Kyrussia had declined Keira's every single request for independence. It soon got to the point to where she got annoyed. Soon she was fed up with being denied the chance to go on her own. Keira learned from her failures and stopped sending letters.

She didn't write.

She didn't respond.

She didn't tell anyone her plans.

The first day she went home, Keira felt proud at the progress her people were making. Her boss, too, had become upset with being half governed by a western country while still under Kyrussia. However, Kyrussia's boss felt that Keira was the black sheep of the Articias. If she were to be let go all hell would break loose. In a way Kyrussia kept Keira in check. She didn't want her to become too strong.

But push quickly went to shove, and things escalated to the extremes. It began after the trading routes between Keira and Kyrussia were dislocated. This irritated Kyrussia as supplies for her growing community had suddenly halted at a crucial time.

It went from disappearing trading roads to people refusing to work.

It went from the labor strike to blockading Fredericka's armies in unexpected moments during invasions.

It went from barricading soldiers to scattering them as to demoralize Kyrussia.

It went to demoralization to destruction of the towns in Kyrussia's home.

All was going according to Keira's plan. And still Kyrussia refused to let her go...

"It's pretty hot in here." Keira mumbled and drank the last of her beer.

"Vell you're vearing zhat heavy coat! Take it off, relax!" Prussia cheered.

"I don't think zhat is a good idea. I-I mean it gets cold in here pretty fast," Germany said quickly.

"I can handle it," Keira said.

"Did I say cold? I mean, vell...zh-zhere are guys here!"

"So?"

"Everyone here are guys."

"Vhat is zhe problem, bruder? Stop being a tightass und let zhe girl take her coat off!" Prussia snapped.

Germany squirmed uncomfortably as he heard Keira's belt buckle on her coat click off. The fabric slid slowly against her skin as it came off and he turned away at the first sight of her chest. Ludwig kicked himself and tried not to sneak a glance, blushing madly and clenching the handle of his mug until the glass cracked.

"Zhis i-i very indecent for you, Sieghild," Germany grumbled.

"It's hot and sticky," Keira breathed and folded her coat before placing it on the bar.

"Please, d-don't say it like zhat."

"Mademoiselle, it is as if I am looking upon a goddess of beauty!" France smirked.

"Ja, I here zhat a lot," Keira said as she drank her next beer.

"Let me inside and it's all you'll here."

Keira elbowed his stomach and continued drinking. Germany shook with anticipation and stress as he turned to face her. Instead of a tank top like she wore at home, Keira had a tight strung corset (underbust of course) with a white, low cut shirt with frills on the top. The corset reached down to her hips, but with the right move her skin would show.

With her scarf off, the scar on the left side of Keira's neck could be seen. Keira saw him staring and stared back, not exactly cold, but not shy either.

"England made me wear it vhen I lived vith him und so I usually wear zhis vhen I go out."

"Zhat is...nice. I-I mean..." Germany drummed his fingers on his knee, "I-I mean...vhat I m-mean to say...I...y-you...you-ou..."

France would usually give Germany pointers on what to say, but he was still recovering from the previous blow. Germany closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth and let the words flow out.

"You must be zhe reason for global warming because you're hot," Immediately he regretted it and desperately tried to think of something else to say. "I mean...ahh..."

"Vhat?" Keira was surprised and yet intrigued.

"Do you have a mirror in your pocket? Because I can see myself in your pants...vait vhat?!" He cussed to himself and slapped his palm onto his face. "V-vhat I mean to say is...Zhat's a nice shirt. Can I talk you out of it? Scheiße!"

"Yo Luddy! Was zur Hölle are you saying?" Prussia called.

Before he could respond he felt his whole body go forward. Keira pressed his face between her breasts and stopped him from saying anything. This shocked Germany at first, but he couldn't get out of it. She had a death grip on him and didn't loosen for anything.

"He wasn't saying anything," She said calmly. "Ludwig was just commenting on how nicely I did zhe icing on zhe cake und I had to give him a hug to show my appreciation. It vould have been rude not to."

"Really? I could have sworn I heard him try some pick up lines he came up vith on his own," Prussia shrugged it off and went back to having fun.

Keira gently let Germany go and he came up red in the face. He was speechless, but with high adrenaline and an unknown feeling boiling in his stomach. Keira yawned and picked up her coat, slinging it over her shoulders before finishing off her beer.

