Vulpi here, to help bring you our longest chapter yet. Currently I am procrastinating on taking notes about countries (ha) but anyways, I am very super excited about the next parts of the story to come!

Although the plot may still currently seem slightly on the boring/juvenile perhaps, side, I am hoping that the climax and all those good things will come soon, not saying the story will end anytime soon. Yeah, we had it planned for say, around 15 chapters but it's seemed to drag on for much longer than that...my words aren't that cohesive today because I'm a bit tired from having done four projects over the weekend. Sorry.../cry

Hellooo! First thank you for reading. :D This chapter is longer than our usual ones, and I hope that compensate for our slow update rate. I'm sorry about our erratic update rates, but we can't really help it...so sorry! Schoolwork is tougher than I remembered...hehe. Anyways I'll stop babbling now, and let you read...BTW I AM SO EXCITED TO WRITE THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS! IT'LL BE SO FUN! HEHE

Hetalia does not belong to us. I mean, it would be totally cool if it did, but that's Hidekazu Himaruya's creation only…

Kiku's PoV

"The phone." The officer nodded towards the ringing phone in the office, and promptly closed the door. Kiku held his breath, hoping that it would not be anything of much gravity. The stark office walls seemed to close in on him as would have been with a mouse in a cage as he picked up the phone.

"Hello? May I ask if this is Kiku Honda speaking?"

Kiku slightly reeled. It was his father, still as commanding as ever, though he had only spoken a simple question. "Father? Hai, it is me."

"Ah, good. I was afraid it would be another stubborn school official as was last time. That was a waste of time, if I may say so myself. Anyway, I must discuss some important events with you; as it seems, son, that you may have not been correctly informed."

"Oh! I presume this is about the, um, rivalry, so to speak?" He mentally prepared himself for what was bound to be a resulting speech on why he should choose sides. "Between the Belgian Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Spain…"

"Ah, so you are indeed aware of the ongoing war." The word 'war' was stressed heavily, an implication Kiku was sure had been thrown in just to make him uncomfortable. He didn't understand. Why was everyone mistaking a simple argument having nothing to do with political matters as war? Even his father, which he thought quite unreasonable though he wouldn't dare say it out loud.

"It has been brought to mine and the attention of our entire kingdom and former allies that the Belgian Commonwealth boasts access to highly dangerous substances. It is rumored that even in your academy, there has been a case of severe poisoning from such. I implore you to be highly cautious," Kiku's father continued. The boy began to grow somewhat uncomfortable, shifting his weight from one side to another. He did not particularly fancy the direction this conversation was going, even if his father did have what in his own opinion were best intentions at hand.

"Father, I assure you that although the rumors are true, everyone including school guards believe it was purely an accident. One of the chefs must've mistaken Nightglove for basil." The words that meant standing up for who was supposed to be a member of a rival kingdom felt strange on his tongue, but somewhere in his mind Kiku deemed it necessary.

There was a small, muffled cough on the other end of the line, sending apprehension hitting Kiku like a shockwave. He didn't believe he was being ridiculous in any manner, however his father happened to think otherwise.

"Yes, yes, a mistake." There was a pause, as if the man could not decide if it was better to chastise his son for his naivete or pretend as if it did not occur to him that Kiku was beginning to shy away from the kingdom's laws. "Very well then. It is true that as of right now, the coast is clear, but you will have to separate allies from enemies in the near future. I tell you, it is better to do so now." Choosing sides. Of course. All that nervous conversation all led back to a single thing. Choose, choose, choose, choose, choose...Kiku repeated the words so many times in his head that it seemed to become a blur. Like the fighting. The fighting that had already lasted longer than it should; the skirmishes, verbal and physical that had repeated day after day after day and grown each time in intensity; it all ended up just a blur. No one knew exactly what side they were on, despite their desperate claims otherwise.

"Kiku?" The boy's father could not withstand a second more of the deathly silence that had begun slowly spreading. "I said that you must find allies, and enemies. What is it about that that none of my children can understand?"

Yao and the others. Have they not done so either? I suppose it is wise of them, he pondered, since they do not fully understand the situation…. "I apologize, father." Kiku tried his best to maintain his calm demeanor, and was completely failing with every passing second. "But as of now I do not see the need to fixate myself to a certain side. What if the war ends? What if the Belgian Commonwealth gives us a great advantage? What side would we want to join then?" He began to shout, not paying very close attention to the words flying out of his mouth.

