Italy loved America's kitchen. His kitchen back in Rome was perfect for him and Romano, but this kitchen was huge, and perfect for making enough food to feed a large mass of personifications. He knew when America and whoever else made this kitchen, they had this situation in mind. Italy doubted there were many times when the states were all gathered in this house, but the house was prepared to rise to the occasion anyway. The cabinets were filled with enough cooking utensils to make and serve an entire banquet, the pantry and the walk-in freezer were both stocked with cans and frozen food, and there was enough dish soap to clean every dirty dish ten times over.

He was quickly getting to know the states he watched, since they were more than talkative once they found out they had to clean up after breakfast. He already knew New York, Maryland, Kentucky, and Tennessee fairly well, but he didn't have the time to talk to many Western states. So far Illinois, Washington, Kansas, Arizona, and Minnesota seemed nice.

Illinois groaned as she viciously scrubbed a pan coated with crusty scrambled eggs, "Who the hell let the eggs just stick to the damn pan like this!?"

New York brought another stack of dirty plates from the dining room and placed them on the counter, "You can blame Mass. He was the one in charge of the 'amazing New England breakfast.' I would know, since I was there. I was woken up before five in the morning by an obnoxious Quaker, and spent hours cooking breakfast, only to be thrown back in the kitchen afterwards to clean." He crossed his arms and bitterly added, "The perks of being an escort; we're immediate suspects for everything, and we get extra house work! How lovely!"

"Sorry, New York," Italy called. He couldn't hear what the state grumbled as a response. At first the state intimidated Italy, especially when he only thought he was an intruder in America's apartment. Now he realized that New York wasn't so threatening, actually he seemed more skittish around nations than Italy could ever be towards a state.

Maryland snickered, "Think of the bright side, York. Once this whole mess is behind us we can look back and brag about being the first states to meet the nations!" He stopped drying a plate, and glanced over at Kentucky, "Hey, can you place this in that top cabinet in the corner while you're at it?" He pointed upwards with the plate in hand, "I'm running out of room."

Kentucky -who was standing on one of the counters storing kitchenware- nodded, "Sure, cousin. I don't think I opened that one yet. Just make sure you remember where you're making a new stack so we don't lose any of the plates." Kentucky took the plate, and stood on the balls of his feet to reach the top-corner cabinet. Italy noticed Maryland now watched Kentucky with a large grin plastered on his face. Kentucky reached for the handle and pulled the cabinet door open.

"EEEEEEK!" Kentucky screeched, and lost his footing on the counter. The glass plate shattered against the floor when he scrambled to keep himself from falling. He snatched the cabinet door off its hinges on his way down, and crashed onto the tiled floor.

Italy gasped, and every state stopped what they were doing to glance over at Kentucky groaning on the ground. Maryland broke the silence with a few stifled laughs. He bent over and clutched his stomach, he could barely speak through his bubbling laughter, "Oh. My. God. You fell for that! I can't breathe, I need a moment."

"What did you do?" Italy asked, watching him with wide eyes.

Tennessee stepped onto the counter and peaked inside the high cabinet. He almost fell himself, "Jesus! Mary, where did you even find this? It looks way too realistic!" He reached into the cabinet, and held a black rubbery rat out by its tail. Even though he knew it wasn't real, Italy felt sick looking at it.

"Get down from there!" Minnesota called out. "Don't hurt yourself."

Washington nodded, "Yeah, if you get hurt, then I have to do more work to make up for you not being able to."

"How much you care," Tennessee laughed and hopped down from the counter, barely avoiding landing on Kentucky. He bent down and offered the state a hand, "You alright, cousin?"

Kentucky groaned and grabbed his hand. Tennessee pulled him to his feet, and he sent Maryland a glare, "Why?!"

"For the points," Maryland said with a smirk. "I'd say I'm doing pretty well in this prank war, can you say the same?"

Every Non-Southern state in the room deadpanned, "...No way."

