A/N: So this took way longer to update than it should have. I really don't have an excuse for that, other than that I have been quite busy and this has been unedited and I've been working on requests for my '100 things [insert nation here] can't do' series. I do have Chapter Six nearly done, though, and I'm thinking I might start writing out all the chapters before I upload them so that I can update more regularly. Anyway, sorry for the long wait, I'll try to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Day 5

That cat has got to go. When I woke up this morning, the damn thing was sleeping on my head, and for a horrible moment I thought my head was vibrating because of the cat snoring. I was about to go and search 'vibrating head' in the symptoms checker on the internet, but then the cat fell off and the vibrating stopped. I complained to Heracles about it, but he refuses to do anything whatsoever.

In other news, Feliks is being really annoying. Telling him about Berwald was definitely a big mistake. At breakfast today, he wouldn't stop nudging me and smirking and so on every time Berwald did anything, and he even… No, you know what? I'll just write the whole thing down…

"Check it out, Braginski! He likes eggs!"

"Your point being…?" I asked. I had to repeat myself because my mouth was full of toast.

"You like eggs!"

"And…?"

"So it like, means you totally have something in common with him!" Feliks finished enthusiastically.

"Bloody hell, if that's all you've got in common with the bloody bloke, you're bloody screwed," Arthur pointed out.

"Rock out, dudes! Artie's totally right!" Alfred jumped in. I gave him a look and he shut up. It is not natural for someone to be so alert so early in the morning. I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Iv'n?" Oh dear God, it's Berwald… Act natural, act natural…

"Yes~" I said cheerfully. He gave me an odd look. Maybe I overdid the cheerfulness? Yes, that must be it.

"F'liks said y' wanted t' talk t' me?"

Kolkolkol… "Did he now?"

"Hm."

"I'll be back in a moment…" Of course, that sneaky little Pole had run off. After negotiating my way through the cafeteria (it was not easy to get through there – there were tons of people just standing there, with trays, and people talking and Francis tried to get me to go into the closet with him, but I know better because of what happened the last time so I declined) I found myself in the common room. Still no sign of him; he's faster than he looks.

"Kesesese… Shit, it's Ivan!" Was the first thing I heard when I turned the corner, pipe in hand, still kolkolkol-ing. It was, of course, Gilbert. He's an odd one, that boy. I'm honestly not sure what to think of him. He insists that he isn't scared of me, but I know he is. I only know four people who aren't scared of me – my big sister Katyusha, my little sister Natalia (I'm scared of her, rather than the other way around), Feliks (who is pretty much unscareable, if that's even a word) and Yao.

Ah, my little Yao. I miss him. I still don't know quite why I hit Eduard, all I know is that the very mention of the two of them makes me sad. It is strange. But that's beside the point, da?

The point is, Feliks just embarrassed me, then took off. I didn't see him again until World History, and then I couldn't really hit him because we were sitting in the front row and the professor would definitely have had something to say. And four acts of violence in the space of five days is a bit excessive, even for me. I don't want them to call Katyusha; she can be quite frightening.

I probably wouldn't have hit him anyway, to be completely honest with you. I don't know why, but it seems very wrong to punch someone in a miniskirt. Oh dear, that didn't quite sound right. He was in a miniskirt, not me. Maybe he wears them so that he won't get punched? It would explain a lot. Like how he goes through life offending so many people and somehow remains unscathed.

Later

I had to sit next to Eduard in maths. That was probably the most awkward hour of my life. The entire time, Yao glared at me from across the room. It was quite upsetting if I'm honest; I'm not used to Yao being nasty to me. Then again, I did break Eduard's nose almost irreparably.

Kiku seems to want to be my friend now that I don't speak to Yao anymore. Before, he used to avoid me; but then again he avoids Yao as well. The only reason the two of them know anything about each other's activities is because of Yong-Soo, who seems to force them to be friends. He's… odd, to say the least.

I also found out that there will be a visitors' day in a couple of days' time, for the friends and family of the students. Apparently they will be staying on campus for a couple of days. I am very excited; Katyusha has already called me to say that she is coming to visit, and bringing her new boyfriend and my little cousin Raivis. She is also bringing me a new scarf, which is good because General Winter will be on his way soon, da?

Vash's sister Lily will also be visiting. She sounds nice. Emil has been told to stay away from her, though, but somehow I don't think he will. And Francis's cousins are coming, and also his stepsister. I have heard stories about them; I kind of want to meet them. Most of all I want to see Hans's hair. Apparently it defies logic.

"He eez tall and blond, you would like 'im, honhonhon," Francis told me when I asked for more information. "And what eez zis sister of yours like?"

"She has a boyfriend, and if you touch her you will require a new cranium, da?" I replied menacingly, showing Francis Mr. Pipe #4. Said Frenchman promptly went a bit pale and excused himself. It made Arthur laugh.

I was serious, though. I have seen girls that Francis has 'dated', and I do not want him near either of my sisters. Not that Natalia would look twice at him. He is still freaked out about this girl who is seemingly pregnant because of his antics, and still won't say who she is. I mean, really, why make such a fuss and not say who she is? I want to know.

Heracles says that I shouldn't get involved. Now I see why Sadiq fights with him so much. It is maddening, living with someone who is so apathetic about everything. I would hit him, but he is too pretty to hit. Plus, he lives in a hot country, and I would quite like to go and visit someday. The chances of that happening in the future are much higher if I don't beat him up just yet. The cat has got to go, though. He/she (I have given up trying to guess the gender of it) has eaten one of my socks. How it isn't dead I have no idea. Animals are so strange.

