Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, just the story.

Francis spectates as Vash trains with Emil. Lilly sits beside him, worrying her lip as she watches. He glances at her and smiles, taking her hand and squeezing it. "Don't worry, cher. Your brother won't get hurt."

"I know." She shyly squeezes his hand back. "He's strong. He can fight well and has trained the only Ace we had in this world. Emil has gotten strong because of that but always requests for more training. He feels he's not strong enough yet to proudly be the Ace of Joker."

"He's a serious young man, then." Francis feels a form of respect for the young Ace. He keeps hold of Lilly's hand, looking at the two men battling with swords. "From what I've seen, Vash is better with a gun than a saber."

She giggles. "He's also good with bows and arrows. He's a great sniper, too. He's always been like that."

As he nods, he sees his new friend Antonio across the court with Lovino. "Excuse me, Lilly. I just found two other aces that might appreciate a sparring match before we all leave later today." He pats her hand before standing up. Carefully, he walks around the two on the field and tries for the Ace of Hearts attention. "Mon ami! You're just in time."

"Good Lord, what now." Lovino groans, glaring at the Frenchman. "I don't have time to waste with you numbskulls. We need to get ready to go back to our kingdoms. It's going to be a long frickin' ride back," he mumbles.

Antonio chuckles. "What are we in time for, Francis?"

The blond chuckles as well. "Would either of you want to practice with Vash and Emil before going back home?" He motions towards the other two just as Emil swings down his sword only to be blocked by Vash's blade. "It would be worth it, oui? Five days without training isn't very good."

"That's all I do every day," Lovino complains.

"If all of us are practicing, we should get the Ace of Clubs to join." The Spaniard watches the other two as he suggests this. "It wouldn't be fair to him if the other Aces trained without him here."

"True." Francis hums, putting two fingers to his mouth so he can whistle. Pierre appears shortly after he whistles and sits on his shoulder. "Pierre, my dear friend, please go and fetch the Ace of Clubs. He's a pale blond with glasses, a curl extruding from his hair that loops at the end, and usually accompanied by his king and shape shifting friend. I'll give you a treat when you get back."

They watch Pierre chirp before flying off to do as asked. "So what do we do until then?" Lovino gazes back down at the Frenchman. "Wait or do you actually want us to fight with no weapons."

"Close combat is good to learn, too," Antonio says. "I wouldn't want to hurt you, though, Lovi."

The Italian's eyebrow twitches as he glares at his supposed soul-mate. "You know what? Yeah. Close combat is good, too. Let's go." He marches out onto the field, standing in a portion where Vash and Emil are not in. "Come on, idiot!"

Antonio looks hesitant but follows anyway. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Lovino takes up a stance. "Bring it."

Francis grins as he goes back around and sits next to Lilly. She frowns at the other two who begin fighting without weapons. "Why did you instigate that?"

"They're both the ace of their kingdom. Aces need to be in tip top shape, no?" He shrugs as she pouts further. "It's practice. They do it every day just like your brother. Don't worry."

Lillian goes quiet after that, watching both groups fight on their sides of the field. Francis keeps his eyes on Lovino and Antonio, smirking as the shorter man dodges every throw easily. The Spaniard is not even trying which makes Francis shake his head. In no time, Lovino has Antonio sprawled on the ground from heaving him over his back. He steps on the other's chest, grinning wide.

"I'm not some weakling. Either get serious or don't bother." He moves away, offering a hand for Antonio. "Just because you believe I'm your fated partner doesn't mean you should hold back on my account. You got that?"

Antonio blinks, smiling. "Yeah." He takes Lovino's hand, bringing the Italian down with him before climbing on his back. He pulls Lovino's arm behind him, keeping him in an experts hold. "Don't let your guard down, pequeño. Anyone can get the better hand of you if you do."

Lovino struggles as he scowls. "I'm not some kid! Get off me!"

The Spaniard lets go and stands up. Lovino sits up and holds his arm that was twisted around his back. His glare intensifies as he looks at Antonio, but his grin softens the killing stare. He stands and they go for another round, no holds bar.

After some time passes, the Ace of Clubs comes around with one of the Joker of Clubs. They observe the four on the field then join in themselves. Toris takes up his spear and Matthew summons his own. Pierre flaps on over to Francis, who feeds him a cracker before petting his head. The six spar with each other until Vash calls the session off for a break.

