Hello. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays, I know I enjoyed mine and did absolutely nothing useful.

After I wrote this passage I noticed that I'm usually so busy giving dialogue that I tend to not describe things very well. If anything is wrong or if my story sucks, please let me know! I won't improve without any criticism.

You may not have noticed, but none of this story is planned out. I'm making everything up as I go. If you want to make some kind of request or have me add something to the story, it would be very easy for me to do that.

Or not, I'm good either way. Enjoy the story or else!

When the rudimentary lunch was completed, and in record time, too, thanks to Germany's harsh commands to France and indirect commands to Italy, America was quick to declare, loud enough so that the Axis could hear, "All right! Who here knows what comes after the Battle of Britain?"

"Everyone except you knows, aru." China crossed his arms. "Besides, the war did not happen overnight! You make it seem like it lasted five minutes, aru!"

"Then I'll go to Texas and change it in the history books later!" America packed up the remains of the Allies' lunch. "Yo, Axis! Pack up your guys' food! I don't want birds or something coming here and pooping on us!"

France waved his hand dismissively. "That is ridiculous-"

"You heard him, France!" Germany ordered heatedly. "Clean this mess up well, and I won't make you run around the island three times!" Even though Japan was already cleaning and picking everything up, Germany stopped him so that France would have more work to do.

"Oh, this is so unfair!" France, already exhausted from the forced labor the tenacious German soldier had been giving him, did the work but protested anyway. "Besides, bird droppings are good luck!" He threw everything into one of the bags that originally held the kielbasa.

"Ha, you're just making stuff up." America took the scraps away from France. "Bird crap isn't lucky!"

"Niet, it is lucky, comrade." Russia came over, along with England and China, who both lagged behind. "It is very lucky if it hits you in your hair."

"Sì! Bird poop is lucky!" Italy shot up onto his feet. "I was once pooped on outside the Sistene Chapel, ve~!"

"By a bird, you mean?" England remarked snidely.

"What is wrong, England?" France mocked him with some playful gestures. "You sound so, as you say, stroppy."

But England kept his cool this time. "You know what you did, France! I say, you deserve to be pushed around by Germany. You are absolutely intolerable!"

France hung his shoulders. "Ah, mon cher, no one deserves this kind of treatment."

America jumped into the middle of the group. "Everyone, pay attention to me! Now that we're all together again, someone needs to tell me what comes next!" America pushed China in particular. "Come on, Asians know everything. Tell me what happened after the Battle of Britain!"

China only frowned in response, but Italy replied gleefully, "I invaded Greece, yay! Do I go invade Greece again?"

"And perhaps win, this time?" Germany grunted harshly, but Italy missed the insult. "Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia joined the Axis at this time, with Croatia and Iraq soon after."

"And I invaded Italy's colonies around this time." England felt the pangs of his hangover return and he grimaced. "Ugh, damn…"

Japan advised him, "England-kun, you should really drink some water."

"What?" England immediately straightened his frown and pretended to not be in offensive pain. "Why?"

"When you have a headache after you drink too much alcohol, it means that your brain is dehydrated-"

"W-What are you talking about? I didn't drink anything. I'm fine." England's unsympathetic tone discouraged Japan from saying anything else.

"Ugh, everything you guys say is so boring!" America groaned. "Did anything cool happen after England got owned by the Germans?"

"Hey!" England jolted in frenzy. "I won that battle! You don't know anything, yank!"

"Well, are we moving past 1940?" France stroked his chin, and hoisted the trash bag over his shoulder. "In 1941, Germany attacked North Africa with the Afrika Corps."

"Just keep moving, France." Germany rolled his eyes. "I also invaded Yugoslavia and Greece to back up a certain failing Italian army."

"And I signed another non-aggression pact with Russia-kun." Japan recommended. "Although, it did not do much…"

"That's all so lame!" America shook his head disapprovingly. "What else?"

"How can you call historical events lame?" England sneered. "I suppose I attacked Iraq later, and I invaded the French colonies. Is that important enough for you?"

Italy waved his white flag around. "I surrendered in Africa, ve~!"

Germany narrowed his eyes. "Ja. Well done, Italy. And, I invaded Russian land after that."

"Oh! Wait! Everyone else, shut up! That one sounds interesting!" America thrust his hands out. "Yeah, we're doing that! We're going to reenact the Battle of Russia!"

England scoffed, "No one calls it that, America. The Battle of Russia is the name of one of your propaganda movies. The rest of us call it Operation Barbarossa."

"What the hell kind of name is that? Russians have the gayest names!"

"My names are happy? How nice." Russian smiled, and took one of the paintball guns lying around. "But Barbarossa is not Russian."

Italy threw an arm around Germany. "Sì~! It is German!"

"D-Do not do that." Germany removed the arm. "Unternehmen Barbarossa is named for an old leader of mine."

America whistled rudely. "You guys talk too much! That's why you Europeans never get anything done!" He shoved England to the side. "You guys, get back over there to the side and hide in the dirt! You too, China! Ha, did you do anything in this war? You're useless! And Russia-"

"Sǐ pì yǎn!" China shouted. "I was constantly at war! You just don't seem to care about it, aru!" China grabbed one of the guns.

"Yeah, you keep thinking that." America dismissed China, completely forgetting about him.

"I stand here, da?" Russia went back to the Allies' side of the clearing but remained in the open, his gun hanging idle in one hand.