"Then we will decide what to do come such a situation. I cannot prolong this argument with you any longer, as I have a meeting to attend, but do know that by next week, I shall have heard that the Honda Empire gain an alliance with the majority of Western Europe. It will be based upon your decision." A click, and Kiku's father hung up.

The Japanese boy let out a long sigh. Such pent up frustration would get him nowhere, though he couldn't help always thinking that the war was incredibly stupid and meaningless. No lives, including Lovina's, should have ever been in danger. And now, his father's request only brought the people of his kingdom into that same peril that had no need to further exist.

Ludwig's PoV

With the everbearing looming shadow of Lovina's second-in-command, they had gotten to school and survived through first period. Ludwig's first block had been strategy. With the neverending rumors he had expected trouble, but his class had left him alone. In fact, they all seemed slightly frightened of him. It had brought him unexpected sorrow as it rang with a promise that everything would have been the same as before with the same cold, unmoving wall between his classmates and him. However with the ring of the bell he hurried down the halls to fetch Felicia. He had no idea how she had fared in politics with Vash there. The Italian princess who unlike her sister seemed incredibly vulnerable to the comments and gossip of all the other students. As if reading thoughts perfectly, Ludwig nearly smashed into Remus who appeared from the shadows of several lockers.

"Madam Felicia can stand her own ground," Remus said coldly, his silver eye glaring at him. Remus wore a black leather jacket that he now stuck his hands into. With a nod, he motioned Ludwig to keep walking. "You worry too much."

"How can you tell?" Ludwig asked out curiosity while keeping track of what part of the building they were in. Remus's existence was a mystery unto itself. He was not like Lovina's consigliere, Vincent who was incredibly cheerful, and his differently shaped eyes unnerved Ludwig greatly. Remus's expressions were also unreadable, even with all the special training Ludwig had received from his father General.

"You've had hard training and it's hard to tell," Remus admitted monotonously. "But you've never used it in a situation that actually mattered. You better know how to read someone when you wish to live to 20 in our famiglia." A emotionless grin that didn't quite reach his eyes reflected on his face. It was obvious that the conversation was done, and neither of the stone-cold faced boys said another word until they reached Felicia's classroom.

Although Ludwig had taken a brisk speed and most of the students parted at the sight of him, most of Felicia's classmates had already taken leave. She now stood outside the door, looking rather defiant at the stares and whispers that surrounded her. A surge of anger transcended upon Ludwig as an awareness of deja vu swallowed him. It was until that they had gotten outside that Ludwig realized he had forcefully dragged Felicia by her arm through the crowds, leaving Remus behind. Immediately dropping his grip, he took a step back and bowed a 90 degree angle.

"I sincerely apologize, Princess Felicia," he murmured, working hard to keep the embarrassment and shame out of face. He shouldn't have handled the situation as he had done. "I do not know what has gotten into me. It will definitely not happen again." Felicia hadn't said a word, and he dare not raise his head. Perhaps he would be expelled from his position, he thought to himself duly.

"I'm not sure that's the problem," she spoke at last, her voice the quietest Ludwig had ever heard it. "Please raise your head. We're friends, right? Are you okay? Maybe the current state of matters has taken its toll on you, too." Ludwig raised his head just in time to see her purse her lips tightly. Lines of worry crinkled above her brow.

"Not at all," he replied as fast as he could, anything to put his partner at ease. "A thing of the past was brought up, and it absorbed me. I really do apologize."

"Oh," Her lips formed a silent "O" while her stance relaxed slightly. "I guess you don't wish to speak of it."

"I apologize, but that would be preferable." He watched as a sigh escaped her in exasperation.

"You should stop apologizing, Luddy. Not everything's your fault." He wasn't sure how to respond, and she took his silence as his answer. She glanced hastily at her thin gold watch that was fastened on her wrist. "We're already tardy for second block so why not entirely skip it?" An impish grin was drawn on her face while Ludwig was simply scandalized by the thought.

"But Princess," he protested, but only recieved a laugh in return. "Your classes!"

"Oh, Luddy," she smiled. "You mustn't be so uptight, and call me Feli remember?! Come we shall go exploring and then eat pasta at the cafeteria!" She raised her arm and pointed somewhere in the distance as if she was a foreign explorer.