"With there being more of us, I believe we should switch opponents," the Jack of Diamonds states.

"I have an idea," Francis pipes up, gaining their attention. "Why not have a little tournament for fun? See who comes out on top?"

"I'd advise against that, sire," Vash argues. "Not all of us have the years of training needed to be the best fighter."

"Ah, but that's where this is a practice session." Francis stands from his spot and walks over to the gathered lot. "They may be new but they've been hard at work training. This tournament would increase their tactics on fighting, would it not?"

The Swiss stares at his king, pondering. His eyes glance over at the other five. "Is anyone against fighting in a small tournament?"

"Will there be a prize worth fighting for?" Lovino asks.

"The title of the best Ace," Francis answers. He holds up his hand to stop the two who do not hold those titles. "Even if you are not an Ace, one acts as our ace and the other has been training their own ace. It is only fair for both of you to have a chance at the title." He smiles at Emil. "Do you find this okay?"

The boy flushes as he looks down. "I have no objections."

"Perfect." When he looks at the others, they give him nods in agreement. "Then while you rest, I will gather the rest of the Flushes. They must witness all of our kingdoms Captains train and fight for the title of best." Before anyone can argue with him, he hops on a gust of wind and flies off in search of everyone else.

Excitement rushes through his veins as he gathers the other royals. He spots plenty on their own and asks for them to head toward the courtyard. When he can't get to everyone, he stops and floats in the air. Breathing in, he puts both hands over his mouth and whispers a spell. Through the airwaves, his words carry over to everyone he's looking for.

"Come to the courtyard. The Aces are holding a small tournament for the title of the best Ace."

With a nod, he flies back to the group, smiling at the new ones to join. There are not a lot of seats for everyone but Matthew solves that problem by summoning some chairs and benches. Those who wish to sit can while the others stand and watch. When everyone makes it to the courtyard, Francis claps his hands for attention.

"I'm glad all of you could make it," he begins with a grin. "As you know, not every Ace is here but we've made exceptions for the few who hold different titles. Vash is the Diamonds acting Ace until we can find them. Toris has been training with the Ace of Clubs, therefore, fit for the title himself. Are there any objections?" When none comes, he continues on. "Very good! Now, the usual rules for a tournament will abide. Anyone who gives up the fight will be the loser and the winner shall fight the next opponent. Lots will be random so everyone can fight equally. Matthew," he turns to the Canadian, "could you summon six straws for me?"

"Sure." He opens his free hand up and six straws appear on his palm. He hands them over. "Should I also summon two racks of different weapons?"

"Please do." Francis smiles kindly as he reorders the straws while writing different letters on each end. With everything prepared, he turns to the six fighters and offers them the straws. "Each of you pull a straw. Those who have a match will be paired against each other. A to C will be the order of fighting."

One by one the men come and draw straws. Matthew and Emil have the matching As, Vash and Antonio have the matching Bs, and Lovino draws C with Toris. When their names are written down, Francis makes the brackets for each so they see that whoever wins in group C will face the winner from A or B. He keeps hold of the paper to keep a record.

"Who shall be the referee?" Alfred asks as the four fighters who need to wait for their rounds sit. He watches his brother speak with Emil at the weapon rack as they choose their item to use. "We can have different referees each round so no one has bias enough to cheat."

"I would offer to be a full-time referee but not all of you would trust my judgments," Tino says with a smile. "I'm not sure if our maids or butlers would be good enough since Emil is friends with most of them."

"Luddy is a good neutral party, but yeah. Same to what Tino said." Gilbert looks around the spectating Flushes. "Anyone got an idea?"

"Oh! How about this?" Elizabeta perks up in her seat. "We can do a group vote as the audience. I know people have bias but if we all wish for a fair fight from our officers we should also have a fair judgment on their fight. Unless one gives up, we can vote who the winner is after a certain amount of time. The majority wins."

"How about those with bias sit out of the voting if we do that? Anyone super close with each fighter would of course still want to vote for them no matter what."

Francis hums as everyone keeps bantering over what to do. "Those are all very good ideas…" he trails off, looking at his queen. "What do you think, cher?"