Illinois broke into a grin, "I don't care how old school that prank is, putting it in the highest cabinet was genius, so good job!" She walked over and gave him a high five.

"Don't encourage him!" New York said, crossing his arms. "Where did you find time to do that? We had our hands full all morning."

"When Ohio and Michigan got in that huge argument, and Germany had to break them up," He explained all too easily.

Kentucky shook his head. He seemed more upset that he gave Maryland a few more points in the prank war than falling on a shattered plate and breaking a cabinet door. Italy wondered if he noticed his skin was cut open in short deep slices on his shoulder, and that a few trails of blood were running down his arm. He inspected the fake rat and smirked, "Is this the best you can do? I know Tennessee and I can do better!"

"You think so?" Maryland asked playfully. "I doubt you can."

"Is that a challenge?"

"You bet it is."

Italy looked between the three states, "so... did Virginia give you permission to continue the prank war?"

They paused. Tennessee and Kentucky quickly glanced at each other, then nodded, "Of course she did! She totally changed her mind, and everything. We're all surprised."

Maryland cringed and shook his head, "The prank war is still banned, she doesn't know."

"Oooooooooooooo," The chorus came from the rest of the states, and Italy couldn't help but laugh.

Arizona turned to Kansas, "What do you think Virginia is going to do to them when she finds out?"

"It won't be pretty, I can tell you that," She said, smirking when the three Southerners stared at her with bulging eyes and white faces.

New York placed his hand over his heart in mock-surprise, "Mary! To think you'd act against one of our fellow Stripes. I'm so shocked I might have to leave to tell her right now." He started walking towards the hall when Tennessee and Kentucky caught his arm.

"No!" They shouted in unison.

"How far will you go to keep your precious prank war going?" Kansas asked.

Maryland rested his hand on his chin, "In all honesty, since it started we've done so many disgusting and ridiculous things to earn as many points as possible." Kentucky and Tennessee nodded in agreement, "So at this point, we're willing to do anything."

Illinois propped herself on top of the counter, Italy caught a mischievous look in her eyes, "Now we're talking. I say we keep your little secret, but at a price."

Tennessee groaned, "What's the price?"

She turned to Italy and gave him a waving gesture, offering the decision to him. He hummed in thought, "How about you have to do everything we say when we finish a request with... 'fake rat!'"

"That's ridiculous!" Kentucky blurted out, throwing his hands in the air.

"Almost as ridiculous as your prank war," Washington countered.

Italy giggled, "Maryland, can you get rid of that rat, and clean up the broken plate on the floor? Also you can figure out how to reattach that cabinet door, right."

"Why me?" He asked, seeming genially surprised Italy called him out. "Sure, I planted the rat, but Kentucky dropped the plate and broke the cabinet!"

"Fake rat."

Maryland stopped pushing his side of the argument and sighed, "I have a feeling this is going to be a long stay in America's house."

"Tell everyone else competing as well," Kansas added. "This rule applies to every state who dares to continue the prank war in this house." They slumped their shoulders and regretfully agreed to the terms.

Minnesota went into a storage closet and came back with a first aid kit. He tossed it at Kentucky, "Clean yourself up, please. I already mopped the floors, and now I have to do it again because you're dripping blood everywhere."

"Huh?" It was only when he caught the kit did he realize the hand movement caused a few droplets of blood to fly off his arm. "...Oh. Maryland I'm so getting you back!"

"Let's finish cleaning before you three do something stupid again," Washington said.

The three Southerners muttered complaints while the rest of the states teased them. Italy smiled as he watched them gradually return to cleaning the kitchen. He enjoyed supervising the states, it wasn't as hard as Germany claimed it was. Germany acted like watching over them was a chore, but then again he did that with everything. Not many states gave Italy too much trouble, and those who did were lectured by the states near them. They keep themselves busy with their endless conversing, Italy mostly just had to make sure they actually cleaned, stayed in the same room, and avoided talking about the investigation that England was starting with everyone.