"And we will be watching." France took Italy and Japan back with him, and left the trash bag next to a tree. "This will be fun. Don't you agree, fellow Axis powers?"

Japan, who grabbed another paintball gun to bring back with them, nodded sheepishly.

Italy, however, bobbed ecstatically. "Ve~!"

Germany unenthusiastically armed himself with the remaining paintball gun, which Italy had left earlier at their side of the clearing.

Most of the countries were now squatting and waiting for the involuntary battle to commence. The distance between Russia and Germany was only fifty feet or so, but it still felt like an insuperable expanse of dirt.

Germany did not really know why he had attacked the Soviet Union back then. From a militaristic perspective, it was a complete mistake. If anything was to be learned from World War One, Russia should not be underestimated, but that was exactly what Germany's leaders had done. They had expected that the Russians would crumble beneath the technological and philosophical might of the Germans.

Plus, Germany was interested in Russia's oil for use in the war against the Western nations. It seemed like everything in the world had to be harvested and used in the war.

But ultimately, there was the politics involved. Communists had been the rivals to the Nazis during the Nazi takeover, and Germany's crazy boss would not be satisfied until the Russians were destroyed or at work for the Germans. The treaty they had formed in 1939 was never meant to last.

Germany swore under his breath. He wanted so much to blame everything on his leaders. Yes, it was all the fault of his leaders, the Nazi party. But they were Germans, too. And what ever happened to Germany's better leaders, or to Japan's better leaders, or to Italy's better leaders?

The President of Germany, who shared power with Germany's insane boss, died in 1934. The King of Italy and the Emperor of Japan were figureheads, subject to the whims of nothing short of military dictators.

Whatever way he thought about it, Germany always decided in the end that the guilt did not lie solely in his leaders.

"You invade Soviet Russia now, da?" Darkness emanated from Russia's simple smile.

"I-I would rather not." Germany presented himself well, with raised chin and chest, but his faltering voice contradicted him. Why did all of these reenactments have to include Germany? He was certainly not involved in every major event surrounding the war, was he?

Or was it because his failures were more entertaining than everyone else's?

"As you said before, we both knew this was coming." Russia held his gun with both hands, his deceptive grin growing wider.

To Russians, the German invasion of the Soviet Union is a source of pride, as is the knowledge that the Russians sacrificed so much so that the Allies could win the war. After all, the American and British late invasion of Germany was nothing compared to the great contribution of Russia! The Western countries had only attacked at the end and took advantage of the Soviet Union's hard endurance.

It had been the largest military operation in human history, in both manpower and casualties.

The Allied victory belonged to Russia!

But the Axis defeat belonged to Germany. The conditions that each side endured in the invasion were atrocious for both Ally and Axis, but that didn't change the fact that Germany had invaded, and Germany had lost.

Did those two mistakes balance each other out?

"…I, I only do this so that we can get off of this island." Germany spoke in a hushed voice. "Do not take it personally, please."

Russia opened a large, magically-full bottle of vodka. "No hard feelings, comrade."

"Gut…" Germany did his best to ignore his thoughts and approached slowly. "Do you want to surrender or-?"

"Niet! Soviet Union would rather die than surrender to the Fascist invaders." Russia dropped his paintball gun whipped out the box of matches he had taken from the Allied camp earlier, and lit a match. The dancing flame was reflected in his dark eyes. "Krov' za krov'! Smert' za smert'!"

Germany stopped. "W-Was?"

"Death to the Fascist invaders, da?" Russia poured out the remaining contents of the bottle of vodka in a wide circle around him. The Allies could smell the singular odor of diluted jellied gasoline.

England whispered, "Is he…?"

"Russia, no!" China cried out.

Quickly realizing the situation, Germany threw away his paintball gun, jumped into action, and rushed to save Russia, but he was too far away. "Stop!"

"Kol kol kol kol…" Russia dropped the match, and the earth went up in flames in a great fireball, followed by a raging fire. Smoke quickly grew from the fire and Russia was lost in the hot, dense air.

"S-Shén j-jīng bìng, aru!" China shouted furiously and jumped to the field, leaving his gun behind.

"Fuck yeah!" America cheered. "Go commies! Scorched earth policy for the win!"

"America only knows the stupidest things…" England groaned out of irritation. Russia was reenacting his battle so much better than England had reenacted the Blitz! "Bloody braggart Russia, go ahead and burn…"

Of the watching Axis powers, Japan was the one to throw his gun to the ground and thrust himself forward to help, while Italy and France were paralyzed with fear and panic, respectively.

With Japan hastening behind him, Germany shielded his face and entered the fire to evacuate the nation inside. Germany's suit was still covered in paint front the Blitz before, so he ignored the thought that it would make him more flammable and reminded himself that this was, after all, his fault.

Even though Germany and Russia had a troubled history, their modern relations have improved somewhat. Germany has come to depend on energy from Russia, while Russia has come to depend on heavy German investment to develop energy infrastructure, as part of a strategic partnership.

But Germany was not thinking about that right now.

He boldly jumped over the lit circle of vodka to find that China had beaten him there.

Russia, eyes closed, seemed to be sleeping on China's back, but China could hardly support the weight of the large country. "I cannot hold all of him! Grab his feet, aru!"

Germany complied and held the lower half of Russia in the air while China supported the upper half. Keeping him away from the fire, they carried him out of the ring of flames. The Allies' side of the field had too much smoke now, so they carried him to the Axis side and set him down.

