Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

Chapter 5

Arthur walked quickly as he went through the streets, his mind focusing more on what he had for clues to care too much about where he was going. He did not like the idea of an older werewolf returning to the city, and as for the others there were just too many variables as to them acting different. Even now that he knew that there were more than two that still did not explain why they were here recruiting. And why did that boy have ears when he said he was never attacked. Perhaps if he could catch one he could at least get some answers out of it; even if the one he caught was only a low-ranking member of the pack they were obviously starting. …And what is that delicious smell?

Arthur came out of his thoughts when he passed by a small restaurant featuring Mediterranean dishes, the smell of the freshly cooked food wafting through the open doors. His stomach began to growl, reminding him that it was a decent time to stop for lunch. Before he could even stop himself, he was walking through the doors and sitting at a small table, looking over the menu.

Shortly after looking, an older man came smiling over to take his order. Everything seemed ordinary, except for the lack of costumers. It was actually a lot quieter in the restaurant than he would have expected, which he actually liked, until a noise came from the kitchen area followed by the sight of someone leaving from the back and out the front door.

It took a moment for Arthur to recognize the man, only for him to then rush from his table and run after him. Several minutes later, Arthur had caught up with the man, pulled him so that they were face-to-face, and stared shocked at who it was.

The man was an old…acquaintance of his called Francis Bonnefoey. The two of them were close to the same age and grew up near eachother. Currently, he was supposedly an owner of a small fashion boutique and whenever they talked he bragged about how much he liked the job; much to Arthur's annoyance. However, something seemed off with him this time.

"Arthur, what are you doing here? And let go of me," Francis remarked, shacking Arthur off and adjusting his hat. It was rare for Francis to wear hats, claiming that they made a habit of 'hiding his beautiful hair,' so it instantly caught his attention.

"What's with the stupid hat? It doesn't even match what you're wearing, sick or something?" Arthur asked with a light laugh.

"Non, just…felt like wearing a hat today," Francis answered, anxiety obvious in his voice.

Arthur looked closer at the hat and noticed that it looked like it was hiding something. Without saying anything, Arthur swiped the hat off of his head; revealing a pair of blond ears. Surprised, both of them took a step away from eachother, only for Francis to then take his hat back and indignantly place it on his head, looking around to see if any of the other passerby-ers had noticed.

"Francis, what are with the ears?" Arthur asked, part of him pleased about possibly finding the suspect and worried about it being someone that he knew.

"It's nothing," Francis said hastily.

"Nothing, you have ears popping out of the top of your bloody head," Arthur complained, pulling the hat off and tugging at an ear, earning a pained noise from the other. Eventually Arthur let go and asked, "When did they appear?"

"I don't know, a couple days ago or so," Francis answered.

"Anything else weird since then?" Arthur persisted.

"No…well, recently I seem to be sleep walking. But when I brought that up to my doctor he said that that should be the least of my worries if you understand," Francis answered, slightly confused about why this is happening.

Arthur thought for a couple moments, only to then ask, "Have you recently been attacked by a dog?"

"What? Of course not! Arthur, you know that I avoid dogs like they were one of those monsters you supposedly chase," Francis explained. Arthur knew that that was the truth, for as long as he could remember Francis had been running away or cringing at dogs.

"Why don't you like dogs?" Arthur asked.

"I guess you wouldn't remember, you were only a toddler, but when I was a kid I was attacked by a dog," Francis answered casually yet with a look as if wondering where this was going.

"…Do you remember what the dog looked like?" Arthur asked cautiously yet seriously. If by chance the dog was the same one he thought was a werewolf, then perhaps that would explain the ears on his head. However, it would still not explain why this was happening now if two kids were turned 18 years ago.

Like Arthur was expecting, when Francis described what he could remember of the dog it was the same as the attack from the report. Noticing that Francis was trying to get out of saying more, Arthur begrudgingly thanked him for the information but told him that he would need to come with him to the police office. Francis did not like the idea of this nor did he understand, but eventually he was forced to come with Arthur.

As they headed there Arthur began to think. So the dog was a werewolf and Francis was the one who turned Roderick and Elizabeta, only he did not remember doing that. That part did not concern him as much as the questions of why this had not started sooner. He also had to now consider what he would do knowing that the werewolf was someone he knew.

"Miss Lili, do you know where Feliciano is?" Ludwig asked the teenager volunteering at city hall. Ludwig Beilschmit was the new mayor of the city, and so far it had not been too bad, but the fact that his aide had not been to work in a couple days was starting to concern him.

"No sir, but he did call earlier saying that he would not make it," Lili answered as she fluttered around her small desk to organize things.

"Did he say why?" Ludwig asked, only to receive a shake of the head in return.

After a couple seconds of thinking, Lili commented, "He did not say, but maybe it has something to do with Mr. Edelstein being attacked? I think I remember the two of them being friends."

"…Perhaps, he is the kind of person who cares a lot about his friends," Ludwig commented back, a slight smile on his lips. He knew the Feliciano was not the most reliable friend, but he did try his best to be there if someone close to him was hurt. But at the same time it was not fair for everyone else to pick up the slack because he vanishes. At last he continued, "If he calls again please patch him through to me, regardless of what I am doing."

Lili nodded to show that she understood and went back to her work as Ludwig closed the door to his office. Almost half an hour passed with things going on as usual until a loud crashing noise followed by yells came from the mayor's office. Concerned, Lili went to open the door and see what was wrong, only to find the large window to the room broken, the old and expensive furniture tossed about the place, and the office owner gone.

As always, please review~