While he hated blood, violence, and anything this 'Capital' was willing to do, he still hoped he could take part in the investigation. He wanted to help America, and all of these states he met! Certainty he could do more for the states than keeping an eye on them, right?

XXX

Three quarters of an hour passed before the kitchen was cleaned. Maryland and Kentucky barely finished drying and putting the plates away before Romano entered the kitchen with a group of states trailing him, "Oi, Veneziano!"

Italy glanced up when he heard his brother's voice. He smiled brightly at him, "Romano! Perfect timing, we just finished cleaning from breakfast."

"Good, because we're starting lunch."

Minnesota shook his head, "This kitchen is never going to catch a break."

Arizona agreed, "By the time Lunch is cleaned up, dinner will roll around. At least no one touches the kitchen overnight."

"So what's for lunch?" Italy asked.

Both Italians jolted when the states with Romano immediately broke into loud argument. New York and Maryland groaned, "I've heard enough arguing about cooking to last until the next century."

Italy could barely make out some of the dishes the states suggested. Romano glared at them and barked, "Shut the hell up you bastards!" Most of the states stopped talking at his outburst. "I'm deciding what we're making for everyone and that's final!"

Italy laughed, "That's one way to settle the issue. You're very good at this, Romano!"

"Yeah, good at bossing us around and pretending to have some authority," a state muttered from the corner of her mouth.

"Not now, Louisiana!" Romano said, glaring daggers at her. "We have a lot of work to do, and we're not wasting our time deciding what to serve." She returned his harsh tone with a teasing grin. She wasn't taking his temper seriously, which seemed to irk Romano even more.

Italy smiled, "I should get everyone out of the way so you can begin making lunch. Good luck everyone! I'll see you later, Romano," He gave his brother a quick hug. It was nice even though Romano struggled and cursed. Romano quickly broke away, straightened his shirt, and started giving out orders to the states he led.

They were barely out of the kitchen before Kentucky and Tennessee came bounding up to Italy. They both slowed when they were on both sides of him and matched his pace, "So cousin, where are you taking us now?"

"Germany told me to take you to the media room Romano came from!"

Italy's smile faltered when Tennessee tilted his head back and groaned, "The media room, again? We just watched movies with Prussia yesterday!"

Kentucky joined in, "Are we going to be watching movies for the entire time this investigation is happening? That would be extremely boring, and a waste of time. Would a nation as cool as you really allow us to do something so boring?"

He felt his face heating up, "Well... I do consider myself a very cool nation. Where do you want to go?" The two states grinned when he offered them a friendly smile. He couldn't help but wonder if they really were planning on leaving the states in the media room the whole time. Kentucky and Tennessee had a point; eventually the states were going to become restless, and if they didn't give the states at least some control, then what would stop the states from not listening to them at all?

New York scoffed and sent them a warning look, "Stop pushing around the nations, or I will tell Virginia what you've been doing!" His scornful glare faded, and he lingered on the topic, "Only out of curiosity... where do you want him to watch us?"

Tennessee's eyes sparked with excitement, "You know, we're not very good hosts since you didn't see much of the downstairs. We only showed you the important places and the bedrooms, so I'm guessin' none of y'all knew we had a game room."

Washington gasped, "I almost forgot about the game room!"

"That's because you Westerners don't come down here as often," Maryland said. He turned to Italy with a hopeful smile, "So, Italy, what do you say?"

He slowed his walk towards the media room, and turned back to look at the states following him throughout the halls. Each state now watched him with interest, waiting for his answer. He had to admit, checking out a new part of the house sounded better than watching a movie on any day, "Alright," a few states let out a cheer, "on one condition!" They paused, "We'll go to this game room as long as it's not near the front of the house."

Kentucky nodded eagerly, "No problem! The game room is near the backyard, actually. Come on, we'll lead the way!" Italy happily followed the states while they chattered about the game room, and how jealous the other states were going to be.