"I think I'll be taking my leave," She said and left...

"It's not like you could have told the truth," Urali sighed.

"It seems you had an easier time lying anyways," Roika smirked.

"Shut up!" Kyrussia snapped. "In reality I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth. How vould you react if you found out zhat your two siblings had zhe privilege to be liberated, but you're not allowed to even think of it?"

"Personally I would do the same thing Keira's doing. I would fight."

"She hasn't had it easy, Kyrussia." Urali reassured.

"Zhat is no excuse." Kyrussia turned to the window and put her hand to her forehead. "She's driving me insane vith her rebellion against zhe empire. Not only am I unable to feed my army, but zhe whole population. Not only zhat, but we are also unable to carry out with our invasion plans."

"It's quite obvious she's starving you out," Roika carefully placed a card onto the top of the card house. It trembled, shook, then fell. "It's only a matter of time before you start crumbling from the inside."

Kyrussia growled and swept the cards into her hands. She glared at Roika before slapping upside the head.

"How many times have I told you not to touch zhese?" She hissed.

"Let's see," he began to count on his fingers, "many, many times."

"Und vhy do I tell you not to?"

Roika put his finger on his chin and acted like he was thinking, "Because they are Keira's."

"You are sure protective over things that belong to her," Urali observed.

"Why? You're about to go into war with her, so why not drop her things off at England's?" Roika mumbled with disinterest.

"I'm not going into war vith her!" Deep inside Kyrussia tried to convince herself more than her siblings.

"It sure looks that way. She's weakening you from the inside out. Obviously she's getting ready to launch an attack on you."

"How vould you know?"

"She always puts on a show before her greatest act. That's how she wins."

"Vell you tell me vhat I should do,"

Roika put his hand on his chin and yawned. He couldn't care which side won, just as long as they kept out of his land. Urali didn't want a war to happen. She didn't want Kyrussia and Keira split even more apart. She knew how close they used to be, how much Keira used to depend on Kyrussia, how much Kyrussia felt the need to protect Keira.

"She was so fragile when he brought her in. Like a snowflake," Urali said sadly.

"That was then, now she's stronger than the three of us combined," Roika hissed.

"Zhe problem is, I don't know if I should be happy or worried," Kyrussia bit her bottom lip.

"Well, should it come to a war you know you always have Prussia to help you. I'm sure he'd be willing to lend you a hand."

"Und let him intervene in things zhat does not concern him? Niye, I can't let myself go so low as to ask for help. Besides, help vouldn't do much against her."

"She's as much of a human as she is a country. She has to have a weakness."

Kyrussia put her forehead on the cold window pane and closed her eyes. Her first fight with Keira had convinced her that nothing about her was human. She was raised by Mongolia, who had all of Asia in his hands. With an army stronger than Napoleon's and territory more vast than Turkey's, Mongolia was feared all across Europe. Since her and Russia's break he fell into despair and tried to invade Austria to regain his power, but failed.

Soon his empire faded into history just like all the other greats.

"No, she's not. She's something inhuman, something like nothing I've ever gone up against. She's...she's..."

"Another Mongolia?" Urali said.

"She's something worse zhan Mongolia."

Roika let out a small "hmm" and looked around. His eyes fell upon a map of their home and he smiled. Kyrussia's study walls were covered in maps, maps of countries she conquered, countries she plans on conquering, and of countries she just likes looking at. The walls were a dull red with gold trims, the floors wooden and creaking, the room as a whole covered in papers. Cabinets with papers and, yes, more maps crammed in stood dead around the room, a desk by the window at the far end of the room.

The air was tense because of the thought of war with Keira, but generally all was calm. The only time things would get going would be when Kyrussia was sent onto another invasion by her boss, Laika. Laika was an ambitious young woman with a control problem. She was also sister of Keira's "boss", Freida. Freida, on the other hand, was humble, but a bit of a grudge holder. While she was merely a rebel in Laika's eyes, Freida posed a huge threat to the well being of the commonwealth between Kyrussia and Keira. Freida was the one who began the rebellion against the orders of the queen.

In reality, the two leaders were pitting their countries head on with each other, creating such stress that strained the both of them. The fire had already been made, their bosses were just feeding it.

