I do not own Hetalia. Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.


Chapter 3: Ring ring, ring ring…

Arthur finally arrived home pretty late that evening; the moon was high in the sky in all its glory. He unlocked his door and he opened it with a shove walking shoulder first. He carelessly threw his keys in a little bowl next to his front door then threw himself on the sofa. It was an exhausting, but fun, night. Closing his eyes he exhaled slowly, feeling fatigue take over his body. But then, suddenly, he remembered something,

'Damn! I forgot to ask the frog about going to the cinema on my next day off. Should I call him? Hmm… let's see…' He glanced at his wrist watch. 'It's not terribly late, and it would have taken a little while for him to get home. I suppose I will call him'. Turning over to lay on his front he stretched to reach his land line phone. 'Maybe I should invest on a mobile soon'. Arthur noted; he had never owned one before, he claimed they were a waste of time and money. He was quite stuck in his ways for someone so young. After pressed in the numbers carefully he held the handset up to his ear.

'Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring' Said the phone continuously for at least the next couple of minutes. Arthur's eyebrows furrowed.

"Come on you wine bastard! Pick up your bloody phone". He whispered to himself. Growing impatient he hung up after a few more seconds. Once a minute had passed he decided to ring Francis's mobile. The Brit typed in the number and held the phone close to his ear once more. But after just two rings an automated massage played,

'Bonjour! This is Francis, sorry but I'm on a hot date right now so I can't pick up my phone at the moment, so s'il vous plaît leave a message! Au revoir!'

Arthur, who thought there's not much point in leaving a message, hung up again. A worried scowl crept over his face. 'Just what's going on here? He didn't pick up his home phone and he didn't even answer his mobile… wait, that could be explained, he probably feels as tired as I am and gone to bed. Yes, that would explain things. I'll just call him in the morning'. With a self-assuring nod he stretched his arms over his head with a yawn and made his way to bed. Just as he started drifting off he had a strange feeling, he can't explain it. He just had the feeling that something was… out of place?


The British policeman crawled out of bed the next morning; he felt like lead. He hardly slept at all. It was due to that strange feeling he got the previous night and he still couldn't shake it. No matter how many times he told himself 'it's nothing' he still felt weird. It was still a little early to call Francis so before that he had breakfast, which consisted of nothing more than a bowl of cornflakes and three cups of tea, showered and changed himself into his uniform.

'Ok, he will be awake by now' Arthur thought as him dialled Francis's land line number.

'Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring, ring ring' He waited again for, what it seemed like, an eternity but then pressed end call. Getting desperate he tried his mobile. 'Ring ring… Bonjour! This is Francis, sorry but-'

Arthur stood in silence gripping the handset tightly, so much so that it nearly broke into tiny pieces. He released a shaky breath to try to steady him. 'Why isn't he picking up?! He must be out of bed by now, and there's no way in hell that he would've shone up for work early! That's it; I'll visit him after work'. Promptly after that he snatched his keys and ran out the door.

When he reached the office he felt even more drained than he did this morning. He spotted Alfred threw the window and tried his best to sneak his way into the station without being seen by him; it's not that he didn't like him, it's just that he didn't have enough stamina to deal with him today. He pushed open the door slowly so he didn't make any noise, then he walked past the front desk on tiptoes and controlled his breathing. 'Ah, the chiefs' office, I can hide out in there for the mean time. The chief will understand, he told me himself he sometimes gets irritated with him. Just a few more steps…'

"Yo! Arthur dude!"

'Shit! How did he know?!' Calming himself he turned to face the young American. "Oh hello Alfred, how are you?"

"I'm great thanks for asking! How are you? You look kinda out of it…"

"No, no. I'm fine. Just a little tiered."

"Ok then. How was your day off anyway?"

"It was alright I suppose…"

Alfred then cleared his throat and asked something he wasn't expecting "Did you see Francis last night?"

Arthur still blushed but he also wore a confused expression "W-Well yes in fact I did… why?" Alfred's whole demeanour changed in an instant, from carefree and relaxed to serious and nervous. His face became worried and sad as well; his eyes went to look at the floor.

"Alfred…?"

He spoke in a serious and considering way that Arthur had NEVER seen before "Arthur… I really don't know how to tell you this… b-but this morning… we received a call regarding a missing person… Francis… Bonnefoy…" Arthur heart stopped dead, his face turned grimly pale and he was struggling to breath.

"W-What?" He asked in a hushed tone. Alfred didn't answer; just stood there, refusing to meet Arthur's gaze. "That's…that's not possible! I only saw him that evening! How could something happen between then and now?! HOW?!" Tear's appeared at the corner of his eyes and he stumbled back into the wall.

"I'm so sorry Arthur…"

"I-It's not possible…" He furiously wiped his tears away with his sleeve making his face go a little red. "It's my entire fault… if I… if I went to see him… when he didn't p-pick up… I-I could h-have, I c-could have…"

"Arthur, it'll be ok, people are there at his house already investigating…" Alfred said in an attempt to comfort the older blond. He felt a bit unnerved to; seeing Arthur like this. He took a step toward him when Arthur suddenly looked up.

"I'm going to the crime scene" He announced speeding past Alfred.

"Wait; hold on a min- Oh damn it!" He chased after the British man. "Arthur! It's not your job to investi-"

"I don't give a damn Alfred! I'm going; I've got to see for myself!" He yelled before slamming the door behind him. However Alfred quickly caught up.

"Hey, I'll come with you! I'll drive us there, follow me!" He gestured over to the police cars. They both jumped in and raced off to Francis's home. Arthur's hand were clenched in fists the whole journey.


They got to the house, which was now surrounded by police cars. It reminded Arthur of back then when this very house was broken into. As soon as Alfred parked Arthur leapt out the door and shoved past all the other policemen; leaving the American to explain. He stopped his pace when he entered the hall way; this didn't look promising at all. Various paintings and mirrors littered the floor. Ever so slowly he stepped onward, heart thudding with each step. The living room was unrecognisable; the television was smashed and had fallen down, all chairs looked like they were thrown about like toys, the table had collapsed with a huge crack in it, smashed vases and glass left little space to move around, curtains had been pulled of their rails and, worst of all, blood was spattered in the corner. Shocked, Arthur stumbled back into the hallway; he didn't dare check the other rooms. He hit the wall and fell to the ground. He let the tears flow freely now. Out the corner of his eyes he saw something small and furry. The teddy bear he got Francis yesterday. He reached out and hugged it close. Alfred appeared and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Arthur…" He said softly. Arthur looked up with fire in his eyes,

"Alfred, I'm going to find this son of a bitch and. bring. Francis. BACK."


A/N

And so the search begins! Can Arthur do it?
Thanks so much for reading! Please leave a review if you like the story so far, but feel free to review if you have some creative criticism. Also if there's any mistakes and the like.

Translations:
Bonjour = Hello
S'il vous plaît = Please
Au revoir = Goodbye