*On my Deviant Art, I posted two drawings of Hachi (from the Astrid FanFic). My screen name there is also ShadowLyrics1. I'd appreciate of you would review, critique, or request something. Hachi does too! :)*

"And then I went up to the catwalk and I walked down and I showed off my epic dress to everyone!" I told Kai. He listened intently, smiling like a child. I couldn't help but realize how much he looked like Paulo.

"And then I was the one who walked her down!" my brother announced proudly. Kai nudged him playfully. I giggled. I missed times like these, just sitting on the couch and talking. The young woman Kai was talking to when I came in was still sitting in the recliner smoking. Although she did smoke, she was still beautiful and her voice was clear. I could tell right away she was Italian or something by her dark hair and tan skin.

"Seems like you had quite a few adventures, kid," she chuckled. I smiled at her. "And you have two boys fighting over you?"

"Yup," I replied sheepishly. "And they may or may not be brothers…"

The lady stared at me for a second and laughed. "I'm sure you do your father proud." She crossed her legs and tilted her head. "So, what are you gonna do next? Get a third guy?"

"…Um, not to change the subject or anything," I stuttered. "But I never got your name."

She paused. "Call me Fumo. It's a nickname. Let's test your Italian, shall we? What does it mean?"

I thought for a moment. "Uh, 'I smoke?'"

"Close enough," she grinned sardonically, lighting another cigarette. "Trust me, it's not like I want to still be doing this. I remember when I was growing up in the mafia and my dad gave me one. I haven't stopped since."

"They have stuff that can help you stop, you know," Paulo mentioned.

"Nah, I'm fine." Fumo slumped back in her chair. "So, Bella, when are you planning on going back to your place?"

"…Actually, I was going to stay here."

A worried look crossed Kai's face and he got up and left the room. "I'm going to make some coffee. Do you want any, Bella?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, thanks."

"You must be cold in that," Paulo added. "I'll go get you one of my jackets." He left too. They left me and Fumo in silence. She rested her chin on the back of her hand.

"So, about these boy troubles…" Fumo smirked. "Which one do you want?"

I winced at the topic. "I don't know. They're opposites, but they're both wonderful in their own way."

"Go for the hotter one," Fumo shrugged.

"They're brothers!" I argued. "They look alike!"

Fumo hummed in response. "Well, it seems like you've got a bit of an issue. You know, I was in your shoes as a kid."

"Really?"

"Yep. I was stuck between some kid in my class and your dad."

"What?!"

Fumo raised an eyebrow. "We weren't in a relationship or anything. He's, like, ten years older than me. It's like having a crush on your favorite pop star. He was always kind to me and even took me in when my dad died."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Don't be!" Fumo laughed. "The ol' man was down-right evil! He died out of greed. He went to get another person of the mafia for money, and, BANG, he was down for the count." She made a finger gun with her hand and pointed it at me, closing one eye like she was aiming.

"Here you go, sorallona!" I felt something drape around my shoulders: a red jacket. I looked up at Paulo.

"Thanks."

Kai walked back in and handed me a mug. I took it and smiled shyly. They sat on either side of me. Fumo blew smoke out of her mouth. "You might want to get back home, kiddo."

I looked up at her. "Huh?" I took a quick sip of my coffee and raised an eyebrow. "This is my home, right. Dad's here." I glanced at him as he took a swig of his beer. (A true German, ladies and gentlemen.)

"No, you belong back there," Fumo chuckled. She acted like she was speaking to a little kid. "With those two guys of yours."

"No! Sorallona should stay here!" Paulo protested. "Please!"

Kai rolled his blue eyes. "You can go with her."

My brother's face immediately brightened again and he hugged me. "Yay! You won't mind, will you, sorallona~?"

I shut my eyes and took a breath at the sentence. He sounded a lot like Italy talking to Romano in the same situation. "I don't mind. But you can't live with me and the brothers. We don't have enough beds."

"I can sleep with you!"

"Hack naw!" I pushed him away jokingly. He laughed, shoving me back. "I can ask around. I'm sure we'll find some place for you. Scout's staying with Prussia, but I won't ask there. He'll think I'm turning his home into a hotel."

"Should we, then?" Paulo asked, offering me and hand and standing up.

"But I want to talk to Dad a little more," I whined.