Kyrussia really didn't want to start a war with Keira. For one thing she didn't want all her hard work to be wasted on someone who could ultimately destroy her. Another was that she didn't want to have to fight against the one she tried so hard to protect.

Mongolia also tried to mold Keira into a mirror image of himself so that she could carry on making his empire more powerful. Kyrussia was just used by him to claim more territories.

"You really took advantage of her, eh?" Roika chuckled.

"Vhat can I say? You two are as useless as a guard dog that is scared of intruders," Kyrussia said.

"No wonder she's so pissed."

"Vould you just shut up for a moment?"

Urali glared at Roika and he went quiet. The best thing they could do now would be to wait.

"If Keira wants a war she'll have to bring it personally..."

Germany trudged into the house aimlessly and rubbed his head. After getting punched in the face by Spain, Germany finally realized why France and Prussia were so afraid of him when he was drunk. He decided to get out of there before he really got hurt by the Spaniard. Prussia would be okay taming him, right?

Kicking off his boots he loosened his jacket and let it drop to the ground. A nice bath would be nice before going to bed, especially since his face still throbbed with stinging pain.

He made his way up the stairs and grumbled to himself. To make matters even worse for him, the "hug" Keira gave him left him all squeamish and fluttery inside. Not to mention he probably creeped her out with the pick up lines that, like Gilbert pointed out, Ludwig came up with on his own. It was the best he could do with what experience he had, which wasn't a lot. In fact it was barely existent.

He finally reached the bathroom close by his room and noticed that the lights were on. 'How many times do I have to tell Preußen to turn them off when he's finished?' He thought to himself and reached down to his belt buckle. He had undone his pant by the time he opened the door and walked in with a rather annoyed look on his face. When he looked forward he saw Keira hiding among the bubbles in the tub.

The steam smelt bready with hints of apple and caramel fragrance. Right off the bat he recognized the scent. German Badebier. Keira had poured beer into the bath to give the water its bubbles. With his hand still on his pants, Germany looked away quickly and his face turned cherry red.

"Ah! Verzeihung! I d-didn't know you vere here!" His breath hitched and he shook with embarrassment and fear.

"Neither did I," She grumbled and hid deeper in the bubbles.

They stayed still as Germany thought about his urge to bathe. Then thoughts with the consequences about bathing with a woman came to mind and he did all he could to push them out. A part of Ludwig begged him to get in the water with Keira, but another forbade him of even looking at her in this state.

Silence swam with the earthy aroma and made the atmosphere a lot warmer than it should have been. Germany realized how much things have changed, how much Keira changed, since they were children. In a way he saw a little bit of Italy in her. Of the two countries he loved them both. While Ludwig still blamed Feliciano for Holy Rome's "death", he can't help but feel connected to the Italian.

He gave in and let go of his pants, his bare legs greeting the steamy air. The next thing he took off was his tank top. Beneath the thin cloth were his well sculpted muscles and his milky white skin. Germany was very shy when it came to his boxers and almost chickened out when Kiera spoke up.

"Vh-vhat are you doing?"

"I don't know."

He played with the hem of his boxers and tightly shut his eyes. Slowly he slid them off, his entire body engulfed hotness. His temperature rose and he couldn't move.

The German man had troubles bringing himself to get in the bath at first. As soon as he realized what he was doing it was too late. Sieghild sat on across from him, still immersed in the surrounding bubbles. Germany took a deep breath at the smell of the Badebier. It always soothed him and made him forget his troubles.

"So...vhy did you leave early?" He asked calmly.

She didn't answer. He waited for a response.

"Keira? Vhy did you leave?"

Keira slowly came out of her bubble hiding place and sat up straight, the tops of of her breasts visible among the foam. Her skin shined under the light and looked irresistibly soft and supple, her hair watered down and wet. Her eyes shined coyly as she thought about his question.

"Because I didn't want you to feel veird anymore."

Germany was taken aback. She didn't face him and kept her gaze on the white mountain that separated them. He jumped slightly as her foot gently bumped into his thigh, but he didn't make his reaction too known. 'That stare,' He thought to himself. 'That same one from years ago.'

"I know you feel uncomfortable around me und I don't mean it," Keira sighed. "Most of zhe time anyways."