"I don't want to take part of anything. I dislike fighting."

He chuckles. "I'm sorry that I suggested this, then. But everyone else is eager. Even your brother looks excited."

She gazes at Vash and recognizes the emotion in his eyes. There may be a small distance between them but she can tell what he's generally feeling. Smiling softly, she nods. "I guess it's fine. I have no ideas to share, though."

"Oh! Crazy idea!" Alfred shouts as he turns toward Arthur. "Do you think you could create life bars or something? Like in video games."

"They're not characters, Alfred." The Brit scrunches his nose. "Besides, our magic doesn't work like that."

Matthew looks at everyone before motioning for Emil to go to the other fighters. He speaks with them, suggesting something in similar format to his brother's idea. Even though not all of them understand his idea, they agree. He then summons up different colored wristbands for them and they put them on. As they do, green life bars pop up above their heads as a hologram. He pivots on his heel and goes to the center of the field with Emil.

"Will this do?" He asks.

Everyone sees what he's done and marvel at the change. Francis grins wide. "Marvelous! How does it go down, Matthew?"

"With every hit we take," he answers. "We can still do three rounds. At the end of each round, the bar will become full again. Our fights officially end if someone gives up entirely or someone wins two of the three rounds. We've already agreed over this so I hope no one has a problem with it."

No one retorts. "Great." Francis nods. "Then, shall we?" He smirks at the audience, then the ready fighters. "Fighters, at the ready?" Emil stands strong with his sword while Matthew grips his shield and spear. "Begin!"

Immediately, Emil charges Matthew. The Canadian dodges to the right, swinging his spear down. Emil ducks and thrusts forward, blade hitting Matthew's shield. Matthew shortens his spear as he pushes the other away. While Emil is staggering, he rushes him and faints right so Emil attacks the wrong place. He moves left and hits the backside of Emil, the flat part of his spear pressing against his clothes. Knowing it's not over just yet, he backs off before Emil can counter. A section of Emil's health bar is gone, showing only three-fourths left. Like they agreed together, four hits will end a round. It's like fencing.

Francis recognizes instantly what Matthew had planned. He chuckles, leaning back as he watches the two battle each other. It interests him how someone so new to the world can keep up with someone who's been here their entire life. He feels Matthew could even hold his own against Vash.

The first round ends with Matthew as the winner. It was close as they both had one bar left. They settle and nod in respect before going to a starting position again. Their bars fill up, olive green for Matthew and fuchsia for Emil. They go for round two, their energy still high with adrenaline.

Alfred cheers loudly for his brother from the audience. Others do the same for whichever side they wish to win. Some sing praises as they believe everyone is equal in strength. Francis merely observe in amusement, waiting for the outcome of this battle.

Emil wins the second round but loses the third round. Matthew smiles as he pats the Ace of Joker's shoulder in good sportsmanship. They take a seat to rest as Vash and Antonio take their spots for their own fight. Vash's bar is golden yellow while Antonio's is ruby red. Vash holds the saber from earlier in his hands as Antonio takes up two short axes in each hand. The Spaniard grips both handles tightly, smiling at his opponent.

"I'll warn you, I'm pretty good with axes."

Vash snorts. "You should know I've never lost a fight in my life. Not even during training."

"There's always a first time for everything," Antonio says cockily. He brings up his weapons, dancing on his feet lightly.

The Swiss scowls in irritation. As soon as Francis gives the signal, he dodges the Ace of Hearts. Antonio is quick to recover from any of his failed attacks, rushing straight into the other. Vash barely has time to attack himself but he hasn't lost health quite yet. When Antonio leaves himself open, Vash takes the chance and claps the man twice with the flat side of his blade. Antonio rolls to the side, hitting Vash once against his legs before retreating. He recalculates his strategy while grinning.

Lilly takes one of Francis's hand for comfort as she watches her brother fight. He smiles at her and whispers reassurances so she doesn't worry too much. They're all being careful and using the flat side of their weapons to not leave permanent wounds. She calms down a little but still holds his hand. Patting her hand with his free one, he looks on, rooting for both sides to do well.

In the end, Vash is still able to win. Antonio laughs good-naturedly. "That was a great fight. Wish I could spar with you more often."

