirk, amused, at this. "Fair enough. Let the two of them wear themselves out right?"

"Hai."

"Excuse me, do you guys need some help?"

Japan and I both jump at the sudden arrival of a Wal-Mart employee, who looks between us expectantly. "N-nope," I say grabbing a hold of Japan's wrist. "Thanks anyways though!" I call over my shoulder as I drag Japan away.

"Where are we going?" Japan asks me once we are out of earshot. I'm surprised to hear him sound so uncomfortable and when I glance behind me I see his gaze focused on my hand around his wrist. Oh, right. Japan doesn't like physical contact. I release him.

Japan nods at me in thanks as I answer his question. "To find everyone else. Hopefully someone else has found that stupid cat and then we can get the heck out of here."

Japan agrees with my plan and we begin to wander as I was doing previously. Fortunately it doesn't take long for us to find another country. Japan and I pause at the end of an aisle where half-hearted grunts and disgruntled 've's are coming from. It's Italy, in the toy aisle.

"Italy?"

"Jordan! Japan! Yay you came to help me!"

"What are you trying to do Italy?" Japan asks. We both eye the massive floor-to-ceiling metal cage full of rubber soccer and playground balls that Italy is standing in front of with suspicion.

"The football! I'm trying to get it, ve!" Italy says, cheerfully pointing at a soccer ball that is wedged into the very middle of the pile.

"That's nice, but did you find the cat?" I ask.

Italy turns to me wearing a bemused expression. "Ve? Cat?"

I sigh heavily and Japan gives me a sympathetic look. "You know…the cat we came here to buy stuff for?"

"Oh, sì!" Italy exclaims excitedly. Then his face drops. "But I haven't seen him, ve."

I resist the urge to slap my hand against my face again. Is anything going to go right today? "Ugh, whatever. Let's just go find Greece."

"But I really want that football!"

"Italy, now is not the time for this. We need to find Greece so that we may go home," Japan scolds.

Apparently Germany is the only nation that can lecture Italy. Because, rather than listening to Japan, Italy turns around and dives head first into the pile of balls through the opening in the middle of the cage.

"Italy! What the hell!" I exclaim, grabbing a hold of one of his feet before he can wriggle all the way in and get himself stuck.

"Ve!" Italy cries, kicking wildly as I attempt to drag him out of the cage.

"Help me Japan!" I grunt, narrowly dodging a kick to the face and probably a broken nose.

"Hai!" Japan says, taking a hold of Italy's other foot.

What ensues is an epic struggle as Japan and I try to drag Italy out of the pile of balls and Italy tries to crawl further in. Considering that Italy is such a crybaby who always hides behind Germany at the first sign of trouble it actually turns out to be a lot harder than I would have expected. Finally though I've had enough. Exhausted, I shout, "Italy, come out of there right now or I'm telling Germany about this when we get back!"

Italy freezes for a second before back-pedaling out of the pile so quickly that he nearly knocks Japan and I down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Italy wails as he latches onto me. "I'll be good, I promise! Just don't tell Germany!"

Just as I'm about to shout at Italy for almost knocking Japan and I over as well as making a scene there is an ominous creak from the metal cage. "Ve?" Italy asks, looking up at it.

The creaking comes again as the cage and all the balls inside it wobble. "Uh oh..." I mutter, beginning to back away.

"It…it does not look structurally sound anymore," Japan comments dryly, his eyes fixed on the top of the cage above us as the entire structure shudders. "Perhaps we should…"

"Run!" I shout as the cage suddenly collapses, metal and rubber balls going everywhere. The three of us turn and high tail it away from the toy aisle, balls rolling around our feet and bouncing around our heads, alternately threatening to brain us or trip us.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Italy yells over and over again as we run, once again blubbering about Germany.

"Just shut up and run!" I shout at him, finally losing my patience. I shove him forward, knowing for a fact that he can run faster than his current shuffle. Apparently my push somehow turned on Italy's flight or flight response and he takes off in a dead sprint with a cry of fright. All I can do is gape at his quickly disappearing back. "Wait! Not that fast!"

Crap! If we lose sight of him now we'll probably never find him! With this thought in mind I put my head down and open up my stride, my only goal as I sprint forward being to keep from losing Italy again. I guess I really didn't need to worry about it though, as I collide with him where he's stopped in the middle of an aisle.

With a yelp I fall backwards, but Japan catches me before I can hit the floor. "Thanks," I mutter to him as he helps me back on my feet. I turn to Italy to give him a piece of my mind, but I'm stopped by the sight of him giving me that dopey smile that always manages to melt my heart.

"Ve, look! Greece is sleeping!" Italy whispers, pointing. And there, on one of those bedroom set-ups in the furniture section before us is Greece, sprawled out on a bed fast asleep.

This time I really do face-palm. "Just wake him up, already! We need to get out of here!" I hiss. Japan and Italy both jump to it, but it takes them several minutes to rouse him from his slumber. Finally Greece sits up, blinking blearily at the three of us.