Japan ripped off the part of Russia's overcoat that was on fire, and he stamped out the small traces of fire in Russia's hair.

"Saved~!" Italy hopped gleefully, waving a white flag around. France was still rendered motionless by panic.

"Nein, he's unconscious!" Germany took off his own jacket, expecting it to be on fire, which it was. He threw it to the ground and beat it out with his boots.

"H-He, he will b-be fine, n-non?" France came closer now, but only to shudder and stare.

China bent down and checked. "He's breathing, but not very much, aru…"

Thanks to the fire, England and America were forced to relocate backwards. They did not care initially, but as the flames and the smoke continued to grow, England decided that he needed to worry about it after all. "America, we need to put the fire out."

"Why?" America laughed. "We're having so much fun!"

"Wanker!" England slapped America in the back of his head, which didn't have much of an effect. "Besides, if the island goes up in smoke, then we can't reenact any more of your battles." He coughed on the smoke. "Bugger…"

"Oh, yeah, you're right." As if they had all the time in the world, America calmly mulled it over, which made England almost pull his hair out. "Well, I guess we have fire extinguishers back at the camps."

"Bloody hell!" England pulled his Ally up. "Come on, we have to go get them!"

"We must, also." Japan turned to his fellow Axis. "Can someone please come with me back to our camp?"

China offered, "Abso-"

"France!" Germany ordered. "Go with Japan!"

France sulked, but he still ran with Japan to retrieve the fire extinguisher.

"Bye!" Italy waved, not understanding why they were leaving but sending them his regards nonetheless. "Germany, something is burning! And it was not me this time! Can we eat pasta~?"

"Not now." Wary of the suffocating fire, Germany grabbed Russia's feet again. "We need to move him further away from the smoke."

China propped Russia's arms around his neck for better support, but that did not alleviate China's uncomfortable feelings about having the dreaded stalker nation this close. "S-Stupid Russia…"

While Germany and China marched Russia away, Italy skipped beside them, particularly beside Germany. "I don't remember this happening during the war~! Do you, Germany? Do you? Do you? Do you? All I remember is the shortage of pasta! I almost starved, ve~!"

Germany muttered, "You should have made a victory garden and grown food, like the rest of us."

"You can't grow pasta in a garden! Silly Germany~!" Italy pat his friend on the shoulder.

It made Germany flinch, but he did not want to drop Russia, so he just said, "Stop that. And the victory garden is for vegetables, not pasta."

"But vegetables go with pasta!"

"There will be no pasta today, Italy!"

Italy lowered his head. "Pizza~?"

"No pizza."

China tilted his head and looked back at them curiously, and wondered if all Western nations suffered from a common but undiagnosed nervous system disorder.

China considered mental illness a social stigma, and liked to refer to it as a nervous system disorder.

Russia's eyes popped open. "Hello."

Germany was caught off guard and dropped Russia's feet, which landed flat on the ground.

Italy forgot about his insatiable hunger and beamed. "Ve~! Russia is awake!"

"G-Good." China ceased walking and waited for Russia to remove his arms from China's neck.

Russia did no such thing. His happy, light smile confused Germany and delighted Italy, but China could not see it. "Da. I enjoy this war game."

"H-How!" Germany was struck. "You almost killed yourself with a Molotov cocktail!"

"It is not real. Is war game, da?" Russia answered simply.

Unbelievable, Germany thought as he face-palmed.

China was still trapped in Russia's arms. "Please let go of me, aru." China tried to push him away with both hands, but that did nothing.

Russia turned back to China and responded. "You save me from fire, comrade?"

Why was Russia still holding on? China resisted shivering at Russia's prolonged closeness. "What? Of, of, yes, but-"

"How nice." Russia smiled politely.

"W-Why would you do something so foolish? I expect that b-behavior from America, but not from Eastern countries, aru. Uh, please r-release me now."

Russia's eyes shined and he hugged China's neck tighter. "Why did you save Russia?"

"Uh, I, uh… uh, because we are A-Allies." China stuttered. "P-Please let g-go of me. You are making me l-lose my face, aru."

In China, face refers to one's reputation or prestige. To keep face, one must behave in a manner that is socially acceptable, and face is lost by making mistakes in public. Face for the Chinese is a crucial factor of day-to-day life.

Either Russia did not know about this or he pretended to not know about it. "You are losing your face?"

China was relieved; he thought that Russia understood the problem. "Yes, please let me save my face, aru."

Russia moved his hands up from China's neck, and they pinched China's cheeks. "But your face is right here, comrade."

China shivered at the sudden touch of Russian on his skin. "Aru!"

Russia gave a big smile. "Would my face help keep your face here?"

"What are you… a-a-aru …? B-B-Bái mù!" China blushed and struggled fiercely now, desperately pulling at Russia's arms. "Let go of me this instant, aru!"

Russia lowered his arms to wrap them around China's chest and shoulders, preventing China from flailing about. "Become one with Russia, da?"

China screamed. "N-No, aru! A-A-Axis powers, h-help!"

"Aww, carino!" Italy replied, as if China was a baby.

Germany, however, steadied himself, stepped forward, and removed China from Russia's grasp. "Not now, Russia."

"Agreed, comrade. The fire remains to be put out." Russia did not darken at all. "Later, then, da?"

"N-N-No, aru!" China hid behind Germany.