Later

'Mr.' Snuffles is officially a genius. The guidance counsellor came in today to check that me and Heracles are getting on okay and the cat threw up on his feet. I guess the guy who said that animals are intuitive was onto something. I think maybe we should keep the cat.

On a side note, Yao came in a few minutes ago to look for his underpants. It was a bit awkward. The conversation went something like this:

"Um, hi Ivan, aru…"

"Hello, Yao~" I said happily, opening the door to let him in. It may sound a bit daft, but I was sort of hoping that he was there to say that he wanted to move back in. That's not why, though.

"I think I… um…" He began to go red, and cleared his throat "left my favourite pair of underpants in here when I, you know, switched rooms."

"Oh, the ones with the Chinese flag on them!" Looking back, it may seem a bit perverted to know what another guy's favourite underpants are. He did once tell me, though, so he really shouldn't have been so surprised that I knew.

Well, anyway, he gave me a weird look and then left with his underwear. At least he didn't glare at me, like in maths.

After Yao had gone, Heracles kept looking at me. Not glaring, not really staring, just looking. Mr. Snuffles was sitting on his lap, looking too. It was a bit unnerving, but I just put it down to his being Greek.

Eventually, he finally spoke. "Ivan, is there something you want to tell me about you and Yao?"

"Like what?" I was confused. Why would he ask that?

"Oh, nothing… Just that you guys always seemed really close, and stuff. And you haven't smiled since he left."

I haven't… smiled? Since Yao left? "Oh."

Later

Heracles is asleep, and it's only three in the afternoon. I swear, all he ever does is sleep. And I can't help thinking about what he said earlier… I tried to wake him up to question him, but he seems to be a very heavy sleeper. I would think he was dead, but he snores every so often so I think he's okay, da?

In the end, I decided to go and see Feliks. I mean, sure, his advice is often not the best, but Eduard isn't speaking to me anymore and I don't want to have to tell Francis about the underwear thing. He may jump to some very wrong conclusions. And I can't really ask Yao because he's the reason I need advice, and if I tell Kiku anything it will end up finding its way back to Yao, one way or another. So, I went to knock on Feliks and Toris' door.

Feliks wasn't in, though, so I told Toris about it all.

"Have I really not smiled since Yao left?" I asked.

"To be honest, Ivan, I haven't seen you that much since Yao left. But no, you don't seem too happy. It's only been one day though, give it time."

"Da, I suppose you're right." I tried to smile. Toris looked a bit scared, though, so I stopped.

"I saw Natalia earlier," He told me. I think I must have started shivering, because he put a blanket around my shoulders. "It's okay, she actually didn't ask about you, for once." I relaxed a bit. "In fact, she seemed a bit rattled about something else. She wouldn't tell me what, though. I expect it's about Katyusha visiting – they don't get on, do they?"

They don't. It is very sad. I love them both – even when Natalia scares me – and I wish they would get along, but Natalia will not co-operate. "Nyet," I said softly. "I'm still quite excited, though. Katyusha is bringing me a new scarf."

"Well, let's hope it doesn't have bunnies on it like last time, eh?" He smiled.

"Da. Thanks, Toris." I got up to leave, putting the blanket back on Feliks's bed, but Toris grabbed my shoulder.

"Hey, Ivan. Anytime you want to talk, I'm here. Just remember that, okay?" He smiled at me again. I patted his head. I don't know why, it just seemed like a good idea at the time.

I nodded, not entirely sure of what to say. "Do svidaniya," I said quietly, stepping out of his room and into the noisy common room.

Oh dear. The professor just caught me writing. Hehehe.

Later

I got a warning for writing in my diary during class. I don't really care that much; it could have been worse. At least nothing got confiscated this time, but that's probably only because the guidance counsellor has told everyone not to interfere with my diary because it is my emotional outlet and stops me from being violent and blah blah blah…

Alright, he didn't really say blah blah blah. But that is what I heard.

Anyway, I think he's a bit wrong. Since I started writing in this diary, I actually think I've been more violent than usual, if that's possible. Maybe it's one of those it-gets-worse-before-it-gets-better things? Well, I'm going to keep writing regardless.

Dinnertime was an odd event, by the way. Yao had no choice but to sit next to me, and things were like normal for a bit – he actually talked to me, and laughed at a couple of things I said – but then Eduard walked past and he stopped. It was as if Eduard's presence reminded Yao that he is supposed to be avoiding me at all costs. Very odd.

On a random side-note, Mr. Snuffles keeps stealing my clothes and sleeping on them. Or chewing big holes in them. I wonder where I can get a lockable wardrobe…

Later

I made enquiries about a lockable wardrobe. By that, I mean that I asked Kiku.

"Well, I heard that Berwald-san's father manages the local IKEA. Maybe you should ask him, Ivan-san?" Was his reply.

"I… don't think that's a good idea…" Earlier today, I simply looked at Berwald, and Mathias held up his axe menacingly. Not that I was scared; on a good day I could probably snap the stupid little thing in half.

"Why not?"

"…It's just not." And so, I now have nothing to do. I asked Heracles what he does when he has nothing to do. He responded by snoring loudly in my ear.

Maybe he has a point. Bedtime~!