Kiku was standing in the middle of the always busy Galeão International Airport, frantically looking around himself. Not one familiar face in sight, he sighed sadly and went to sit on a nearby bench. "Sure, they joked about it, but..." he muttered to himself while searching for his cellphone, "I never would have guessed they'd actually forget about me."
Arthur and Francis were currently sitting at a restaurant dedicated to traditional Brazilian cuisine when the Brit's phone started to ring. With a horrified look he stared at the blinking screen and glanced at his questioning friend when he slowly lifted the cell to his ear. "Yes, Kiku?" Francis slapped himself on the forehead as he suddenly remembered they were supposed to meet their Japanese friend at the airport, but having visited all the amazing places Rio had to offer and having been overwhelmed from the colorful culture (and not to mention all the fun they've been having), they had completely forgotten about their duty. He sighed as he also remembered that they had forgotten to look for a nicer place to stay at. He decided to take the initiative and also took out his cellphone to talk to his friend. He dialed Antonio's number and decided to persuade the Spaniard to go to the airport while Arthur was apologetically explaining his actions to Kiku. As Francis had suspected, the call had fallen to deaf ears: Antonio wasn't picking up. Worringly, he decided to try for Gilbert instead and he sighed in relief when the latter answered. "Well, look who it is!" came a comically hurt shout from the other end as Gilbert started to rant and blame Francis and Arthur for leaving without notice. Knowing that there was no time to waste on arguing, the Frenchman interrupted the Prussian and asked him whether he was with Antonio. "It's always about Antonio, huh? You've always liked him more than me," the white-haired man exclaimed with a bitterly joking tone and the next moment Antonio's voice was heard over the phone. "Heya, Francis, how can I help you?" "Antonio, I need you to go to the Galeão International Airport and pick Kiku up. He has arrived in Rio, but we forgot to go to the airport in time. Think you could do it for us?" Francis asked, biting his lower lip. Seeing that Arthur was much calmer than before gave him a feeling of encouragement; he probably had managed to talk things through with Kiku and Francis hoped things would go just as smoothly with Antonio. "Oh yeah, that," he heard his friend drawl on the other end. "Of course. Right now?" "Yes," Francis said, smiling victoriously. "Sure thing," Antonio only replied and ended the call. Francis told Arthur of the good news who happily forwarded them to Kiku. The Japanese thanked him and apologized for any inconvenience he might had caused to which the Brit rolled his eyes and also ended the call. "I didn't clear up the motel-thing with them yet, I decided we could apprehend them later," Francis told Arthur and took a sip of red wine he had ordered to accompany their delicious feijoada. Arthur thought it was sensible as Kiku was waiting in a completely foreign place he had no sense of orientation in. They decided to search for a better hotel after having finished their meal and went to the local tourist information center.
About an hour later they all met in front of the dusty motel and Arthur greeted his long-time friend with a bright smile on his face. Kiku suspiciously peered at the inn and having noticed Francis chuckle to himself, he quickly apologized. "I'm sure it has lots of hidden charms!" he exclaimed hastily and bowed his head. Francis shrugged it off and replied that there was nothing to be sorry about. "Actually we are here only to take our luggage and check ourselves out from here." "I'm guessing you've found a better place to stay at?" Gilbert asked, ready to jump in with his mansion-idea. Arthur nodded and told them he'd tell them more about it after Francis and him had retrieved their belongings. Half an hour later they all - the luggage and the five men - were crammed into Antonio's little rental car and were on their way to a just opened guest house, an amazing find: a cheap and beautiful housing facility in the bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa, which was only a few-minute walk away from major transportation stops such as the buses and trains to take them to the most famous sites of Rio de Janeiro. Francis understood, why Antonio and Gilbert hadn't found the place on their own - the 30's house was actually owned by a nice Croatian senior couple and Francis and Arthur just happened to stumble upon it by mistake: they had left the information center after growing tired of hearing about only the super-expensive five-star hotels or the hostels for backpackers and after having read the map wrong, they had found themselves in tranquil Santa Teresa -, but still wanted to know why the two had decided on a motel like that. After having listened to some minutes of senseless explaining, he gave up and decided just to drop the subject. Arthur also decided it was pointless to try and get an adequate answer to the question why they had abandoned them before in such a manner and they just chatted about minor things until they pulled into Rua Andrès Belo street. It was a lush street, filled with all sorts of tropical trees and bushes, since it was a residential area where tourists didn't usually end up in. That was what had appealed most to Arthur and after having had a lovely chat with the people who owned the place, they managed to get the place for a very reasonable price. "The belle vieille dame said we don't have to worry about our meals, since she will be cooking for us," Francis told their friends happily and went to greet the two elders who were waiting at the doorstep. "Are we the only ones staying here?" Kiku asked Arthur when he helped him lift the luggage off the car. The Brit nodded and explained that the two had decided to lend their house as a place to stay just the day before. They all went inside the bright yellow house surrounded by green vegetative and thanked the couple for letting them stay over.