"Da, later." Russia left them to return to the fire, where America had already returned armed with two fire extinguishers. The strong country was boasting that he had beaten England to them. Naturally, the idea had been that England bring one as well, but America was too much of a hero to let England do anything useful.

"T-Thank you, Germany…" China took a shaky breath. "How can I repay you for helping me?"

"Hm?" Germany was not used to hearing that. After all, Italy never said that, and Japan never asked for help. And Prussia would not say that even if Germany had just pushed him out of the way of a speeding truck. "That really is not necessary."

"No, I must repay you." China searched his jacket for something, and pulled out a wooden box. "T-This thing… It's a music box. You can have it, aru."

Italy looked at the box.

Germany did not. "No, I have no need for gifts."

"Please, accept it. Russia gave it to me, but I, aru, I think holding on to it would give him the wrong idea." China shoved the box into Germany's hands.

"J-Ja." Germany glanced down at it. The box looked kind of familiar, but he had never seen it before.

China nodded, and left to help Japan, who had beaten France back to the field.

Italy peered over Germany's shoulder. "…Do, do you like it, ve~?"

"It's fine, I suppose." Not particularly interested in the box, Germany decided to put it away. But his paint-soaked jacket lay ruined near the fire. "Italy, carry this for me."

"Um, don't you want to listen to it?"

"Hm." Germany noticed that there was something unusual and anxious in the Italian's tone. Surprised by Italy's secret penchant for music boxes, Germany opened the box.

A slow, passionate Spanish song played for about a minute, filling the air with sweetness.

"… It's nice." Germany remarked casually. "But that's enough. We should return to the others."

Italy's hopeful spirits dropped faster than his boss's approval rating during World War Two. His newly-timid gaze fell to his feet. "You didn't like it."

"It does not matter. I am sure that China meant well." Germany answered honestly, but now he was confused. Why was Italy so upset? He did not like to see Italy sad. And he had absolutely no idea what to do about it. "What are you doing! Stop sulking like that!"

Italy only sulked more, as if to prove a point.

Germany sighed. "T-The box bores me, ja, but you seem to enjoy it. Here, you can have it." He offered the box to Italy.

Italy refused the gift and continued to sulk.

Germany groaned and rubbed his head. "… What is it, Italy?"

Italy sniffled. "Germany hates me!"

"Schwachsinnige! Again with this?" Germany shook his head. "Italy, I do not hate you. Calm down."

And yet, Italy burst out crying. "Germany hates the present that I spent days making!"

The German stilled. "W-Was?"

"Ve, big brother Spain and I worked so hard on it, too!" Italy ran away crying, rubbing his eyes with his balled-up fists.

What?

Oh, no.

Germany hated himself so much.

"Alo, news! I have great friends!" France stumbled back into the clearing just as America, Japan, Russia and China finished dousing the fire.

When Japan found his sake supply partially drained in his tent, he had figured out what England had done last night. "Et, eto, did you drink my sake, too, France-kun?"

"Non! I found a grand supply of beer in Germany's tent!" France presented a keg of pale beer almost as big as he was. It was too big for him to carry by hand so he brought it on a red cart. On the bottom of the cart were a few empty mugs.

England finally returned from the Allies' camp, but the sight of the keg made him turn back. "Ugh, please God, no more alcohol…"

"Do not say such blasphemous things, mon cher!" France burped. "Excusez-moi."

America dropped his used fire extinguisher to the ground and abandoned it there. "Hey, why is there beer? You can't have that! This is World War Two!"

England snorted. "Beer existed during the war, America."

"Oh, really? In that case, give me some of that!" America grabbed one of the plastic mugs and poured some beer into it. He downed all of it with one swig.

"Be careful with that, love." France shook his own mug. "Of course, Frenchmen never get drunk, but you should watch how much you drink."

"Yeah, right." England grabbed all of the paintball guns that had been discarded. "You should watch yourself, France."

"That's a terrible thing to say, love!"

"What? That you should watch yourself?"

"Oh. I thought you said something else." France grinned suggestively.

England's eyes opened wider. "You pissed son of a-!"

Italy ran into the clearing, crying like crazy and hugging the first person he encountered, who happened to be France. "Wah! Big brother France! Germany hates me!" He sobbed loudly.

America chuckled at this, so England smacked him on the head. "Quiet!"

China briefly wondered whether this could be his fault or not, but Russia's tall, dark presence distracted him. "Stop coming near me, aru…"

Russia would only smile, so China had to keep moving to a new location.

"What's wrong, Italia?" France smirked. "Tell your big brother all about it."

"Italy!" Germany shouted and hurried to catch up with the small nation, who could reach impressive speeds when retreating. The wooden box was in his right hand, bouncing alongside his hip as he sprinted. "Italy, come back here!"

France laughed. The blond, buff nation looked so flustered, and his face was so red!

"Wah!" Italy left France and moved on to grab and shake Japan. "Japan! Germany hates me!"

Japan endured Italy's throttling with a stoic façade. "Eto, Italy-kun, I do not think-"

"Italy, stop running!" Germany stopped when he got to France and palmed his face again. "This is ridiculous…"

"You seem distressed, Germany." France happily poured a pint of beer for him. "Here, on me!"

Germany removed his palm and glared at the drink. "This is my beer, France."

"Non, you are socialist Germany now! So what's mine is yours, and what's yours is mine." France drank some more of his own mug of beer, while still holding one out for Germany.

"N-Nein. I was not really socialist. It was just in the name…" Germany pushed the mug aside. "…I do not hate you, Italy! Come back here."