Tennessee stopped outside a wooden door identical every other door in the house. If Italy were walking down the hall, he probably would have walked past this room without a glance. "Ready?" When Italy nodded, he swung the door opened and led him through the doorway.

He gasped when he looked around the room. The first thing he noticed about the room was it was about the length of three. Wide windows lined the long back wall, letting in light and showing the beautiful garden in the backyard. While the room itself was spacious, everything in the room made it seem like an average size. There was a pool table, a ping pong table, and an air hockey table lined next to each other. There was a dance dance revolution and a few more arcade games. A large and luxurious bookshelf took up the whole left wall, full of old books and board games. Along the right wall there were two couches, and in front of one of the windows was a large round table surrounded by leather cushioned chairs.

"What do you think?" Arizona asked.

"It's wonderful!" Italy cheered.

"Glad you agree," Kentucky smirked at Arizona, "Hey Ari, I bet Tennessee and I can kick your ass at pool."

"No way! Kansas, let's show them how it's done," Arizona grabbed Kansas' wrist and dragged her towards the pool table before she could protest.

Illinois put her arm around Minnesota, "Ping pong?"

He gave her a wide grin, "Ping pong." The Mid-Westerners rushed around the room in search for the paddles and the ping pong ball.

Italy smiled and sat at the round black table while New York and Washington set up the air hockey table. "Hey, Maryland, do you know if there's any paper around here?"

The state shrugged, "Probably somewhere. Nevada keeps a stash of paper in almost every room of the house for convenience." He walked across the room and shuffled through the bookshelf until he returned with a stack of blank computer paper and a pen. "Here you go, why do you need it?"

Italy took the supplies thankfully, "I want to do some quick sketching." He hasn't done much art since originally arriving in New York for America's party, and maybe he could even sketch a few of the states. He'd love to capture their eyes.

Maryland sat down cross-legged in the chair across from him, "Cool! What are you thinking of sketching?"

"For now probably this room," he said, mentally taking note of the details he'll have to put in for certain parts of the game room. So far it seemed to be the bookshelf that was the most complicated for adding detail. Most of the board game boxes were old and coming apart, and the books were in no better condition, he'd have to put in the extra effort to show that.

"Are we going to be in it?" Maryland asked. His eyes darted to the pen in Italy's hand, "because while I'm an Internationalist, I'm still against you having any recorded evidence that you met us, or know of our existence at all."

Italy gave him his best reassuring smile, even though he couldn't help but feel disappointed "Don't worry, Mary. I'd never do anything that could accidentally lead to unwanted attention." Italy still didn't understand the whole debate between the Internationalists and the Isolationists. Well, he understood the main issue, but he didn't understand why at times he found an Internationalist agreeing with an Isolationist idea and visa versa. "Did you ever run into this problem before?"

Maryland cringed, "We had a couple... incidents. Most of them were brushed off or cleared up quickly. Others lingered, and took months to clear suspicion. What I can tell you is that there's no way we're not having another vote after everything is cleared up, and if the Isolationists outvote us again then we'll probably have to make a few deals to keep this secret."

"And if you outvote the Isolationists?" Italy glanced up from the paper he was inspecting to study the state's reaction.

Maryland tapped his finger against his chin, he had a reflecting look in his eyes, "That never happened before, honestly I don't know how we would handle the events to follow that decision, even though I've been voting for it all these years. It's not that I can't picture both nation and state accepting each other as equal personifications, I just don't know how we'd get there. I'm sure Michigan is the only one who planned that far, since he's the one that does all the envisioning during debates."

Italy grinned and eagerly said, "These debates sound so cool! Do you think I could watch one?"

New York glared at them from across the room, "No! Our debates are for states only." He paused, causing Washington to almost get the air hockey puck past his line of defense. "I can't believe I just banned a nation from one of our debates. I never thought I'd actually have to do that."