"Trust me, honey, we'll be right here when you get back," Kai assured me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Plus, you left without telling your man, didn't you?"

I was about to tell him off for calling Romano my "man," but stopped. "I left without telling him!" I gasped. "I hope he's not awake! Let's go Paulo!"

"Right!" He did a pointless fist pump.

"Bye, Dad! Bye, Fumo!" I grabbed Paulo's hand and everything brightened into a white light. When it finally faded, I was back in my room.

"Here we are!" Paulo flopped on my bed.

"Hold it!" I leaned over him with my hands on my hips. "What was that?"

He cocked his head in confusion. "Che?"

"When I went into the future, there were all those weird images and stuff. And that black hole. What was that just now? It was nothing! Like when I came here!"

"It's a lot more difficult to travel into the future than the past," Paulo shrugged. "When you go into the future, you have to go past all those historic events and things that actually change what happens leading up to it. In the past, there's none of that. There's no events to go past."

"That makes sense, I guess…" I muttered, scratching my head. "So, what you're saying is that events are significant when leading to the future, but not so much in the past."

"Precisely." He sat up and I moved aside to let him stand. He flicked his flower charm and his moth curled into a cat-like grin. "You hear that?"

"Hear what?"

I barely finished my sentence when I heard footsteps leading up to my bedroom. I panicked and glanced around. "Hide! Somewhere!"

Paulo slowly crept under the bed and poked his head out. "I'll be down here, sorallona~!"

"Whatever!" I kicked his head back underneath the sheets that hung over the space he was lying. The door creaked open and someone stepped inside, shutting the door loudly behind him.

"Hi." Italy greeted flatly.

I blinked stupidly. "But…But you were gone…"

"Which then gives you an excuse to then sneak around behind my back and be with my brother." He glared at me ruefully. "Did you seriously think you'd get away with that?"

"No, you don't understand, I…" It was then that I didn't understand it myself. So what was I supposed to do? Get down on my knees and beg for forgiveness or convince him I was meant to be with Romano?

"I'm sorry," I apologized lamely. "I never meant to hurt you or anything."

"…" Italy frowned and crossed his arms. "So?"

Now what?! I thought wildly. Instead of saying something kind or apologetic again, I snapped, "Why are you even here anyway?!"

"I came to see you," he answered tonelessly.

Ouch.

"By the way…" He reached inside his pocket, pulled out my necklace, and threw it at my feet. "You can have this back. I don't want it anymore."

Double ouch.

I bent down wordlessly and picked it up. I clasped it back around my neck. "Paulo!"

He popped out from under the bed. He gave Italy a death glare, which the country returned. (Man, he was in a mood today.) My brother then looked at me sweetly. "Yes, sorallona?"

"We're leaving," I ordered, clasping his hand. "We'll be back in a while. I just have to go somewhere else for a while."

"Okay." He and I disappeared and I began to fall again. I watched the images expressionlessly. I wasn't even afraid of the vortex swirling beneath me anymore. I simply watched.

"There's one that might interest you." Paulo appeared next to me and pointed to a specific faded, blurry scene. I couldn't hear the conversation, but I could take a wild guess at what was going on. It was Italy coming home, his usual smile on his face. But then it went away when Romano started talking to him…

"Poor guy," Paulo sighed. "He's a country, you know."

"Naaaawww…"

"Not like that," he huffed. "I meant like, his emotions are always on fever pitch. Why do you think there are so many wars all the time? He may be pretty weak, but he isn't human."

I stared at him blankly. "I don't get it."

Paulo inhaled and tried again. "Countries will always want more. The best. That's what makes them great and rich. Just taking what they please. I'm not saying Italy's not a good guy; he is. But you have to understand he isn't like you."

I didn't know what to say. It would explain why he was so rich and powerful even though he was kind of weak compared to others. As the black hole swallowed me up gazed back up at the image one last time.

*Bella Y U hurt my Ita-chan?!

Romano: You wrote her.

Holy Rome: This is true. Very true. *realizes Shadow technically hurt Italy and pulls out chainsaw* Die.

Wha-?! You haven't pulled that out in a while! D: And, uh, I don't know what shocked you guy so much about the last chapter… It wasn't all that special to me other than Bella meeting her dad again. XD Anyways, two chapters in one day again!

Random guy: *runs in and high-fives Shadow*

K bye.*