Disclaimer: Don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 03

Automatically, Alfred headed towards the lush elegant patio behind the mansion, knowing without a doubt that he would find them there. Alfred walked out into the welcoming warmth of sunlight and smell of wisteria flowers and freshly cut grass. Feeling a tad drowsy from the warm sun on his face, Alfred followed behind slowly with a huge smile on his face as Kuma tumbled ahead of him towards the three sitting underneath the shelter of a tree talking with empty plates on the elegantly carved metal table beside them.

"Hey Al, took you long enough!" Antonio called with a wide smile on his face, jumping up as Alfred strolled closer while Kuma immediately bounced up onto a chair and snuggled up into a ball of pure white fur.

"A hero's work is never done. You could have just started training without me." Alfred said with a yawn as he slouched down on a chair beside Wang Yao.

"And miss all the fun of seeing you getting trashed? I think not." Antonio laughed.

"Well then, you three have fun aru. I'll see if I can find anything more on the mysterious group Antonio saw." Yao said, standing up stretching.

"As a matter of fact, Father has asked Francis to take over this case." Alfred called out, a grin clear on his face, as Wang Yao was about to walk off with a skip in his steps. He never got tired of spoiling Yao's perfectly laid out plans for himself, even if this time it wasn't of his doing.

"That means that you have no excuse not to join us, da?" Ivan said, getting up from his seat with that creepy curved smile of his as Yao jumped slightly at his voice before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Why did the King decide to pass it to Francis? I was actually kind of looking forward to finding them." Antonio grumbled.

"We're going to Urbis instead." Alfred replied simply, as Antonio's face immediately lid up.

"Does that mean that King Roderich has asked for you to be our nation's ambassador for the summit in two weeks' time?" Wang Yao exclaimed, turning around abruptly, clearly surprised at the news.

"Yeah. I'm a hero after all. Funny how he still appointed me even after the fact that I had totally forgotten about it and tonight's event for the Oblitus officials." Alfred said, crossing his legs and putting his hands behind to cushion his head as he leaned back down, before turning to Antonio, "Oh and Father said that you're welcome to stay for the ball tonight." He added with a thumbs up, as Antonio whooped at the news.

"Awesome! I still have some sort of formal outfit here right?" Antonio asked with a grin.

"It's being kept together with all your other things in the guest room you always sleep in aru." Yao groaned as he walked back to the three of them with a sigh. Antonio at big events was pretty much like a bomb set to explode, taking Wang Yao along with the explosion to clear out whatever the problem Antonio had created.

"Shall we get started? We still haven't finished our little match from this morning boy. And you have got your partisan back from the guard captain?" Ivan turned to Antonio.

"Got back? That guy didn't even confiscate it. He thought it was just some junk I found." Antonio scoffed as he took out what looked like a metal stick not longer than the length of his forearm from the inner pocket of his jacket.

Antonio threw the stick into the air, catching it as it fell, and with a quick swing of his arm, the metal stick began to transform. The sound of rotating gears could be heard as the metal stick creaked and started extending in length from both ends. Just as it was about to reach its maximum length, the end that was facing away from Antonio started to open up, a sharp pointed blade forming out from within. And within a few seconds, it had changed into a partisan, with the curved blade at the side of the spearhead coming out last, clicking into place as electricity crackled across the tip of the spearhead all the way down the head.

"One day you might hold your partisan wrongly, and the spearhead will open up your body along as it opens up." Ivan noted with a cheery smile as Antonio swung his partisan over his shoulders, the smirk on his face quickly changing into one of slight fear.

"T-that wouldn't happen. I know up from down as clear as I know my own hand. And you have machinery in your weapon too it might happen to you instead." Antonio retorted, slightly rattled at the thought as he struck the blunt end of his 2-meter long partisan into the soil, the weight of the partisan making a slight puncture as it landed.

"Ehhhh really?" Ivan merely replied as he reached into his coat to take out a seemly harmless looking short metal tube. Holding it upright in his hand, Ivan clicked on a hidden button, and a small whirring sound could be heard. Immediately, the tube started to unfold, extending in length, and a second, the small harmless tube had changed into a harmless looking cane. But every single person standing there knew that the cane was not as harmless as it looked. The sight of an innocently smiling Ivan holding his harmless looking cane would send warning alarms ringing in even the most battle-hardened veterans.

"This looks so much better, da?" Ivan chirped as he placed both hands on the cane's handle, resting them on it.

"You should thank the engineers who infused your weapon's machinery with magic to change the weight and metal density back to its original state when you activate it aru." Yao said, trying to keep his tone calm in a matter-of-fact way, hoping to clear the dark atmosphere of fear that Ivan had unknowingly created.

Pulling his gloves down tight as he clenched his fists, the once invisible runes on the gloves glowing slightly, Yao continued on with a lopsided smile. "Well then, let's get started lest the day ends with us just standing here talking. I promise not to infuse too much magic or hit any of you too hard. All you'll feel is a tiny peck as I eliminate all of you aru."

