2. Into the Woods

"I'M HUMAN!" I jumped up and raised my fists in the air as I said this. I looked down when I heard a zipping sound. Canada was taking off his hoodie, keeping his eyes close. "Canada?" I asked. "What are you doing?"

"Put it on." He said holding the hoodie out to me, his eyes closed, a bright blush on his face.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because," Canada replied, blushing deeper. "You're naked."

"Really?" I looked down at myself. Yep! I'm naked! Weird. The only thing I was wearing was the red ribbon around my neck. I took the hoodie and put it on, somehow managing to zip it. My body was a bit small, so the hoodie reached halfway down my thighs. "Okay, I'm covered." I said.

Canada and America both sighed in relief as they uncovered their faces. They stood up, looking around themselves. We seemed to be in a small clearing in the middle of a forest.

All of a sudden, there was a rustling sound behind us. We all turned around, and saw a young man. He was decently tall with shaggy white hair, red eyes, wearing an eccentric suit and glasses. What stood out though, was the pair of rabbit ears on top of his head.

"You actually made it?" He asked. "Great, now I have to deal with you. And you're not nearly as cute as Alice. Oh! She's cute though! Not as much as Alice, but still." He nodded to me as he said this. I gave a low growl when he did.

"What's that supposed to mean, Stupid head?" I asked.

He looked at me. "Oh!" He exclaimed. "Are you that polar bear? Interesting. Guess you are a girl."

I cocked my head. "How did you know?" I asked.

"Your voice." He said. "That, and you still have fuzzy little ears." I reached up to touch my head. Sure enough, I had soft, round ears on top of my head. "If I had to guess," He continued. "You probably still have a tail, too."

I put my hand to where my tail would be. Yep! There it is!

"Although," He continued. I'm surprised to see that you're blond. Being that your fur was white." I touched my hair, pulling it to the side so that I could see it. It was a light blond, with loose waves, and reached halfway down my back(Imagine Fem!Canada. The official version).

I looked at him. "Who are you?" I asked.

He gave a dramatic bow from the waist. "Peter White." He said. "Prime Minister of the Castle of Hearts, and rabbit extraordinaire."

"Rabbit?" I asked confused.

"Prime Minister?" Canada asked as his face dropped a bit. Canada's boss was the Prime Minister. Meaning that this guy was higher ranked than him.

"Yes." Peter said straightening up. "Speaking of which, I have to go. I'm needed at the castle. Goodbye!" With that, he turned on his heels and started walking away.

"Hey!" America called out. "You can't leave us alone, dude!"

Peter stopped and turned around. "Fine then," He said with a wave of his hand. "I suppose you want to come with me?"

"Heck yeah!" America exclaimed. "I totally want to go to the castle! Rock on!" Just then, a wind blew from behind us, blowing all of my hair into my face.

I growled lightly as I tried and failed to keep the yellow mass out of my way. "How are you supposed to handle this stuff?" I asked frustrated.

"Here," Canada said with a light sigh. "Let me help." He walked over to me, taking the red ribbon that was still around my neck. He untied it and took it in his hands. He went behind me and started manipulating my hair. He pulled it all back and tied it off with the ribbon. "There," He said as he stepped back from his work. "That should hold."

I put a hand to the ponytail. Satisfied, I turned and gave my master a hug around his waist. "Thanks, Canada!"

He giggled as he wrapped his arms around me. "Who are you?" He asked playfully.

"I'm Kumajirou." I answered smiling.

"Ah, that's right." He said as he put his cheek on top of my head.

Peter gave an annoyed huff from behind us. "You guys are annoying." He said. "Are you coming or not?"

Canada shot a slight glare at Peter. "Yes, we're coming." He said. As he said this, another gust of wind came, this time coming from behind Peter. As it blew towards me, I caught his scent. I recognized it immediately.

I growled as I turned away from Canada, and tackled Peter. "It's you!" I growled. "You're that stupid rabbit from earlier!"

Peter grinned from under me. "Duh." He said tauntingly. "Aren't you a little slow? Now, would you please get off of me?" With that, a gun suddenly materialized into his hand. He pointed to my head. I froze.

He was grinning like a madman, when he suddenly found himself with a fist in his face.

Canada was standing over us. He pulled me off of Peter, holding me close to him. He glared at Peter. "Stay. Away. From my polar bear." He said menacingly.

Peter laughed as he stood up, brushing himself off. "Sure," He said. "Whatever you say. Besides, she's an outsider. I wouldn't have killed her anyway."

"Then why did you have a gun to my head, dummy?" I asked.

