I know, this is taking a while for the plot to catch up. But Persona 4 is exactly like that too, so deal. Don't worry, I'll get this going on one of these days :D

/=+=/

Kiku led Charice through the hallways as a personal tour before he led her into a small room. She took a peek in before noticing what it was called: "Newspaper Room". Last time she remembered, newspapers had something to do with human media. That's when she realized that there were other people inside the room.

"Don't be worried about the others, Charice." Kiku smiled. "They're friends of mine."

"Oh, that's fine." She chirped. "They can't be that-"

She looked up and realized that one of them was that blond man that she bumped into in the Europe class. Instead of swallowing her fear and greeting him, she somehow found herself screaming and slamming herself on the other side of the wall with a massive panic attack. Kiku looked over his shoulder in blank confusion.

"Um…are you OK, Charice?"

"I'm…fine…just…had…an adrenaline…rush…" She sighed. "…give me a few minutes…"

"Ve~~~is she OK, Kiku?"

"She's just a little shy around foreign nations. Please don't mind her." He turned to her. "Are you able to calm yourself?"

"…Sure…OK…I'm ready…"

She shook her head and cleared her mind as she walked back inside the room, making sure that she made eye contact with the blond. Her eyes darted away from him and noticed the other man in the room. His eyes were closed, but he looked extremely aware that she was standing in the room. The other thing she noticed was the odd curl on his head. He looked…a…little…cute…

"I'd like to introduce you to my friends." Kiku smiled. "The blond is the Federal Republic of Germany, and the brunette is the Northern half of the Republic of-"

*BAM*

"-Italy."

Charice had blanked out just a few minutes, but when she came back to Earth she realized that she had jumped over the table and is now squeezing the life out of the poor boy. He was "ve~ing" in a state of panic, which made her grip get even tighter. This time, she was squealing as well.

"Ve~~~~~~! D-Doitsu…save me!"

"Eh?" She looked up. "Who's Doitsu?"

"That's me…"

She looked up and saw the blond man glaring back down on her. Of course, there was only one thing she had to do: she screamed bloody murder and hid under the table on the other side of the room. The brunette "ve~d" in fear as he hid behind Doitsu as if he was a girl. She would see it was cute if it hadn't been for the fact that she was downright terrified at the moment.

"Ludwig, please don't scare the new girl." Kiku laughed. "She's like Wang Yao."

"Um…" She peeked over the desk. "Is it safe to come out…?"

"Ve~~~It's OK…I forgive you."

"All right…" She stood up. "Um…I'm the Outer Regions of the Philippines…but you can call me Charice."

"Ve~~~you're half of a country too? So am I!" The brunette chirped. "I'm Italy Veneziano, but everyone knows me as Feliciano!"

"That's a long name…can I call you Feli-chan for short?"

"Chan?" Kiku chuckled. "You know of my country's honorifics?"

"Honorifics? I just think it sounds cuter." She turned to him. "And even then, that name doesn't do this man justice! You're too cute for a simple name like that!"

"Ve~~~thank you :D"

"XD" She chuckled. "So…who's the taller guy?"

"I have a name, just so you know." The blond cleared his throat. "I'm Germany."

"Ahem." Feliciano winked.

"Right…you can…call me Ludwig."

"Huh…a very German name." She tilted her head. "Hey, Feli-chan? What did you call him earlier? It didn't sound anything like that."

"Oh, Doitsu?" Feliciano curled closer to him. "It's what the Japanese call Ludwig, and I think it fits him~!"

"Feliciano, please…"

"Interesting…I thought Germans were shorter than you…" She tilted her head the other way. "That's weird. Oh well, I've been wrong a hundred times today, what's another thousand and a half?"

"So…one thousand five hundred?"

"Don't get technical…"

"Ah, let's not get ourselves too confused." Kiku smiled. "I was able to bring the lunch that I promised, so please get yourself ready."

Feliciano chirped out a yay as they both sat down at the table ready for their lunches. Charice stared for a few minutes as Kiku handed out strange boxes with weird decorations on them. Feliciano opened the box and PRESTO there was food there! She couldn't help but stare at the rice in it. Mmm, rice…

"Do you know what these are, Charice?" Kiku asked.