Italy still clutched Japan, so Japan decided to walk Italy back to Germany.

This was fine, except that now Germany and Italy were closely surrounded by America, England, France, and Japan. And America was having the time of his life. Even China and Russia came over to see what was going on.

Germany knew what they were all thinking. England had accused Germany of it just last night, although England didn't remember. But Germany and Italy were just friends, and that was all they would ever be. That's just how it is.

Besides, Germany liked Italy too much to let him fall for such a hateful man as Germany.

The fact that Germany was a man just made it even more confusing!

But he could not stand to see Italy cry, and for that Germany gathered up his horribly battered pride, looked away, and said, "Italy, I liked your gift, really."

Italy's sour disposition lifted instantaneously. "Really?" Italy bobbed up and down, with his distracting strand of hair. "Ve~! Say it again!"

Germany let out the breath of air he wasn't aware that he had been holding in. Damn it, why were all of the other nations watching them like this? America even blew up with laughter, but this time China smacked him. "Shut up, aru!"

"Danke…" Germany managed to keep his head held high, but there was nothing he could do about his blush. "Italy, I like the box."

Italy did not notice the stares of the other people. "What do you like best about it?"

Was he serious? This was torture to the German! And America's damn expression wasn't helping at all! Pushing the sudden thoughts of a dusty old tomato ring, the third speed dial on his Handy, and the image of Italy in a dress all under a mental rug, Germany's face finally melted in embarrassment and his chin dipped down. "I… I… I… I like that… it's small, but loud and cheerful… because… it reminds me of you."

And that was it. The other nations would all scorn and mock him for the rest of eternity. Germany involuntarily closed his eyes, not wanting to see their laughing faces, but expecting to hear their derisive ridicule anyway.

Yet that didn't happen. Instead, Italy shouted the loudest "Ve~!" of the day and hugged the stiff German. When Germany finally found the strength to open his eyes, the looks of the other countries surprised him.

They were jealous, and they did a terrible job hiding it.

America still laughed, though, but it was uncomfortable. "Heh, okay… If that hilarious gayness is over, then it's time to reenact the best part of the war!"

With a dreamy look in his eyes, France suggested, "The part when you join, America?"

"You got that right!" America thrust out his thumb. "I'm the hero, and it's time for me to kick Axis ass!"

England found the keg of beer to be substantially more attractive than it had been before. "But what about my war declaration on Finland?"

"Hah, that's a good one England. All right, give me one of those guns!" America snatched a paintball gun from England's arms. "Okay, who do I fight?"

"What!" England shrieked. "You don't know how you got into World War Two? Wanker! I didn't raise you to be this retarded!" England grabbed Germany's rejected mug of beer and stormed away, but not before giving one of the remaining guns to Japan.

Japan quietly accepted it. "Arigato."

America watched Japan, waiting for him to give the gun to another country. "So, Japan? Who do I fight?"

Japan struggled to keep himself stoic. "America-kun… Don't you remember?"

"What are ya talking about?"

"Forgive me, but you do not remember the islands that you took in the Pacific, or the oil embargo you placed on me in August of 1941, America-kun?" Japan held the gun gingerly. "And most of my oil came from your land-"

"Yeah? Get to the point, Japan! Who do I fight?"

Japan stuttered while his fingers played around with his gun. "Eto, eto… I, eto…"

Italy spoke out even though he was still hugging Germany. "Ve~! Are we playing the part where Japan attacks America at Pearl Harbor?"

"Huh?" America blanked.

Japan glanced unpleasantly at his fellow Axis powers.

Germany put a hand on Italy's head and turned the silly nation away from Japan. "I am sorry."

Japan nodded a little, forgiving his friends. How could he be resentful of either the happy pasta lover or of the insanely blushing soldier fallen madly in love?

By the way, whenever the subject came up, Japan agreed with the Allied powers that Germany and Italy were a couple, or that they should be one. To the Allies, this was more of something to ridicule Germany for, but to Japan, it concerned the well-being of his Western friends.

After nearly a century of idleness on the matter, Japan was convinced that Germany would never get anywhere without some help.

America rudely burst out laughing. "No way! I'm fighting you, Japan?"

"H-Hai."

"Ha! Ar-ef-oh-els! Do you even know how to use a gun?" America demonstrated with his paintball rifle. "Here, it goes like this-"

"Yes, I know how to operate weapons, America-kun." Japan was kind of surprised by America's reaction. Did all of the Western nations see Japan this way?

"Well, okay, ha ha!" America marched away to his side of the field. "Whenever you're ready!"

Japan sighed and prepared himself for the battle.

"Relax." France gave him a pat on the back, which sent a jolt up Japan's spine. "Like I said before, it's a game, non?"

Still trapped in a cage of Italy's arms, Germany managed to put the music box on the ground. "Just do not try and kill yourself, Japan." Germany sat down by the box, a meter away from the beer cart, and thus Italy sat down with him. "…W-Why are you still doing that, Italy?"

Italy tilted his head, bewildered by the question. "Hugs are nice and warm, ve~!" Italy finally released his friend from the embrace, so that he could stretch his arms. "Ve~! I'm sleepy…"

Germany tightened. Italy was too cute for him to handle. "J-Ja, g-go to sleep then. There is no reason for you to pay attention to America."

"Bene~!" Italy sat his head down on Germany's lap. "Buonanotte~!"