He smiled childishly at me. "Because." He said simply. "I wanted to have some fun." I felt a chill go down my spine as he said this.

America stepped in then. "Alright," He said. "Let's stop with all the crazy faux-murder stuff already. Can we go now?" I raised my eyebrows as he said this. He actually used his serious tone.

Peter huffed again. "You guys are no fun." He said. "Whatever. Let's go." Again, he started walking off. We all began to follow him. But after a few minutes of walking through the woods, I felt a sharp pain in my foot. I hissed as I stopped, lifting my foot.

"Kuma?" Canada said as he stopped next to e. "What is it?"

"It's all these stupid rocks and sticks." I said. "They're hurting my feet. I don't know why though. It was always fine before…"

Canada slapped his forehead. "You're barefoot." He said. "You're human now, and you're barefoot. I'm sorry I didn't notice, Kuma."

"It's ok-"

"What?" I was interrupted by the stupid rabbit. "She's hurt? Oh well, we must leave her behind. Don't worry! You will be remembered!"

Canada shot a glare at the stupid rabbit. "We're not leaving her behind." He said. "I'll carry her."

"Fine." The stupid rabbit huffed. "Do what you must." He turned and started walking away again.

Canada sighed. "Come here, Kuma." He said. He bent down so that one of his arms was behind my shoulders, and the other was behind my knees. He carefully lifted me so that he was carrying me bridal style. He started walking, not slowed by the added wait. He is very strong. He is a country after all. I wrapped my arms around his neck, resting my head against his shoulder.

We walked in silence for a while. America kept trying to start a conversation with the stupid rabbit, to no avail. I tuned them out, and watched the woods as we walked. I found myself distracted by random noises and scents. At least I still have my senses.

"Peter." I looked up to see that Canada addressed the stupid rabbit.

"What is it now?" The stupid rabbit asked.

"Why did Kuma turn into a human?" Canada asked. "She's never done that before. Why now?"

The stupid rabbit looked thoughtful as he walked. "Some of us are part animal in this world," He started. "A few of us can fully turn into animals, myself included. But the rule only applies to those with duties. So I can say that I have no idea why your polar bear turned into a human. Is she important somehow?" He peeked back at Canada as he asked the last question.

"She's important to me." Canada said. He then sighed. "Although, she is special. I rather not go into it now, but let's just say that she has special properties."

"Fine then," The stupid rabbit said. "Don't tell me. But you should know. You'll probably have to deal with the queen later."

"Dude!" America yelled. "You mean the Queen of Hearts? No way!"

"I do hope that you know how to act in front of a queen?" The stupid rabbit asked.

"Haha! You sound like dad." America said. "Yeah, I can be all proper and junk. I have to see the queen sometimes when I visit my dad."

"Really?" The stupid rabbit asked. "Why is that?"

"Oh," America said. "That's because my dad's boss is the queen of England. Kinda' boring if you ask me."

"Really?" He asked again. "What does your father do?"

America was about to start running his mouth, when Canada interrupted him. "Our father is a consultant to the queen." He said.

"Really? Hm…" The stupid rabbit trailed off.

"Speaking of the queen," America said turning towards Canada. "Where did you learn to do hair?"

Canada sighed. "That has nothing to do with the queen." He said. "But anyways. I did live with my papa before I lived with you. He taught me how to do hair." Canada was referring to France, since he did raise him at first.

"Oh yeah," America said. "Girly dude. That would explain a lot."

Canada's jaw dropped. "What the heck is that supposed to mean?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing." America said, then started whistling. Canada looked confused, but he just shook his head and kept walking. We walked for a few more minutes, then I got bored.

"Hey, Canadia." I said.

"Hm? What is it, Kumakichi?" Canada asked.

"What if the spirits turned me into a human?"

"What?"

"You know, like when Sitka turned Kenai into a bear? Maybe it did the opposite to me!"

Canada sighed. "That was just a movie. It was all made up."

"Oh."

"One more thing." Ugh. The stupid rabbit was talking again. "You'll probably be expected to change once we get to the castle."

"Why is that?" Canada asked.

"Because," The stupid rabbit replied. "There's a ball tonight."

AN:

Oh snap!

Yep! I decided on a time frame! As you might have guessed, Kuma and co. arrive there just before the ball starts.

And yes, she will continue to think of Peter as "The Stupid Rabbit", until I say so. LOL

This is getting fun!

PS. While it gets a little fluffy between Canada and Kuma, I'm not shipping them. It'll be more like a family relationship. I just wanted to attempt some cute fluff there.

Review if you please!