"They're…boxes." She answered.

"They're bento boxes, to be exact. The people in my country use this to hold their lunches when they travel."

"Oh, like a lunch bag!"

"Yes, like a lunch bag."

She nodded in interest before realizing that there was a bento box sitting right in front of her. After a few minutes of staring at it for a few seconds (mainly poking it to show that it exists), she opened it and revealed an entire Italian dish inside of it. She stared at it for a few minutes more.

"From the looks of it, you don't have a lunch on you." Kiku smiled. "Feliciano loves to eat more than ordinary people eat, so I usually make him twice as much…but seeing as if you're a guest, I insist that you have it."

"Um…this is really random…" She looked up. "I really can't accept such a generous yet random offer like this…"

"Ve~~~it's all right!" Feliciano smiled. "Kiku has the best cooking around! You'll love it!"

Charice stared at the box of food and realized that her belly was begging for it. Screw morals. She got the two sticks next to her and snapped them in half before eating the pasta inside…and loving it…and eating it faster and faster. And now she's happier than ever.

"Well, what do you think?" Kiku asked.

"…Mahal kita, Nihon-san…"

"Hm?"

"Oh, sorry…I mean I love you, Kiku :D"

"Ahahaha…you're quite welcome, Charice." He smiled. "You seem to know how to use chopsticks."

"Is that what these things are called?" She stared at them. "I dunno, I just use them a lot when I eat in the restaurants back at home and when I don't want to use my hands [1]…"

"Yet you know how to use them so well?"

"My brother taught me how." Pasta slipped through her chopsticks. "I'm getting there…"

"You'll get there, Charice." Kiku chuckled. "You're doing better than Ludwig over there."

"I'm…getting there…"

Charice couldn't help but chuckle at his fail attempt at holding chopsticks. That's when she noticed something weird about him: he didn't have his glasses on. They were actually lying right in front of his bento box, out of harm's way in case something happens to it [2].

"Um…Doitsu-ki…"

He was eating his bento box in peace, not looking up. Charice turned her head. Maybe she had to say it louder…?

"Doitsu-ki…"

"Ludwig, she's talking to you."

"Hm?" He looked up. "You needed something?"

"…you're not wearing your glasses."

"Hm? What's wrong with that?"

"I thought people needed their glasses when they go around." She blinked. "Especially when they eat."

"Charice, I don't need glasses for anything."

"No? Then why do you wear them?"

"Ve~~~it makes him look more mature!"

"Feliciano…"

"Ah! Now I get it!" She chirped. "Thank you!"

"Mein gott…help me…"

/= [AFTER SCHOOL] =/

"Ate!"

"Eh?" She looked up. "Ah, kuya! Thank god school's over! That was the longest day in my life!"

"It really was, with all the initiations and stuff going on for the new students." Rizal answered, pulling some books together. "I have to go meet up with a few people from the Europe class for a club meeting, so can you meet me in the lobby in about two hours?"

"Sure. I'll just go wander or something."

"You're going to get lost, aren't you?"

"Haha! Of course not!"

/=+=/

God help me, I'm lost.

She looked around for a few minutes, wondering just what wing she ended up in. There was an East Wing, a West Wing, and apparently a North and South one as well. After a few minutes, she gave up worrying on just what wing she was in and decided to wander around it. The light from the windows will determine where the lobby is…she hoped.

"Hey! America! Get the hell back here!"

She blinked in confusion as she heard running feet in front of her. It was then that she saw a young man with semi-long yellow hair running toward her direction, glasses reflecting purple eyes and a look of fear. They locked eye contact for half a second before he panicked and hid behind her (and NO, she didn't scream in shock). She looked confused until she saw the big guy in the buff uniform charging toward him.

"What the hell is up with you? Stop annoying me with your damn politics!"

Charice turned back to the nation hiding behind her and then grinned. She stomped her feet on the ground and stuck her hand out, a grin on her face, as the man suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hold up! No more chasing America around! As the Republic of the Philippines, I hereby declare my alliance to the United States of America!" She waggled her finger. "You can't touch him now! Do so and you're going to face the wrath of the ASIAN INVASION!"