They spent the rest of the afternoon before lunchtime in the gardens. This time it was Felicia who was dragging him around, pointing at rare and exquisite flowers everywhere.

Bella's PoV

A week had already gone by, and Bella found nothing. Zero, zilch, nada. No evidence whatsoever, and just the thought of it angered her. She'd asked every student who she knew was on her side and snuck into the cafeteria kitchen one day after school. Feliks, who was quite nice despite his quirks, had even managed to refer her to an Estonian friend who was incredibly skilled at IT. Thanks to him, she was able to witness a bit of the footage recorded the day of the poisoning. The Belgian girl had been expecting something, anything; some kind of suspicious black-suited man or sneaky young prankster holding just that single sprig of Nightglove. As she stared at the video with hopeful eyes, though, she only saw the hustle and bustle of students and cooks and teachers and janitors. Even so, it just did not occur to her to quit. It was an internal flame that followed the direction of redemption like a compass pointing North, and following it, she wanted to be able to get to the bottom of the situation, half to save the newspaper and half to save her family.

She strolled down the hallway, careful not to bump into any students running this way and that. Bella was not in a huge hurry, partially because her Algebra II teacher was nothing short of lax. She was one of the somewhat luckier ones, and Elizaveta had complained many a time how she herself was "dreadfully unlucky" and that she had gotten all the most stringent teachers in a strange twist of fate. Well, maybe not so strange, Bella surmised, since ninety percent of the teachers in the Academy were such.

When the princess had arrived in the classroom, she saw that the teacher was currently playing solitaire while doodling a few indescribably strange creatures on a sticky note. She laughed, reminded of her Greek classmate Heracles, before pulling out her journalism notebook. When math started, she would get to math. For now, it was back to the situation at hand. Bella wished that Elizaveta or Lilli or someone she knew could be in the same place as her, but of course not. She flipped through her extensive list of news ideas. The Cultural Differences of A.P.H. Academy caught her eye. Yes, maybe she could start interviewing her classmates. It was almost time for the holidays, after all. Kiku, Amelia, and the others were bound to have some interesting stories to tell. If not, she could always put her own country's celebrations. Check. She flipped another page and promptly snickered. Francis w/request for advice column. Hell no! She crossed that one out. Why This School is Awesome, Gilbert's idea, went in the trash as well. All he would do would be ranting about how he made the school that much more awesome.

"Miss Peters? What about you?" Upon hearing the voice, Bella snapped her notebook closed and shot her head up. Class had started? She couldn't have taken that long...

"Excuse me, what was the question again?" The princess felt her face flush as she heard the chuckles of a few of her classmates.

"Please pay attention, Miss Peters. The question was number twenty-four on page 161." Bella hastily flipped through her textbook, almost ripping one of the pages, and quickly solved the problem, doing her scratchwork on the textbook and praying that it could be erased later on.

"Um, I believe it would be x equals 10? Since x equals negative 8 over 3 is an extraneous solution." She hoped her answer was correct, tapping her pencil anxiously on the table. Bella could never focus completely anymore, and she didn't understand why these equations would be useful in any political situation. But, everyone needed a good education, she supposed, it was just a hundredfold harder to always do well since she was royalty and had other situations to deal with. Well, it would only be another long day before she could return to the castle, and for that she was glad.

Aside from everything else, her best idea yet did need a bit more consideration.

Lovina's PoV

"Are you okay, dearie?" Lovina, lost in her abyss of thought, had forgotten the others around her. Now as the old woman who sat beside her on the train asked her how she was, she found that she couldn't answer. The woman had been knitting something the color of pastel pinks, blues and greens for the entire past hour. How peaceful she seemed compared to Lovina's own state of mind.

"Yes, of course," Lovina murmured faintly to disguise her voice. Hopefully when the old woman remembered her, she would remember a small shy girl that she had met by chance on the train. "Why do you ask?"

"You looked burdened," the woman replied nonchalantly, all the while knitting. Lovina watched the flashing of needles that flew through the thread. She wished she could only see the needles as they were, but they only reminded her of darting knives in the dead of night, reflecting slim rays of moonlight.

"No," she objected mildly, careful to maintain her mundane character. "Just a tad bit tired." She replied with a demure smile, and promptly feigned sleep.