An explosive shudder struck the large nation. "N-N-Nein, g-get off!" Mortified, Germany picked up Italy's head and moved it to the grass. "Th-That is not allowed!"

"Sì..." Italy answered sleepily, but he still snuggled up by Germany's leg to take a midday siesta.

That was preferable, since Italy wasn't near any inappropriate areas now. But Germany was effectively stuck there, sitting by his warm sleeping friend. Well, Germany could leave, but at the same time he could not. It's complicated that way, right?

No, it was actually blindingly simple. Italy's head against his side gave Germany not only a warm, disorienting stir somewhere in his chest, but also a feeling of peace that he had not felt since he had arrived on the island. It was strange, yet there was nothing inherently wrong with it, so Germany only tensed a bit and tried not to draw too much attention from the others.

France smirked and poured a new mug of beer for Germany. "Here, I have a feeling that you'll need this."

Germany reluctantly accepted the drink but his wary, narrowed gaze reminded France that they were still on dangerous terms.

"Yo, people! Look, we're going to start!" America called, but no one cared. Japan did not waiting mind at all.

To America's further dismay, Russia approached the Axis powers. "Comrade Germany, is that the music box that Italy gave me?"

Russia was not thinking about the reenactment anymore, but Germany was and he hoped that Russia would not light another bottle of vodka and probably napalm on fire. "Ja…?" Germany scratched his neck. "China gave it to me…"

China had the courage to come closer and speak up. "Y-Yeah, Russia, I did not want you getting the wrong-"

Russia's face turned dark, and France ducked to hide himself behind the keg of beer.

China shuddered and felt his back grow sweaty, so he changed his strategy. "U-Um, I, uh, I a-already made s-seven more like it last night. I-I do not need it anymore, aru."

"Da? How nice. Chto russkomoo zdorovo, to nemtsoo, klassnaya pornuha." Russia smiled. "As America says, one man's trash is another man's treasure."

China scrunched up his face. Russia's literal proverb meant something a little different than its English translation, and it made him nervous.

Luckily, Germany did not know enough Russian to translate it, and even if Italy did, he was asleep.

"Enjoy the box as I have, comrade." Russia left them with the most innocent smirk on his face.

Shuddering, China decided that he needed to stay as far away from the former Soviet as possible, so China took a mug and stayed by the beer cart. "I-I'm going to be an Axis power for this round, aru."

"Très bien, China." France poured some beer for him. "You drink booze, non?"

"O-Of course! My land has had beer for nine thousand years, aru! Give me that." China took a sip of it and sat in between the Frenchman leaning the cart and the Italian leaning on the German.

"What did Russia just say, China?" Germany asked dismally.

China crossed his legs beneath him. "Aru?"

"Hey, guys! We're waiting for you! Pay attention!" America shouted at them but was ignored again.

Germany read China's face and knew that something was off. "What did he just say in Russian?"

"Oh, eh…" China moved his hair behind his ear. "It w-was a version of an old proverb, aru."

"What was it?" France reappeared and replaced his elbow on the cart.

"Well, the old version was, What is good for a Russian, is death for a German."

"Vunderbar…" Germany slapped himself on the face again. Hm, Death for a German, that sounds right.

"Ha, that is clever." France refilled his mug of beer. "What is the new version?"

China blushed. "Oh, well, I would rather not say."

"Come on, you can tell us!" France prodded. "We may not have all been friends during the war, but this is modern times! So, tell us what Russia said!"

China did not entirely agree but, who knows, maybe this proverb was not so bad in the West? "Uh, v-very well." China cleared his throat. "He said, What is good for a Russian, is a cool porn movie for a German."

Germany twitched, and his eyes opened wider.

France laughed. "So true, non?"

"That is not true at all!" Germany roared, more angry than embarrassed. "Why must he say such things about me!"

A paintball came soaring by them, hitting the beer keg, painting it yellow, and knocking it off of the cart. "Hey, guys!" America finally had their attention. "Dudes, we're starting! You have to watch us!"

France put the keg back and watched them. China was more than happy for a distraction. Germany shook and fumed in silence, while Italy dreamed about pasta and tomato sauce, with wurst on the side.

Behind America, England and Russia were already quiet. England was trying to get himself drunk again, while Russia contented himself with staring at his fellow Eastern Ally across the field.

America puffed out his chest and brought his hands to his hips. "Okay! So, this is when my fleet gets attacked totally by surprise-"

Japan shook a little. "B-But I warned you about the Hawaii Operation, America-kun!"

"Totally by surprise!" America boasted. "And despite the huge setback, I still become the hero of the world!" He raised his gun in the air. "All right, Battle of the United States of America, 1941!"

"Eto, America…"

"You pillock!" England shouted. "The battle wasn't even in the states!"

"Stupid England!" America chuckled. "It was at Hawaii, totally a state!"

"Wanker! Hawaii wasn't a state until 1959! Until then, it was a bloody territory!"

"I think the heat is getting to your head or something, England. I mean, it's not really hot out, but it must be a desert here compared to your awful weather!" America set his gun in his hands. "Japan, start the battle!"

Japan nodded calmly, but his knees were so weak that he could hardly stand. He truly did not want to attack America. The essential reason that he had attacked America in the first place was that American and Japanese had been competing for imperialism in the Pacific Ocean. America had taken so many islands in the Pacific Ocean, and Japan was just trying to get them back.