"I don't mind." He lied.

"You don't mean zhat."

"I do. Ve're friends after all. Italy plays around und I know you have your moments too."

Keira blew on the bubbles and a chunk flew off the tip and onto Germany's nose. She leaned over and wiped it off with her thumb, but didn't return to her side. Germany's heart pounded as she drifted closer until he could feel her breath on his lips.

"Vhat do you know about me?" Her blind eye bore into his soul.

"A lot of things. From your scars to your ticklish spots."

She squeaked as he swept his hand across her side and slapped his fingers from her skin. They both had a rather serious expression, but knew either one was joking. Cautiously Germany tried again and playfully nipped her other side. In response Keira slipped on the soapy floor in shock, her foot shooting up and hitting Germany in the jaw.

However, even this didn't stop him. Eager to make her scream he crept over with a mischievous glint in his ocean blue eyes. With both hands he grabbed her sides and began tickling her mercilessly, a smile appearing on his face.

"St-stop it Ludwig!" She shrieked and made an attempt to kick him away.

He lowered his head and put his mouth on her neck to blow razzberries onto her skin. She twisted as the vibrations from his lips met her nerves and she was rendered immobile. Finally Keira came down from her intense laughter as she gasped for air.

"You...you...meanie," She coughed.

"Meanie? Is zhat zhe best you can come up vith?"

She pouted and crossed her arms in retaliation. Germany reached over and she flinched, but calmed as he took her hand. He brought out her arm and grazed his eyes over her skin before pointing out a short, but visible, mark.

"Here, zhat is vhere you fell from a horse."

He located a longer scar that wrapped around her forearm.

"Zhat is from vhen you, me und Prussia went fishing und zhe hook cut you."

He then searched for a deep scar on her left shoulder.

"Zhat is from zhe first vorld war vhen I saved you from getting shot."

He touched his hand to her right cheek.

"Zhat is from your sister."

He lifted her other arm and smiled sadly at all of the scars.

"Those are something I'll always be sorry for."

"I wasn't your fault," She grumbled.

"But I shouldn't have let myself become so careless."

"I got out of line und you had to make sure I didn't do it again."

He seized her arm and sternly glared at her.

"Stop making excuses! I hurt you und I can't forgive myself for it.

Keira gripped his wrist with her other hand firmly and returned the stare. Germany felt his hand start to shake and he hung his head.

"It left me alone. For zhat moment even Italy didn't want to be around me. Not after he learned vhat I had done to you."

"He came back, didn't he?"

"Ja."

She placed her hand on his chest and smiled.

"Zhen zhat's all zhat counts."

Memories floated in his mind and he couldn't help but smile back. They gravitated toward each other and for a split second time had stopped. Germany had always wondered why Holy Rome liked Italy, but after he met the Italian's "little sister" he began to put two and two together. Their lips brushed lightly until the door swung open wildly.

"Hey Vest! Zhe awesome me is back!" Prussia cried. "Ah! Did mein bruder finally get the guts to tell you he-"

"Prussia!"...

Soldiers trudged along the plotted out path and didn't stop for anything. Heavily armed and very dangerous, they pushed forward. It wasn't long before sirens blared and gun shots were heard. Kyrussia watched silently from a window as the skies above and ground below turned red.

"Is zhis really vorth it? Innocent people being slaughtered just to protect vhat you think is right?" She growled.

"If they want a war zhat is what they'll get," Laika said.

"We are in over our heads, you know, going against Keira like zhis."

"Shut up and get the troops ready to go down and fight back."

"Very well. It's your funeral."

A/N: We're getting near the end and it's getting more difficult for ideas to come up quickly. I hope the switches from past to present and all that aren't confusing y'all too much. It's going to play a big part in the climax, so be ready for that. Anyways, just to sum up what happened in the past events because I have nothing better to do; Kyrussia is still refusing to let Keira be independent (sound familiar? *cough* America and England! *cough) and so Keira decides to take matters into her own hands. A meeting is called by Kyrussia with Urali and Roika to discuss on the situation and finally the day comes that Keira launches an attack on Kyrussia's home to claim her independence.

Here are some translations!

German:

Scheiße! - Shit!

Was zur Hölle - What the hell

Verzeihung - Excuse me