A half hour later, the train had stopped with a screech that perhaps even Feli could hear at the Academy. Lovina snatched herself up while hastily making a way through the crowd. She was in the capital, and extremely surprised at how easily it had been. One phone call and everything had been handled perfectly. Although she trusted him with her life, it was disappointing that Vincent couldn't have done better with his cunning smiles and sly lies when the security was this ridiculously lax. Then again, perhaps it was simply the dangerous substances that were trafficked carefully. She would be careful nevertheless.

Lovina walked lithely, making sure not to be caught in the sway of the crowd. Making it out of the station smoothly, she caught a bus to the largest market in the kingdom. As she arrived, it was bustling with bodies. The market was at its zenith. Mothers shopped for groceries, while their children pranced in circles around the stalls, all the while begging for dazzling trinkets that caught their fancy. Merchants haggled fiercely, both selling and buy all at once. It was beautiful in its own chaotic mess, but she had no time to dawdle. Swimming through the river of people, she followed the flow until she reached a small tavern. The Greyhound said the sign, though it didn't really matter what it was called. Most people kept away from it, which was quite keen of them. Keeping a low profile, she slipped in. Although she hoped no one had noticed her from the outside, it was the exact opposite inside.

"What is a little girl doing here?" a voice called out immediately as she stepped on the premises. Murmurs of agreement spread through the tavern, boosting the confidence of the voice that Lovina felt no need to address. It was simply below her. Plus, she was in a hurry. She would let it the person go without going through the trouble of taking away a few limbs.

Sadly to her exasperation, the other party did not consent to her mercy. As the punch went her way, Lovina expertly flipped him backwards, simultaneously pulling out a dagger that now sat pressed at his throat.

"Tch," she muttered under her breath, feeling petulant. "Who allowed you to speak to me, you fucking bastard?" she snarled with contempt. Planning to use him as an example, she pressed the blade closer, but stopped when she realized it took more effort than she thought it would have been. The shaking in her hands was difficult to mask, and the numbness in her right arm had spread to her elbow. With deep regret, she loosened her hold on the unfortunate person who now scampered away like a berated puppy. Lovina twirled the dagger in her left hand for only a second as if waving away more unwanted flies. Glaring around her in a full circle, she slipped it back into her boot. "A word to Ralph?" she called out to the bartender.

"Not without some prior arrangement, missy." he responded, polishing his glassware. He hadn't batted an eyelash when she tossed the man onto the floor. She walked towards him, and the crowd parted in front of her like the Red Sea. Annoyance spread through her as she choose a bar stool. The bartender was turned away from her as she slid her sunglasses up, and they sat there like a crown. Lovina waited semi-patiently until he turned her way again.

"Do I require some sort of 'prior arrangement' to meet one of my captains, sir?" she whispered green eyes flashing while glaring at ignorant man. The glassware in his hand shattered as it hit the ground. Good, she thought to herself. Not all her soldiers were completely stupid bastards.

"N-no Boss," he whimpered. "Forgive me. I'll lead you right down."

Hastily wiping his hands on a towel, he motioned hesitantly for her to follow. They walked towards the back of the establishment, into an empty room that held nothing but a dull crimson rug on the floor. She shriveled her nose in contempt, there was no telling what unsavory things had fallen on the rug before although she could name a few at a moment. The bartender shuffled towards rug, pulling it up roughly. It revealed a trap door with stairs that traveled downwards, which he also lifted up.

"He should be down there with some friends, Boss," he muttered, refusing to look her straight in the face.

"Hmmm," Lovina hummed. Picking her way around the rug, she examined it for a moment. "Do you have a light?"

"Of course," he answered hurriedly, taking out a flashlight he had in his pocket. He handed it to her carefully. "I'm very sorry, Boss. I should have thought of it sooner"

Taking it, she held it for a moment, hitting it lightly on her palm. The flashlight gave off no indication that it was sturdy at all or last very long, but it would have to do.

"You may leave after I go down. I need no escort." For the time that she had idled around in the useless bar, her right forearm had taken on a distinct sensation of numbness. Although it had only lasted a few minutes, Lovina was dubious to take chances that it would disappear. Snapping the light on, she ran down the stairs as soon she heard the thud of the trapdoor close.

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