"Have a nice nap?" I ask him, my tone icy.

Greece yawns widely before replying, "Uh huh…"

"And the cat? Did you find it?"

"…No."

Before I get the chance to respond to that static and a voice from the loudspeaker echo through the store. "All Wal-Mart patrons, please avoid aisle 19 as there has been a large accident. If you were responsible for this please report to customer service at the back of the store. I repeat, please report to customer service. We don't want to have to get the police involved."

Japan, Italy, and I exchanged panicked glances. The severity of the situation seems to be lost on Greece, however, as he just yawns.

"Shit! We have to get out of here!" I exclaim. I'm definitely panicking now. Together Italy, Japan, and I manage to hustle Greece out of the furniture section. We sneak through the front section by the registers- more like sprint through it- and manage to get outside unmolested.

We're just starting to catch our breath out in the parking lot when I remember what we've forgotten. "Oh my God! Kaylie!" I shout, the panic returning.

"Yea, aren't you forgetting something?"

"Kaylie!" I shout joyfully, turning around to see her with a bag in one hand and- if you can believe it- the cat in the other.

"Ve, you found him!" Italy cheers, jumping forward to take the cat from Kaylie and cradling him affectionately in his arms.

"Yep," Kaylie replies, clearly amused. "What was he doing running around loose anyways?"

"Greece got careless," I reply, shooting the nation a glare, which he either ignores or doesn't notice. "Anyways, let's get out of here."

"Yea, I got everything I needed. Did you guys hare that announcement earlier though? It sounded crazy. I wonder what happened."

I exchange apprehensive glances with Italy and Japan. "No idea," I say as I hastily slide into the passenger seat of Kaylie's car.

It isn't until we're halfway back to the house that Kaylie turns to me and asks, "So did you get everything you needed for the cat?"

"…Damn it!"

…

"Come on, just tell us already!"

"Yea, Jordan! Please!"

I pause in slathering cream cheese on my bagel to turn a glare on Danny and America as they peek at me over the back of the couch, apparently taking advantage of their loading screen to bug me some more about what happened yesterday.

"No. I already told you that what happens at Wal-Mart stays at Wal-Mart. Don't you have homework to do anyways Danny?"

"Nope," he replies, obnoxiously popping the 'p'.

"Fine! If you won't tell us and Japan won't tell us then we'll just get Italy to tell us!"

Japan, who is sitting at the table with me absorbed in his own Nintendo DS this time, rolls his eyes. "Good luck with that," I scoff, nodding towards where Italy is harassing Germany in the kitchen as the other nation tries to prepare food for lunch.

America and Danny exchange concerned glances and then pout at me. "Well…we'll ask Greece then!" America declares.

"I'm afraid Greece doesn't know what happened," Japan tells them, his tone politely neutral, though I can detect a hint of smugness. I shoot them a snarky grin as well.

Danny scowls at me and turns around. "Awww man," America whines until the TV lets out a loud blast of sound to announce that the game has finished loading. America whips back around, all thoughts of uncovering what happened yesterday forgotten.

They've been at this almost constantly since we all returned home yesterday (after a quick stop at the pet store to pick up the things we didn't get at Wal-Mart). Greece left almost as soon as we arrived, saying that he needed a nap, while the rest of us got the cat settled. Germany was of course relieved to see Italy return safe and sound and I think Japan and I were just glad to get home. Fortunately the rest of the weekend has been quiet so far.

And then the handle on the front door jiggles, the door swings open, and Aaron slouches in. "Hey guys. How's it…going…" His voice trails off as he gaze fixes on the reduced number of beer bottles on the mantle. There's a dull thud as Aaron drops his bag. "What happened?"

Danny and I both freeze. Aaron's voice is calm, way too calm…it's the calm before the storm. None of the countries in the room seem to sense the danger, however, and either ignore him or glance at him, confused.

"I said…" Aaron fixes both Danny and I with piercing gazes. "What happened?!"

Britain, who is also sitting at the table with Japan and I, nearly drops his teacup. China nearly knocks his chair over (he's also at the table), catching himself just before he tips over backwards. There is a pitiful sound from Japan's DS as he accidentally hits the office button. A massive explosion issues from the TV as America messes up his last shot. There is a crash from the kitchen and Germany and Italy both leap out into the main room like they're looking for a fire (Germany determined and Italy terrified). The door to my room opens and Spain, Romano, and France all poke their heads out…I don't want to know what they were doing in there. Russia pokes his head in through the open window and asks, "You called?"

Now that he has everyone's attention Aaron looks at everyone carefully, his accusing eyes roving over our faces. A quick glance around shows most of the countries looking at least a little worried. I guess they're finally taking our warning seriously.

"Well?" Aaron snarls.