"Even if you did infuse your punches with magic you still can't possibly kill anybody with a single hit; unlike us." Antonio taunted swinging his partisan's spearhead towards Yao, electrical sparks crackling and flying across the tip.

"Landing two in a roll or more is as easy as blinking." Yao replied calmly, raising his fists at Antonio, making him stop in his tracks and gulp. "And I can bring you into a world of pain with just one."

Just then, a card came flying pass their faces much to their astonishment as Alfred threw a card at each direction, making an invisible square with all four of them in it.

"The hero's speaking! Listen up! Since there's the four of us, let's go by elimination." Alfred said as he stood up, flicking a card into existence on his hand with a huge smile on his face. "If you get knocked out or leave the square, you're out. Last person standing wins, and of course that'll be me since I'm the hero."

"Sounds good to me." Ivan said, with a smile, as Antonio replied with a "Same here," along with Wang Yao who nodded in agreement,"Hao de aru".

The first one out was Antonio, getting knocked off his feet by Yao with a sweeping kick while trying to dodge a smiling Ivan who sent him flying out of the square with a painful jab with the tip of his cane. Next was Wang Yao who stepped out of the square on his own, forced into a corner by Alfred's constant warping that pushed him to the edge of the boundary. Finally Alfred and Ivan were the only two left as Yao and Antonio who had picked Kuma up watched on.

"So am I still not allowed to use my warping magic on items?" Alfred asked, spinning a dagger on his right hand while drawing a card out from thin air with his left, his breathing slow and steady.

"Well, since you asked nicely, I'll allow you use it twice for each round. Though there's still no way you'll be able to beat me." Ivan replied mockingly with a smile as the two of them circled each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Once is enough for me, the hero will finish this fast." Alfred said with a cocky grin on his face as he leaned down slightly, digging the heel of his boots into the grass, focusing his gaze solely on Ivan.

Without warning, Alfred leapt straight at Ivan, his dagger raised horizontally across his face as he threw his card forward. Ivan shifted slightly to the right, his arm covering his face, dodging the card as it exploded and turned back to see nothing but the green grass where Alfred was just a second ago. Instinctively, Ivan leaned back to his left just as an ice encrusted dagger went flying pass his head, as Alfred warped to the card that he had thrown when Ivan was distracted by the blast. Ivan, laughing in glee immediately swept his cane up towards Alfred who blocked it just in time with his dagger, getting thrown back by the force of the swing.

"Not bad boy. It's a smart move to coat your dagger with ice magic, it would have been bad if it hit me." Ivan called out, a smile on his face as a thin layer of ice melted off his cane as Alfred flew back and rolled across the soft grass.

"I'll make sure it does next time." Alfred replied with a grunt as he stuck his dagger into the ground, slowing down while using his dagger as a pivot to change his direction back towards Ivan. Using the momentum, Alfred quickly got back on his feet, running towards Ivan who stood waiting happily as he threw two cards; one straight at him while the other aimed at the area above his head.

Instead of dodging, Ivan knocked the card away as it came flying directly towards him, and just as he was about to do the same to the other, he noticed another card hidden in the path of the one he just evaded. Choosing to ignore the one directly above him for now, Ivan prepared to knock the hidden card away, when it suddenly glowed and a dagger came flying along with it. Slightly surprised, Ivan quickly turned and grabbed the dagger from mid-air instead, as Alfred warped towards the card above his head, dropping down just beside him.

"Told you, once is enough." Alfred grinned trying to catch his breath as the blade of his dagger hovered inches away from Ivan's throat.

"Da. But do you really think that you've won?" Ivan asked smiling cheekily as he poked Alfred a little too hard in the ribs with the dagger that he had caught in mid-air.

"So it's a tie aru." Wang Yao announced walking towards them with Antonio close behind, carrying a squirming Kuma in his arms.

"It might look like one but I would have won if it continued on." Ivan said as he dropped both his cane and the dagger, grabbed Alfred by the collar and flipped him over and onto the ground with a thud.

"That wasn't necessary was it?" Alfred groaned, getting up into a sitting position as Ivan looked at him with an I-told-you-so smile on his face.

"Nope, but it is good practice, da? Keep your eye on the enemy even when you think the battle has ended." Ivan advised as Alfred dusted the dirt off his coat.

"That is what I call a fight!" Antonio exclaimed as Kuma finally wiggled free from his arms. "The both of you were really out to get each other!"

"Next round it's going to be you on the ground." Ivan said tilting his head down with a smirk on his face, looking at Antonio who was trying to pick Kuma up again.

"What? No thanks there's no way I'm going to let you flip me around like a rag doll. I'm still hurting from that jab just now."

"So then round two in ten? Though I think that would give all of us an unfair advantage over Al aru." Yao said looking at Alfred as he continued panting while sitting motionless on the ground with his head down.

"Wouldn't you like that? Picking on the hero when he's tired." Alfred grimaced as he stood back up with a groan.

"But it's much more fun like this, da? Plus we got to work on your control on your item warping magic. That dagger you warped towards me was totally off target and wobbly." Ivan reasoned, patting Alfred painfully hard on the shoulder with a smile on his face.