"U-um…b-but I'm not America…"

The both of them looked in confusion at the boy behind her as he stood up and peeked from behind her. He had a strange ahoge that spun around in a circle and looked rather shy for someone who was supposed to be America. Unless he wasn't America.

"Wait a minute…blond hair, extremely shy, loves to hide and avoids conflict…" She slapped her hands together. "I get it! You're France, aren't you?"

"I'm Canada!" He whined.

"Cana…da?" She rubbed her chin. "Oh, the landmass between America and Alaska, right? OK, I know who you are now!"

"Canada? Seriously, that's you Matthew?" The man started to laugh. "Wow, I mistook you yet again! Sorry, dude!"

"Eh?" She looked back and forth. "Am I missing something here?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry here! Me and Canada are good friends!" The man laughed.

"Yeah…that's Cuba." The other man chuckled softly.

I can't handle bro-lationships… "T-that's good to hear…since I'm new to this, I guess. Um…I'm Charice, by the way."

"Ahaha! So you're one of those proper Asian nations! It's so weird, you don't look similar to them!" The tan man laughed. "You can call me Carlos. My full name is Carlos Machado, and I'm the Republic of Cuba!"

"Nice to meet you! I hope you don't mind me almost declaring war on you and stuff."

"No problem. You look like the protective type anyway!" He laughed. "Hey, Matthew…introduce yourself!"

"…hello." He smiled. "I'm Canada…Matthew Williams if you're-"

*tackle glomp*

"Awwwwww, you're so cuuuuuttee :D"

"Ahahahahaha! I think she takes a fancy to you, Matthew!"

"Uh, um…t-thank you…" He giggled nervously, a little scared. "I…never had this much attention before…"

"Whaaat? But you're so cute…!" She snuggled him. "You're like Feli-chan…only blond!"

"Oh, Italy? T-thank you…"

"Geez, should I leave you two alone or something?"

"P-please don't…"

"Hey, if you're Canada, than who's America?" She stood back. "Does he look like him?"

"Yep…I'm getting there, but it's really hard to tell the difference between the both of them." Carlos rubbed his forehead. "If you've seen America before, than you'll know what I mean."

"Hm…I think I've seen him before…" She blinked. "No, I know so. Me and my brother had lived with him for quite some time."

"Ah, I see." Carlos nodded. "That's interesting. I never thought America was sane enough to have colonies."

"I think we were commonwealths." She rubbed her forehead. "But other than that, he gave us our independence, so I don't worry too much about it."

"I see…you're a lot more forgiving than I am!" Carlos pouted. "That guy is such a pain!"

"I can…imagine that." She chuckled. "Ahahaha, you guys are fun to hang out around!"

"This is your first day here, right?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, actually." She blinked.

"We should hang out more often! I know a few other countries, so I can introduce you to them!"

"That's true!" She chirped. "If all of them are as interesting as you, then I'll love this place!"

/=+=/

She met up with Rizal after a few hours, noticing him waving at her. He grinned as he started walking down a pathway behind the campus, causing her to follow along. Before she knew it, she found herself at yet another building, reaching the heavens…at least that's what it looks like.

"Um…what is this place?"

"This is our dormitory." He answered. "We're categorized by our classes as well, but we each get our own room. Fortunately, I heard that we're right next door."

"Ah! I want to see my room now!"

Rizal chuckled as he tossed the keys to her and led her into the building. He wandered the hallways until he climbed a few stairs and pointed at her room. She opened the door and looked inside, surprised that it looked like a luxury hotel room (a little cheaper than the extremely expensive rooms, but still…). She jumped on the bed in the small bedroom.

This place isn't so bad… She grinned. It's like one of those expensive hotel rooms…like I'm on vacation! Only I have to study or something…

She sighed and looked up to the ceiling.

This isn't going to be a bad experience, after all…

/=+=/

[1] Filipinos are well-known for eating with their hands and usually prop their legs up when they eat. I don't know if that is all Filipinos, but me and my sister do it…and I'm American :D

[2] I do that too…we use the excuse that we don't need to see far when eating.

The action is going to come up next chapter…hopefully.