*I'm so glad you guys like Kai! :) I have a lot of fun writing him. He was going to be totally different, but that eventually changed. Fun fact about him: his appearance is based off of the teenage version of Holy Rome, which you can see a picture of in the trivia section on his part of the wiki.*

"So, go ahead," I said. "I'm ready."

"Um, no offense, but…" Britain cleared his throat and nervously continued. "Bella, would it really be a good idea to have you here? Not because I'd think you'd go tell the Axis what we're doing. I just don't want to put that kind of pressure on you."

"Its fine," I assured him. "I've never told you about the Axis. Don't worry. My lips are sealed."

Despite my persuasion to allow me to stay, everyone's eyes went to Kai. He was sitting with a dumb smile on his face, waiting for the meeting to commence.

"I'll take care of him," I sighed.

"In that case…" America shot to his feet and held out a book. "Look at what I got!" He threw it onto the tabletop and he all craned our necks to see what he had gotten.

"How rude!" I snatched it before anyone could grab it. "You can't take other people's journals. It's private!" I gazed down on it. "…I'll read it. You know, just so you all can't snoop on unimportant things."

"Oh, sure," Kai huffed. "Leave your dad out of it."

"Uh-huh," I grunted, not listening. I looked up to see everyone staring at me. "Talk amongst yourselves."

"Why are you leaving us out of it~?" France pouted.

"Because."

"…Because why?" China asked when I didn't continue.

"Because I said."

"Hey, I got it, so I should read it! I never even got a chan-"

I held up my hand to stop America. "Shut up or I'll sic Russia on you." I ran my hand over the leather cover. I halted at the writing on the front and froze. "You do know whose this is, right?"

"Huh? Of course I do," America answered obliviously.

"And you do know he's going to rip your head off if he knows you took this, right?"

"Yeah, like he'd be able to do that!" he scoffed.

"Uh…sorry to burst your bubble, but…" My mouth was a thin line as I clutched the journal, my knuckles turning white. "When Germany comes back, he's not gonna appreciate this."

"You got Germany's journal?!" China gasped.

"Yep!" America leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, obviously proud of himself. "You can read it if you want, Bella."

"That's my country's?" Kai asked breathlessly. "Whoa…Let me see."

"No!" I moved it out of his reach. "I'll see if it gives us any info."

"Why don't you read it out loud?" Russia suggested.

I grimaced, but nodded. "But I'll stop if anything private comes up." I inhaled and slowly allowed the book to fall open in my hands. I read the first thing I saw: "Okay, it says that… Oh, I thought this was a military journal."

"What, what does it say?" Kai groaned in anticipation.

"Err, Italy asked if he could make some pasta to celebrate their friendship and Germany said okay…but it seems Italy made a bit of a mess in the process." I couldn't help but smile. He acted so childish around anyone but me. I hated being singled out. I wanted to see the cute side of him too.

"Not very helpful," Britain sighed. "What else is in there?"

"…Italy got beat up again," I reported. I glanced up from the pages suspiciously. "Britain? France?"

The former winced, seeming to know what I was talking about. "Oh, come on! He was just sitting there! It's not like-"

"Whatever," I muttered. But I was eyeing France in particular.

"He looks so hittable when he's like that," he shrugged.

I but the inside of my cheek to jeep from responding and turned the page. It said that Germany protected Italy. That was nice. Sometimes I wished that if I had a friend, they would be like Germany. He was protective and dependable, but he was also strict. Then again, there's no such thing as a perfect friend, right?

"What's it say?" China asked when I simply stared at the entry.

"Aw~!" I cooed. "Italy got the courage to invade Egypt! I'm so proud!" I sounded like a mother being proud of her child for getting an A+ on their report card. Guess I got over that whole kiss thing.

"He invaded Egypt?!" America gasped. "Italy did?!"

"Oh, no, let me rephrase that," I clarified. "He got the courage to try to invade Egypt. He ended up failing. Germany had to save him. But still, I'm so happy for him!"

"That's not helpful, though," Russia sighed, echoing Britain. "Let's try one last time."

I nodded and flipped the page a final time. "…Wow."

"What?" China asked intently.

"Um, Germany's phone kept ringing because Italy kept calling to come save him. And so Germany tried to call another country to take Italy off his hands, but he couldn't do it…" A smile crept onto my face. "Because Italy's his only friend."

The Allied Forces went silent. "Friends, huh?" they murmured together.

"That. Is. Adorable!" Kai said dreamily. "What does Germany look like? Is he cute?"

I held in my laughter. (Which was difficult, by the way.) "Not exactly…"

"Guess it didn't work," America shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You tried. Just try again another time," I encouraged. "So…is the meeting over?"

"Meeting's over," America sighed, waving everyone off. They all silently exited and I turned to Kai, journal still in hand.

"I bet I can find where Italy is, if you want to meet him."

Kai's blue eyes lit up. "Yes! Oh, God, yes!"

"'Kay." I rose to my feet and led him out of the room. "I know he's got good history and everything, but don't assume Italy's amazing or anything. He's actually kind of a coward."