"The fast pace between each sparing sessions would help in improving your stamina as well, and hopefully next time you won't be so tired after using it just once." Yao added as they went back to the chairs sheltered by the shadow of the tree for a quick break.

Round two ended up with Wang Yao winning, hitting Ivan in the back with a electricity infused punch as he turned to finish off Alfred who tried the same dagger warping technique on him again. However, Ivan came up on top for the third round, follow by Antonio for the fourth. Alfred was only able to shave off a close win in the fifth round where he finally decided not to use his item warping magic on that final round.

Falling down hard on the ground and panting as the cards drawing the border of the square dissipated into thin air, Alfred felt as if he was going to faint, his whole body burning from the almost continuous sparing sessions.

"Come on Al, it's only mid noon, we've only been sparing for slightly more than two hours. Are you really that worn out?" Antonio asked squatting down beside Alfred poking him on the cheek much to Alfred's annoyance.

"I wouldn't be if I kept to my normal magic." Alfred muttered gasping for air while trying to slap Antonio's hand away to no avail.

"So you're stronger without your strongest magic." Ivan shortened as Kuma took the chance to use its master as a cushion. "At least your stamina did improve, the last time you could only last till the third round before collapsing. Though we still got to work on the strength and aim of your item warping magic. All four times were unstable, and the last two were just pebbles."

"We can work on them tomorrow. The hero is beat." Alfred groaned as Yao stepped in to pull Alfred up. "I just want to get washed up and find somewhere quiet to lie down."

"And I suggest you do. The Oblitus officials will be arriving soon along with the start of the ball in a few hours' time aru." Yao said as sounds of excitement and running could be heard from within the mansion. "It would be good for you to look through the documents before you meet the Oblitus officials."

"Yeah." Alfred replied, thankful that the sparring exercises has finally came to an end, as he stood up, his legs shaking slightly from the effort. "I'll just wash up and rest in my study and maybe look through a few of the documents while I'm at it. Father said that he had already asked for the servants to bring them there."

"Very well." Wang Yao said and gave Alfred a hand to steady himself. "I'll help you in sorting out some of the documents aru. The better you understand the topic the more prepared you'll be, Your Highness."

"I'll be coming along too then, see what I can do to help." Antonio tagged along. Closely behind followed a shuffling Ivan after calling out "Me too," while Kumajirou opted to stay behind to laze in the lush patio.

The study was a mess as usual. The shelves that lined the beautifully textured walls were mostly empty; its contents spilled all across the smooth wooden floor. Even the soft posh armchair and intricately carved wooden coffee table, safe for his own leather seat and desk were cover in piles of books and documents. To make matters worse, the piles of documents and papers regarding the topic for the talks had been dumped onto the tables by the side of the wall next to the door and floor as well. It was impossible for anyone but Alfred who was already making his way smoothly while whistling to the neat stack of documents on his desk to navigate through into the room.

"It's a wonder how you are able to work here in this messy environment. It seems that I have more work than I expected." Yao frowned as he tried to make his way slowly into the room, almost knocking into a stack of papers that was blocking his way. "I know you wouldn't want me to but we have to clean up your study before starting anything."

"I like it like this. I know where everything is, and all that I need is within reach." Alfred complained looking at Yao who stared at him firmly with his arms folded, before finally giving way. "Fine. Nobody would be able to find anything here except for me." Alfred sighed as he started picking up a few books on his desk, figuring out where they went.

Cleaning up the study was hard work, and by the time the last book was finally placed back into its proper place and the floor and tables wiped clean, the bright afternoon sun that had been shining in through the intricate stained glass windows of different creatures was beginning to set, illuminating the entire room in a mixture of warm colours. However, the floor by the coffee table was cast full of shadows, as the towering stack of documents and papers sat wobbly on the floor, waiting to engulf all four of them when the moment comes.

"Do we really have to go through everything? Can't we just skim through a few and be done with it?" Antonio complained, as he fell down onto the soft comfy armchair beside Alfred who was fast asleep. He had fallen asleep while taking a break halfway through cleaning, and was now slouching down onto the armchair, snoring softly.

"Do you really have to ask questions to which you already know the answer?" Yao replied with an eyebrow raised, looking at Antonio as he straightened a stack of paper on the desk. "But that'll have to wait till tomorrow. There's only about an hour left till the ball starts, and we need to get ready. It is already bad enough that Al was not there to welcome the arriving Oblitus Officials while we were cleaning up. We have to be on time for this."

"A ball? It's been some time since the last one. Wonder what new people I can meet there, it would be so fun." Ivan said while tapping Alfred awake.

Shifting a yawn as he woke up, Alfred grumbled tiredly as he sat up, leaning forward with his head down as his dog tag and pendant fell out from under his shirt, clinking together and swaying from the movement, " Go away, I need more rest. I spent way too much energy utilizing all those magic at one go."

"The problems of being way too magically in-tuned." Ivan smiled while chanting, ''kolkolkolkol'' as he smacked Alfred on the back, almost making Alfred fall off the armchair. "That's why you got to train to control your magic flow and endurance. But come on up on your feet boy, there's a ball to attend. Da?"