After having had an enjoyable home-cooked dinner, the five went to leisure around the garden. Feeling too full to move, they sat down into big woven chairs filled with soft pillows and told each other of the day they had had. Gilbert and Antonio told the other three of the "haunted" mansion they had found. "We just have to check it out. You know, for adventure's sake!" Gilbert explained while picking his pearly whites with a toothpick. "Antonio doesn't seem that interested..." Arthur pointed out to Gilbert's dismay. "It's just... I have no idea what I'm supposed to gain from that sort of an... experience. It could be dangerous," the Spaniard tried to reason to which the Prussian interrupted with an argument saying that adrenaline is a cheap and an awesome drug. "Maybe we should vote?" Kiku suggested and after having done just that, Antonio sighed as he had lost. "When do you think we should check it out?" Francis asked and lit a cigarette, having noticed that the old man keeping the place was smoking a cigar, so he thought smoking was allowed. "At night, probably," Kiku huffed and earned an approving look from Gilbert. "What, tonight? No-no-no, I'd like to sleep, I'm terribly tired," Arthur protested and gazed at the orangeish sky up above. Francis agreed and explained that they had walked a lot that day and Kiku had had a long flight. "Fine, pussies," Gilbert sighed and everyone agreed to go there the next night. A little while later the old woman came to them and informed them that the beds have been prepared. Having thanked her they decided to check out the rooms. They had divided themselves as such: Antonio, Gilbert and Francis in one room and Arthur, Kiku and Alfred, who'd be arriving a few days later, were to stay in the other. After having climbed the stairs to the third floor (the couple stayed on the second floor and the bathroom was there, while the kitchen, dining and lounge area were on the first), they went to their bedrooms. They were across each other and were sort of small, but spacious enough for three men to fit in and move about well.
The room Arthur and Kiku (and Alfred) were staying in was colored in a mild chocolate brown tone and also had brown flooring with different raggy carpets on it. Big windows were covered with striped green curtains and opened to the garden. The beds were springy and felt nice. There also was a small soft orange couch in the corner with a table in front of it, big pillows on the ground surrounding it. It was a lovely room and the signs showing it had been used by the Croatian couple's family actually made it lovelier, gave a sense of secure feeling of home. The bad trio's bedroom was painted with golden yellow and had brown wooden flooring. The beds were low and soft and the bed-linen had a "homey" feeling to it; it was in different colors and patterns and the pillows didn't match the blanket like they would in a fancy hotel or such. They liked that and overall the room had a comfortable and sweet feel to it, the various old books and photos on the shelves and cupboards giving it a more sentimental value. Big windows opened to the quiet street and were covered with thick burgundy curtains. Although the two rooms differed from one another in coloration and furniture, they both gave out a feeling of home, which they all liked. All 5 felt comfortable moving about in the house and were very happy and thankful for the two pensioners for letting them stay in a wonderful place such as that.
Arthur and Kiku, both completely exhausted from their day, had already gone to bed, but the other three were still playing some Chinese poker in their room. Francis was currently on a winning streak when Gilbert decided to blow off some steam. "Enjoyed last night, I reckon?" he asked with a smug smile to which the Frenchman only furrowed his brow. "I know where you're going with this, Gilbert, and I do not like it," he answered and shamelessly laughed as he watched Antonio pick up almost an entire deck of cards. "I heard you had a lot of fun with Arthur today," Gilbert continued to press, still having a stupid smile on his face. "So what if I did?" Francis asked, becoming irritated by his friend's smug tone. "Nothing, nothing," the Prussian chuckled and kept grinning to himself. "Oh, come on!" Antonio exclaimed as he had to pick up all the cards again after just having got rid of them. "Oh, and Gilbert, honey? Drop the subject already, are you really that jealous of Francis having other friends besides us?" he added and earned an approving look from Francis. "Oui, you hang out with a lot of people too when we're not around." "Ugh, I'm just teasing, you stuck-ups," Gilbert laughed and the two knew he was actually being honest. After having played a few more rounds, they also decided to go to bed. "Tomorrow, then. We have to ask the old couple where a store near here is," Gilbert yawned from between the covers and the three fell asleep soon after that.