"Then how did he get all this good stuff?" Kai wondered out loud. "Like, he must be rich and all."

"I think he must've inherited his grandfather's wealth," I decided. "His grandfather's Ancient Rome. That's what I guess, anyway."

"Makes sense."

"Alright, let's go!" I quickened my pace and Kai rushed after me.

Later

"Hi!" I waved to Italy happily. "Whatcha doin'?"

I found him in a field hugging a cat on the ground. "Look! I found a cat!"

"And this is…?" Kai asked hesitantly.

"Uh…this is Italy." I pointed to the country. "Y'know…that Italy? He's technically the North, but still. It's really hard to explain, but you'll get it. Italy, this is my dad, Kai."

"Oh, hi!" Italy smiled at him. "Nice to meet you!"

"…I expected him to be, err, more awesome." Kai pouted. "How come he'd so tiny?"

"He isn't tiny," I protested. "Skinny, okay, maybe. Short? No. He's average! Average!" I noticed Italy's expression darkening. "B-But he's still-"

"Meh, it's okay!" Kai laughed. "He's got to have some strength lying in there somewhere, isn't that right? Have you won any battles lately?"

"Uh…not without Germany's help…"

"That reminds me!" I pulled the country up to his feet. "You went to try and beat Egypt, right? I'm so proud of you!"

"But I lost…" He set the cat on the ground and it circled his feet.

"No problem!" I assured him. I slapped him on the back. "You at least got the courage to do it, and for that, I'm happy."

"Have you ever won a fight on your own?" Kai asked intently, crossing his arms. "You must have. I mean, you're more or less on the top of the world. Everyone dreams of going to your place just because it's so great."

"Mm…" The country glanced up at the sky, avoiding the conversation.

"Erm…Dad. Sensitive topic." I bit my lip and shrugged a shoulder, shooting him an expression that clearly said, "He's not very strong."

"Ah. Sorry." Kai hung his head and stared at the grass around his feet. He looked like a child being scolded for playing in the streets.

"Uh, I know!" I clapped my hands together and attention was on me again. "Why don't we all go out to dinner? Dad hasn't eaten at an old Italian restaurant yet, have you?"

Kai inhaled in anticipation. "Really? Can we go?"

"You bet!" I hugged him. "Anything for you, Daddy! And I think I know who's paying…" I slowly turned to Italy. "Hey."

He jumped and the cat put its front paws on his leg, as if trying to comfort him. "…Me?"

"Yes, you." I smiled innocently. "You will, won't you~?"

"…Fine…" He pouted and sagged his shoulders. "Nine, okay?"

"Nine? Nine what?" Kai asked obliviously.

Italy raised an eyebrow. "Nine PM."

"That's the time he eats dinner," I explained.

"Nine?!" Kai gasped. "But I eat at, like, five or something!"

"We'll make the plans." I picked up the cat and stroked its head. It mewed happily. "I'll send you back and get you back when it's time. Okay?"

"Okay," Kai sighed.

*Instead of a foot-note, I'd like to tell you all where I've been. It's an unfortunate series of events, so here it goes. First, I got writer's block. That explains why it's been so long since I've updated my Astrid story. Once I got an idea, someone made fun of me for having a FanFiction account and I took my distance for a while. Then my sister's idiot friends (Ty, I'm looking at you) came by my class and started making fun of me. THREE TIMES. Once that was over, I came down with the flu. Since I had the flu, (or what I think was the flu) I couldn't stomach any food or water so I went four days without eating or drinking. Even now, anything I eat or drink burns my throat, so I'm still out of it. And now I'm starting physical therapy for my legs (I walk on my toes, so I have flat feet and tight muscles) and I have less time in my day.

So, yeah, my life sucks.

One more dilemma. I've been refusing to go to school. I have no friends and there's constant noise (I really need silence sometimes and I never get it at home) and I can't work with people. I absolutely despise working with others. Not because I'm a brat or anything. Let me put it into perspective: I had to measure my room for a scale floor plan, so I had to have my mom help. I couldn't get through one wall without bursting into tears. I keep thinking that if I do something wrong, people won't want me to be there. So I leave the group before they can dislike me. I'm failing a class just because all the projects are group projects and I can't work with anyone. I really want to be homeschooled.

My mom doesn't understand at all. She's so paranoid about the state getting involved with my absences that she doesn't care about me. My dad understands, but he moved farther away.

One more thing. My sister. I love my sister a lot, but ever since she started going to the school we do and made the friends she did, she changed. She doesn't call me by my name anymore. To her, my name is b****. She can't go two seconds without having me wait on her. She can get kinda violent sometimes too. It's been affecting how I function. In elementary school, I was so used to the outbursts that someone came to hug me and I started screaming because I thought they were going to hurt me. My life could seriously be made into a movie.

Sorry about all that. Even if no one reads this far, it feels good to just get it out. I apologize if my updates aren't as often, but please understand that I need some time for myself.*