He is distracted by a loud meow from the cat that saunters up to him and takes a seat at his feet. The anger on Aaron's face subsides as the cat gazes up at him, flicking its tail expectantly. Aaron leans down and pets him. "We have a cat now?"

"Yea…unfortunately," I add in undertone.

"That's what happened to your beer bottles," Germany confesses with a sigh. "Italy brought him inside, but he didn't watch him closely enough. The cat jumped up on the mantle and knocked them down."

"Ve…I'm sorry Aaron," Italy sniffles from his hiding place behind Germany. "Please don't be mad and act all scary again."

"Hmmm…It's ok I guess," Aaron replies earning a shocked gasp from Danny. "It's hard to be mad at a cat." I'm surprised as well. Who knew Aaron was such a cat person? "Have you named him yet?"

"Well…no," I admit. "I haven't even thought about it."

"I'll name him then," Aaron says. No one dares to argue with him. Aaron scoops the cat up into his arms where it settles, happily purring away. "Magellan."

There are two noises of confusion from the couch. I frown too. That name sounds familiar, but I can't quite place it…

"What, you mean like the man whose crew first circumnavigated the world?" Britain asks.

"Exactly. It's appropriate don't you think?" There is a lot of uncomfortable shifting from the nations around the room at that. But, yea, it actually is freakishly appropriate.

"Oh!" Spain suddenly exclaims. "I remember him now. Haha, he was a funn—oof!" He's cut off as Romano embeds his elbow in Spain's gut.

"Shut up, idiota!" Romano hisses.

Aaron gives the two of them a funny look. I sigh in silent relief when he finally looks away. "Anyways…" He picks his bag back up and heads upstairs, the cat newly christened 'Magellan' still in his arms.

With Aaron's departure the tension in the room deflates. Italy cheerily dances back into the kitchen, Spain and Romano's latest spat/hugfest spills into the main room, and Danny and America get back down to the very serious business of playing Halo.

I lean back in my chair and run my hand through my hair with a sigh. Man, I'm glad that we got through that with it turning into the apocalypse. Except…

"I guess we really are gonna have to keep the cat now."

It was just a murmur, but apparently Germany's got some sharp hearing. "You make that sound like it's a bad thing," he comments, pausing on his way back to the kitchen.

"It's not, I guess. I'm just not much of a cat person."

"Oh? I see."

"Yea, dogs are way better."

"R-really?" Startled by the surprise in Germany's tone I look up just in time to catch the light pink dusting of a blush on his cheeks as he darts back into the kitchen.

What was that about?

Author's Note

This chapter…I don't even know. I actually like the first half a lot, but writing the second half was like pulling teeth, which I think is why it ended up so…cracky. I will freely admit that this pretty much just 19 pages of filler. I hope you found it entertaining anyways. Though I am planning on using Magellan to help move the plot along at a later point. I actually originally wanted to give Jordan a cat, but I just couldn't figure out a way to work it into the first or second chapters, which is where this one came from. Magellan is like the greatest name ever for a cat by the way. The actual Magellan was Portuguese, but he served the King of Spain hence Spain remembers him. His crew was the first group of people to circumnavigate the globe. He didn't make it because he died in the Philippines.

Next chapter we'll get back into history stuff. My current plan is to do Japan, then introduce the final member of the harem, and then get into some British/French history. I have no idea when I'm going to get to that stuff though because I'm going to be super busy this semester. The only reason you got this chapter, actually, is that I've had it half done for a while.

31 reviews. Oh. My. God. Like, seriously, I'm blown away. I never would have thought I'd get 31 reviews for one chapter of any story. I can't believe how much you all love this story and it makes me so ridiculously happy. You guys went way beyond what I asked and hoped for and I'm so, so thankful to have such an awesome group of readers for this story. THANK YOU SO MUCH to: Sasuna123, Hinagiku Flower, Carefree Insanity, Neeky-chan, HanajimaShields, Quiet harmony, ThisIsPasta, Atama Ga Kuru Teru, anonymous guest, CookieBirdGirl, feltonxxdodo, iAMthedamnhero, Hopefaith2, Leixym, Stella laLuna, Lady Island Rose, DalekSuperFan, Otaku-neku, watergoddesskasey, KaliUchihaHatake, Rinny009, Mashmellowtime, Hikari-Tenshi-Yuri, Colors and Irony, xXRedPokerGirlXx, and Piyo13!

I'm glad that chapter 9 got such a positive response as well. And thank you all for sharing your stories with me :). I'm planning on doing stuff like that with all the countries- where I go into the darker parts of their history. Like, for example, I already have an idea for a Holocaust chapter. It'll be a while before we get there though. I think the next one will be Inquisition!Spain. To be perfectly honest I kind of like writing dark/drama stuff like that so I'm really kind of looking forward to them.

If you want to read more of my writing I've got some reader inserts up on my deviantart account (I've actually been really active there lately). Hopefully it won't be TOO long before I get the next chapter out!

Thanks for reading all the way to the end!

imagination junkie