The wooden doors of the theater opened, causing all who was in there to straighten and become silent. Ib slowly walked up the aisle. "Sit where you'd like," she told the other males before continuing to walk all the way to the stage.
Germany, Italy, and Japan sat in the middle of the theater. The seats were more comfortable than most theaters as well as the appearance of the whole stage. There were risers, three rows each. They were filled with all male men with their ages seeming to range from sixteen to fifty. They all wore black tuxedos and almost resembled a colony of penguins. She took a long slender stick, known as a baton, out of her jacket sleeve and raised it up, just as the music began. "Can," an older gentleman in the back row sang in falsetto.
"Anybody find me somebody to love?" the men sang with him.
"Each morning I get up I die a little," the older man sang again, "Can barely stand on my feet."
A younger boy came in and sang, "Take a look in the mirror and cry. Lord what you're doing to me."
The boy next to him sang, "I have spent all my years in believing you."
They all chorused together, "But I just can't get no relief, Lord! Somebody, somebody. Can anybody find me somebody to love?"
Another man in the back sang, "I work hard every day of my life. I work till I ache my bones. At the end I take home my hard earned pay all on my own. I get down on my knees and I start to pray till the tears run down from my eyes. Lord, somebody, somebody."
"Can anybody find me somebody to love?" they all sang together again.
"Everyday, I try and I try and I try but everybody wants to put me down. They say I'm goin' crazy. They say I got a lot of water in my brain. Got no common sense. I got nobody left to believe," the man sang before a younger boy, about the age 5, came out and played a guitar solo.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," they all sang, "Oh Lord. Somebody, somebody. Can anybody find me somebody to love?"
"Got no feel, I got no rhythm. I just keep losing my beat. I'm ok, I'm alright, ain't gonna face no defeat. I just gotta get out of this prison cell. Someday I'm gonna be free, Lord!" the man sang again.
"Find me somebody to love," they all sang before the older man was pushed up front.
"Can anybody find me somebody to love?" he sang in falsetto again.
The men then began to harmonize together until the music rang out. The immediate reaction to Ib was clapping. She automatically clapped for them, yet her face was permanently solid. "Very good," she complemented.
The men smiled and thanked her in unison. She gave them a small nod and continued, "I wish you luck in the competition tonight. You do know I will not be able to attend it but I do hope you win."
They nodded again and dispersed. Ib walked down to the audience and looked at Germany, Italy, and Japan. Italy took that as a way to say, "Come on, we're leaving," and sprang up. He followed Ib out and slowly Germany and Japan followed. They walked the sidewalk as people entered their homes, seeing as school was over and children were on their way home. They continued to walk until Ib stopped. She had stopped in front of a large brick-made building. She stared at the doors until they heard a bell ring and hundreds of kids rushed out of the building. Each child ran off in a different direction, to their parents who came to pick them up or towards their homes. However one child-like voice yelled, "Schweitzer!"
Just by the voice, a small smile appeared on her face. The males looked towards the voice and found a small girl running towards them. She had long white hair that went to her ankles and vibrant brown eyes. She was smaller than the rest of the children and wore a small white dress with sleeves that draped over her hands. She ran into Ib's legs and hugged them tightly, rubbing against her skirt slightly with a close-eyed smile. Ib chuckled a little and picked her up, breaking her personal space rule. "How was school, Nina?" she asked the child.
"Boring," said girl answered with a small German accent, "I vas very unawesome. All we did was color stupid numbers. I can count to one hundred in five languages! Do I really need to review zhem over and over again?"
Ib sighed and ruffled the child hair; "I'll talk to Ms. Tey about moving you to fifth grade like you're supposed to be in."
"Danke Schweitzer!" Nina exclaimed before hugging Ib again.
Slowly, however, Nina brought her gaze to the three men standing behind Ib. She blinked at them and they blinked back. "Who is this child?" was what resonated in their heads. Suddenly Nina glared at them harshly and hugged Ib tighter, "MINE!"
The males' eyes widened as Ib just chuckled at the child's behavior. "Calm down Nina," she petted the child's hair, "They're just here to visit."
"I don't like zhem," the white haired girl said, "And I know Haru von't either."
Ib sighed and kissed her forehead, "Does your opinion ever matter to me when it comes to people Nina?"
"No," she muttered, "But-"
"No buts," Ib turned and started walking again, "We're going to pick up Haru and then go home."
The other countries followed her as Nina began to pout. The men observed the child's behavior tightly, just from the curiosity to who she was and what she meant to Ib. Germany already concluded that Ib was Nina's sister but he wondered why she had white hair and an accent like his brother. They all soon stopped at a larger building but it seemed more deserted. The only person who was there was a boy seeming to be the age 17 or 18. He had short white hair that was neatly kept and his eyes were brown like Nina's. He gave a small smile and stood up, walking over to Ib. "Was beginning to think you forgot about me," he said, his voice having no accent at all.
"How could I?" Ib said, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek, "You're so much taller than me."
He chuckled, "Everyone's taller than you, Ib."
She rolled her eyes and handed him Nina. The boy soon caught his gaze to the men observing them. "Oh hello," he said turning to them.
"Ciao!" Italy exclaimed with a smile while Germany muttered a, "Hallo," and Japan bowed, "Konichiwa."
"I'm Haru," he introduced as he handed them each a small piece of paper.
The countries tilted their heads and stared at the blank pieces of paper. "In my country, only women have to greet people by kissing their palm. For men, they are to hand a piece of paper with invisible ink on it. To read the message, just shine a light over it," Ib explained.
Italy, Japan, and Germany nodded before pocketing the piece of paper. She turned around and said, "Let's go home now."
The five then walked to the Japanese-styled house and the older female opened the door and gasped. The inside was a total mess and by
the slowly growing black aura that surrounded her, you could definitely tell she was mad. "BOSKO!" she yelled.
The blonde man with the curl, now identified as Bosko, turned the corner and started to shake. "S-si, bella?" he stuttered.
"What. Happened do my house?" she growled at him.
Italy slowly hid behind Germany, who was just struck in shock of her aura. "W-well," Bosko rubbed the back of his head, "Y-you see, I was trying to find the pasta maker and-"
He stopped when he felt her aura intensify. "IT'S IN THE KITCHEN YOU BAKA!" she yelled, karate chopping his head, "HOW ARE YOU THAT STUPID!"
He automatically fell to the ground, passed out. She took a few breaths, her aura disappearing. The brunette looked at them and bowed, "I am sorry about that. My anger has a difficulty keeping in control."
She straightened herself, "Let me show you to where you may stay."
Ib slowly walked further into the house to an empty hallway with them following. There were four doors. She opened one door and said, "Italy, you can sleep here."
Italy smiled and walked into the room, looking around. "Germany, you can have the one across from him," she said opening the door, "and Japan. You can resident in the room next to his."
The two nodded and went into their designated rooms. "Ve! Ib?" Italy asked, looking at the other door in the hallway, "What's-a in this room?"
Again, her eyes saddened and Haru and Nina looked down. "Nothing," she said, not even trying to hide the sadness in her voice, "Just don't go in there okay?"
"Okay!" Italy said, oblivious.
However, the Japanese man looked to the door and thought, "What is in that room that makes her so sad?"