But personally, Japan considered it a matter of honor as much as he considered it a struggle for resources. He had fought to protect his land and his name, and if that required a kamikaze dive, so be it. Failure to win a battle was disgraceful, but to be captured as a prisoner of war was the worst possible outcome.

Actually, Japan had been lied to for most of the war. He had thought that all of the battles between his fleet and the American fleet were decisive Japanese victories. That was, until 1944, when the invasions came to the home islands and the truth became clear.

As men of honor, the suddenly inevitable occupation of Japan by the Americans made several Japanese choose between honor and life, and some chose honor. Of course Japan would do no such thing. He had a family of seventy million to care for. Even when the Americans took over the show and executed his Prime Minister, Japan resisted the temptation of honor.

If the Americans had touched the Emperor of Japan, then that would have been a different story.

"Yo, Japan! You're taking too long."

Japan pointed his weapon at America. "H-Hai." He held it there, trying to pull the trigger.

But then he just ended up thinking about America's rejected phone calls from before. Japan may be a bit of a loner, but America was naturally a social person, and didn't he need some friends?

"What's your problem! Shoot, already!"

Japan lowered his paintball gun. "…That would be difficult…"

When Japanese people say something like, That would be difficult, they really mean something like, No way in hell.

But Americans aren't aware of this. "What? It would be easy! Do you need help pulling your trigger? I thought I showed you how to operate a gun!"

Japan nervously reminded himself of the culture difference, and that he had no choice but to be direct. "G-Gomen nasai. I am sorry, but I cannot do this, America-kun."

America raised a brow. "Why not? Is your finger broken?"

France laughed out loud, but no one else did.

Japan bent down and laid the gun on the partially burned ground. "I do not want to shoot, America-kun."

America scratched his head, confused. "Oh, you don't like paintball? Uh, I guess we could do something else… Oh, I know what you like!" America dropped the gun, opened his bomber jacket, and took out the portable Japanese racing game he had used earlier. "England and I played this on the plane, but he sucked at it! Do you want to play this?"

"Brilliant. What else do you have in that jacket, America?" England sneered, not really drunk yet but getting close. "Maybe that's where you keep your brain…"

China stated simply, "Wow, I did not know Japan was such a pacifist, aru."

"Verdammt!" Germany was very upset. "I did not know that was an option! There was no such thing as a video game during the war!"

Japan agreed that this was unfair but he answered America's question with a nod. "Hai. Thank you, America-kun."

Germany growled, and yet Italy continued to "ve~" in his sleep. England was also peeved, and he looked down resentfully at his paint-stained uniform.

"Awesome! Here, you take this one." America came over to the Axis side and gave a red hand-held device to Japan. "And I'll use this." America popped opened the blue one.

Japan's calm face weakened. "There is not very much energy left in these…"

"Don't worry, I have spare ones if we need them!" America showed Japan another green hand-held to prove his point. "There's lots where those came from!"

"Eto, why not just have spare batteries, not spare devices?"

America looked curiously at Japan, then laughed and shook his head. "Seriously, Japan, you're as silly as England sometimes. Okay! You started the war, so you have to start the match!"

Japan sighed and loaded up a round for them to play.

"Oh, they play the electronic game." Russia smiled to England. "Reminds me of when I made Tetris and then lost it to you, the Americans, the Japanese, the Dutch, and my government."

"Whatever." England only drank his beer, but Russia grabbed him and took the Brit with him to watch America and Japan play.

France smirked to Germany and China. "Well, I am not into these sorts of Japanese games, but you two should watch, too. It seems fun."

China shrugged. "Sounds good, aru. But, that game was probably made in my home." China got up and left his beer on the ground.

Germany, though, was kept to the ground by his Italian friend. "I… refuse."

"Ha, fair enough, mon cher." France took Germany's mug and poured him some more.

China, as well as Russia and England, gathered around America and Japan to watch the game.

"Hey, wait, get off of that character! Get off~!" America whimpered like a kid. "I want to be the red guy!"

"Red guy?" Japan asked, bewildered. America was indeed obsessed with video games and anime, like Japan. But unlike Japan, America did not obsess to the point where he learned the name of every weapon, the layout of every map, or the voice actors of every cartoon. "…Hai."

"Awesome! Which map do you want to play, the one that looks like an infinity sign with a plus sign on the right or the one that looks like a backslash, two hyphens, and the letter zee?"

"Zee?" England scoffed. "There is no such thing as a zee. It's pronounced zed, not zee!"

Japan faltered. "Eto, America-kun, the names are right there on the screen…" Japan murmured quietly. "Et, eto, the first one seems fine."

America grinned. "Cool. Now, time to face the wrath of my fiftieth state!"

"Bugger!" England's dignity eroded with a drunken, burning rage. "You never listen to me, America!"

"Hey, shut up, England! It's hard to ignore you when you're yelling so loud." America bent his knees in anticipation. "You did attack me by surprise, so you can have a head start, Japan."

"H-H-Hai…"

Meanwhile, France spoke softly and not-so-furtively, "So, Germany, what kind of porn do you-?"

"H-Halt den Mund!" Germany snapped one arm back around France's neck and pulled him down, choking him from an unusual angle. "Do you need something to do, France!"

"Non! Non, s'il vous plaît!" France struggled fiercely and nearly cried. "No more work or exercise, I beg of you! Do not be so cruel to a poor inebriated Frenchman!"

"Then behave yourself." Germany let him go.