"Mm." Vash nods with a small grin. "I'd like to spar again someday. Maybe you can teach me how to wield an axe like you do."

Antonio happily promises to do so as they switch with Lovino and Toris. For their weapons, Lovino has twin daggers and Toris holds a steel pole instead of his spear and shield. It's always good to change up the weapons every now and then to gain experience with them.

"I'll try not to hold back," Toris says with a meek smile. His forest green health bar pops above his head. "I don't particularly like fighting but training is okay with me."

Lovino hums as his own blue bar appears. "I've always run from fights knowing I couldn't always win. I'm not weak, though." He stances himself with both daggers pointed inward. He switches their positions easily so one can always be for defense and the other for offense. "Break a leg." He grins.

Toris chuckles. "Best of luck to you." He holds the pole in front of him, ready for any attacks.

Francis gives the go but neither lunges forward. They circle each other, studying their opponents for weaknesses. Toris is the first to launch an attack, spinning the pole around in a distracting way before trying to land a hit on Lovino. The Italian rolls away and quickly runs behind Toris. Before he can land a hit, Toris turns with the other end of the pole ready to get Lovino's shoulder. He backs off, clucking his tongue in irritation. He grins, though, while planning his next course of action.

Toris waits this time and Lovino tries attacking from the front. He blocks with the pole as both daggers come at him. He has to push up first before spinning around and down for the second dagger. Lovino keeps going, his daggers landing at the top and bottom section of the pole. He tries to dislodge Toris's hands from the weapon only to end up with his hands twisting over each other. Toris grins as he lands the first hit on Lovino.

The audience cheers for them as their fight goes on. Toris wins round one while Lovino comes back in round two. They're evenly matched in round three but the Italian surprisingly gets the last hit and wins. He stands in shock as Toris congratulates him. As they move to the side, Francis announces that Matthew and Vash are the next fighters. Whoever wins their battle with face Lovino for the title.

"I'd like to hurry this along," Vash utters as he switches the saber in his hands for a chain scythe. "It's good practice but unconventional."

"Are you sure?" Matthew asks as he changes his weapon as well. He takes up a double-bladed sword. It's comfortable with a hidden surprise not many know of unless they wield weapons all the time. "Sometimes a tournament is good for morale. It'll get our troops going to see who's the best. Then they'll try to become the best, which is what we need to protect our kingdoms."

The Jack of Diamonds stares at the other. With a small smile, he nods. "You're right. Maybe we should all do the same for our men back home." He spins the chained end in a circle, the ball end whirling around methodically. "It'll keep them on their toes."

Before Francis can initiate this battle, Vash sends off his chain. Matthew, ready for the attack, detaches his weapon so its own chain can wrap around the ball. He dodges, chains grabbing them tightly around Vash's weapon, then tugs the Swiss forward. Not expecting this, Vash stumbles and defends as Matthew strikes down with one of his blades. He curses as his weapon is useless until getting the balled end back. So he maneuvers around while dodging the best he can. He tries yanking his own chain back, seeing if Matthew will lose his grip on his weapons. Unfortunately, the Canadian keeps hold.

They play this tug of war until Matthew wins the first round. He then unwraps his chain around the ball so they can prepare for the next round. He smirks at Vash, who scowls back at him. Lilly watches in astonishment.

"I've never seen him lose a match before." Her eyes never waver from the two in front of her. "He was close with Antonio, but he won the first two rounds easily." She observes how her brother grins while attacking Matthew with his chained ball first as a distraction, then swooping in with the small scythe. "He's enjoying this."

"Isn't that great?" Francis smiles down at her. "If anything, it gives him an idea of how to train our troops more. Everyone can get stronger this way."

Lilly nods, smiling as she takes her hand from Francis's. She presses both of her hands together and rests them in front of her lips. She is absorbed into the fight. It is a fact that she dislikes fighting, but this is all in good fun. If it's for fun, and for strengthening people, then it's okay. There's no reason to hate these kinds of battles.

Vash wins the second round. The third round takes longer as the two have learned each other's antics. Remarkably, Matthew wins. He nods to Vash, who nods back. The Canadian stays on the field while Vash sits down and Lovino comes up.

"That was impressive," the Italian states. He decides to keep his twin daggers for this fight. "I've never seen a weapon like that. It's amazing you can handle it that well."