"Ah, grâce-"

Germany looked at Italy, sleeping in a copy of Germany's outfit, and remembered the dress that was still in his tent. "And, France…"

France took a step back. "…Qu'est-ce?"

Germany looked away. "Why, why did you make that dress?"

France paused. "Eh?"

"Ha ha!" America squatted several times to express his amusement while his thumbs wildly attacked the buttons on his game. "I'm beating you already, Jap, and it's still the first lap! Dude, it's almost like you're letting me win! You must suck at this."

Japan did not show any emotions, and expressed his sentiments only with a short nod.

"Which one is Japan?" China looked over Japan's shoulder. "The green dinosaur or the small red man?"

Japan inwardly soured. He wished they would refer to the characters he had worked so hard on by name, and not vague descriptions! "T-The dinosaur."

The game itself was not very interesting to the other countries. Japan was driving his kart expertly, executing all of the sharp turns with careful timing. America's character, however, seemed to be drunk and would swerve around, his top priority being the attack power-ups and not the actual end of the course.

But Japan was making deliberate mistakes, and the so-called green dinosaur fell behind.

"Oh, that is all?" France wasn't sure what to say to Germany. If he said the wrong thing, he might be given another involuntary workout, but if he said nothing, he might be given another involuntary workout! "I, eh, I wanted to help. How could I be so inhuman as to ignore the suffering of a poor-?"

"Never do it again!"

France shuddered. "Y-Yes…" He was lying, but he was too scared to say anything else.

"But… I realize that…" Germany reddened and lowered his head. "You were trying to… do something nice, even if it was completely inappropriate, and utterly awful, and entirely wrong!"

France sighed and whispered, "Your face betrays you, but I will play along."

"Was?" Germany turned sharply on France.

"R-Rien, nothing!" France waved his hands around.

Germany grunted. "Sick Frenchman… Here, just, take this, and leave me alone." Hiding his face as best as he could, Germany hastily took the wooden box he had left on the ground and gave it to France.

"Oh, this is the music box that Italy was crying about?" France accepted the gift sloppily but circumspectly examined its every detail. "It is really quite nice."

"Ja, Italy made it… I cannot keep the thing, it is too… juvenile… ja, it is too juvenile for me." Germany's blue eyes were drawn to the Italian. "Think of it as a sign of, erm, appreciation, I guess, and a request that you never, ever, help me again! And tell no one of this!"

"Well, I will take it." France put the music box under his capelet. "You have a terrible way of giving thanks."

Germany glared at France in an attempt to intimidate him, but it only showed France the strong man's pink embarrassment. "I have had enough of you! Go back to the Allies!"

"You cannot get rid of me that easily!" France wagged his finger, and Germany had the feeling that France was already planning some new variation of torment.

"Woo, yes! I'm number one!" America jumped up. "I win! I win!" He shoved the game device in England's and Russia's respective faces. "Check it, I beat Japan!"

"Yes, you wouldn't want to be, hic, historically accurate now, would you?" England almost fell over, he was so drunk now. He swatted at the game as if it were a mosquito. "Get that thing out of my, hic, face."

"Very good, America. May I see it?" Russia innocently touched the device. But as soon as he did, the game ran out of power and shut down.

"Ah, scary! You broke my game!" America took the game away from Russia. "Hey guys, what happens next?"

China remarked quickly, "Japan invaded the land of Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Hong Kong, aru. Then Indonesia, Burma, Singapore, me again..."

"America and Great Britain declared war on Japan." Russia added happily. "Along with several other countries!"

Japan said shyly, "The Axis powers declared war on America after that."

America shook his head without reserve. "No, I mean like, something important." America took the game back from Japan and put both of the devices in his jacket. "What was I doing now?"

"Hardly anything!" England swung his mug threateningly at America. "You, hic, got attacked by U-boats frequently. And you sent me some troops, hic, in 1942!"

Japan looked down. "Eto, your planes dropped bombs on Tokyo and other cities."

Russia beamed merrily, but created an aura of darkness. "And then the Soviet Union started dark project that no one must know about."

The other nations stared at Russia.

"Da?"

America laughed. "You can't be talking about nuclear weapons! I had those before you did!"

"I began development before you-"

"Nope, not possible!"America cut off Russia. "Bombs are my thing. You just stole my plans for nukes and everything and copied my stuff. You didn't come up with anything yourself! Everything in the world is my idea!"

Russia seemed to pulsate with a strange malice, so Japan muttered for the safety of all, "America-kun, that is only partially true…"

"It's absolutely true! Everything that has ever been invented in the history since the beginning of, uh, me, was totally made by me and no one else!" America beat his chest twice where his heart was with a fist, and then made a victory sign."Yeah! I'm so awesome."

"Eto, eto, eto…" Japan felt the need to say something, but he could not find the words.

Hero this, hero that. More so than any other country that still had a place on the map, America loved to idolize himself and stress how he was the leader of the world. America planted flags of himself all over his land and every day, he and his people indoctrinated themselves with some strange propaganda called the Pledge of Allegiance, as if he were still at war with the Soviets, which was kind of odd, because the Pledge itself was written by a socialist.

But America's self-worship made it all the more difficult for Japan to understand him. America was both geologically and culturally separated from everyone else, and he knew so little about his fellow nations, and yet he continued to assert his leadership over them. Yes, others would copy him, but who was really America's friend?

Japan knew then what he had to say. "Y-Yes, you are awesome, America-kun."

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