"This is one of my favorite kinds of weapons." The Ace of Clubs exchanges the double-bladed sword for some claws. He wraps them over his hand, fingers going through the holes. "There are different kinds all over the world, like this one." He brings up a clawed hand. "These are claws – several blades installed into a finger held base. Have you seen these before?"

Lovino shakes his head. "No, but it makes me want to trade in for longer knives."

Matthew chuckles. "You can if you'd like."

With a hum, the Ace of Spades analyzes his twin daggers. He tries guessing how well they will work against the longer blades representing claws. Nodding, he grips his blades and stances himself like before. "I'll keep the daggers."

"Very well. May the best man win." Matthew readies himself.

At the go, Matthew jets over to the Italian. He raises one hand and swings it down, catching one of Lovino's daggers. "How are you supposed to nail me with these without cutting me?"

"By using the dull side of the blade." Matthew pushes himself away to show Lovino something quick. "I put them on backward specifically so the sharp end doesn't land on you. I just need to make sure I don't attack like this." He swipes one clawed hand towards his back with the sharp end pointed at himself. "So be sure to dodge just in case I don't stop myself in time."

"Noted."

They continue the fight, evenly matched. Matthew is sluggish during this fight since he fought in seven rounds compared to Lovino's three. Some would say it's unfair but he knows it happens a lot in tournaments. That's why he didn't say anything. Lovino is tired as well but has more energy to move around. The Italian wins the first round, Matthew winning the second round by a hair. The two stall for the third round, panting as they stare at each other. With mirroring grins, they go all out until the first one loses.

When they each have only one hit left, Matthew feels himself waver. He doesn't necessarily want to win for the title. It's more to prove to himself that he can fight. Earning the silver medal is good enough, too. Lovino feels the same as he gasps for air. He's not used to rushing around like this. The two look as if they're ready to collapse. Matthew is just about to raise his hand and call uncle, but Lovino's groan stops him.

"I can't anymore. I'm done." He falls backward on the ground. "You win, Matthew."

Blinking, the Canadian takes a moment to register those words. He laughs, letting himself kneel on the ground before sitting down fully. "I was just about to do the same."

"Don't." Lovino sits up a little to grin at his companion. "You deserve it more than I do."

Matthew smiles as his brother piles on top of him. He quickly has all the weapons he conjured turn to dirt so no one gets hurt. Laughing, he leans back and lets Alfred rain all the praise on him. The whole group gathers on the yard, congratulating Matthew but also giving positive feedback for those who fought. No bitter feelings pass between anyone.

Francis smiles as he stays back and watches everyone chat away. Lilly has gone to her brother's side, checking him over before hugging him with pride. The Frenchman laughs lowly, gazing up at the darkening sky. After some well-needed rest, everyone can go home. He hopes he made a good enough memory for everyone with this tournament. It's a great ice breaker so everyone can be together without any awkwardness.

Arthur shouts for Francis and the King of Diamonds joins everyone. They plan for a big feast before they all head home. As they head on in, Tino proposes that for every seasonal gathering they hold the same tournament. It can be with the same six, it can be the Aces on their own, and others can join in. A unanimous agreement comes with a condition, that they have a large feast afterword to celebrate whoever is victorious. No one has any complaints – besides Lovino griping about fighting again. With that, the Ace's Tournament becomes a new tradition for the last day of the Five Kingdoms Seasonal Meeting.

Note: Second to last chapter for part 1! There were some people looking forward to scenes of specific characters reuniting and I've decided that, for filler, part 1.5 will include flashbacks as well as progressing scenes between other characters. I've only done the first chapter of part 1.5 but I have some plans. I don't know how long it will be but part 1.5 will be consisting two and a half to three years or more of the characters bonding. It'll be a fun little side thing so people can see how everyone grows to be closer before part 2 even begins. I could just go into part 2 with a near three year time skip, I've seen others do it, but for me, for fun, I'm creating part 1.5 so everyone can get fluff, laughs, maybe some tears? We'll get a little more background for each character during part 1.5, too. So I hope you guys will be eager for that.

This is not beta-ed so there might be mistakes.

Ciao: I hope you enjoyed the updated, dearies! Thanks for reading! R&R.