"Probably because we all agreed we wouldn't meet a nation until the Internationalists outvoted you," Washington said, a hint of frustration in her voice as she jerked the puck towards New York's goal. "None of us predicted we were going to be found out."

"I bet whoever's behind this did, or else they wouldn't have lasted this long." The state easily knocked the puck into Washington's goal, causing her to glare at him. He caught her eye while she retrieved the puck, "I think they're an Internationalist."

"You don't really believe that," Maryland burst out. His face reddened when half the states in the room turned their attention to him, "I- uh- sorry."

Illinois didn't look up from her ping pong match with Minnesota, but Italy could almost hear the playful grin in her voice, "Does New York have a challenger? This is going to be fun."

New York finished the game by getting the puck past Washington again, and narrowed his eyes at Maryland, "If you have something to say, Mary, then say it." Italy tapped his pencil against the blank paper in front of him, silently debating whether or not he should intervene.

Maryland fidgeted in his seat, then glanced up from his hands and met New York's excruciating stare. "I already said it. You don't believe they're an Internationalist. You lied," The cold fact in his voice surprised Italy, as did the quick change in his demeanor. He pressed the tips of his fingers together and tilted his chin up, "You want to think they're an Internationalist, but you don't really believe that. However, if you push towards the idea that they're an Internationalist, then the Isolationists look better. It sounds like a good plan if you ask me. Now tell me this, if they're actually an Isolationist, who's winning the next debate?"

Arizona raised her eyebrows, "That's right! If they're Isolationist, your side would lose a lot of support, New York. The opposite can be said if they're Internationalist."

"What if they're neutral?" Italy asked.

She snorted, "Given how only us four corner states and Indiana are neutral, there's a good chance that not many of us will choose a side even if it turns out they're neutral."

"But a lot will change if they're Isolationist," Kentucky said.

"A lot," Tennessee echoed. He looked between Minnesota and New York, "So, what would you Isolationists do if you can't outvote us again?"

Minnesota shrugged, "It obviously wouldn't be in my favor, and I doubt I'd change my viewpoint even if they're Isolationist, but a vote's a vote. You Internationalists lose every vote, and nobody ever acted against it, no matter how crazy some of you are. So I guess I'd adjust to the change eventually."

After Minnesota stated his opinion everyone turned to hear from New York, but he turned away from them and crossed his arms, "I'm dropping this conversation. We're just going to have to wait and see who's behind all of this, and I'd like you all to keep in mind that there's much more important things to think about than how the outcome of this will effect our debates." He stormed past the other states and grabbed a book off the shelf. Without checking to see what the title was, he sat down in one of the lounging chairs and began to read. Italy saw it as more of a way to block out the others if anything since he couldn't leave the room.

"Look who's backing out of the conversation after it doesn't go his way," Illinois muttered. She then growled when the ping pong ball flew past her, "Dammit, Minnesota! How are you so good at this?"

Minnesota laughed, "Don't worry Illinois, maybe someday you'll beat me." She served the ball viciously, and he easily returned it.

Most states returned to their games. Maryland leaned back in his seat and rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. Italy leaned over the table and talked in a low tone, "How could you tell he lied?"

Maryland shrugged, "It was really easy. He didn't have enough information to say what this state is with certainty. None of us do, unless we're guilty of course." He closed his mouth, and hesitated, as if he were debating to say more. Then he studied Italy cautiously, "You're an artist, so you have an eye for detail, right?"

Italy nodded quickly, eager to see where he was going with this, "Of course I do."

"Good. One of you should learn this and use it correctly during this investigation. That wasn't the only way I knew he lied, it was just the most obvious one. Watch everyone carefully enough, and you'll be able to know when they're lying and when they're not. Pay attention to what they do when they're telling the truth just as much as what they do when you think they're not. Watch their actions, their tone of voice, and how they react to certain things. Keep an eye out for change, and eventually you'll know everyone's tell when they lie. Some are obvious, and some are barely noticeable, but you'll catch it."

Italy stared at him in awe, then smiled, "I'll do my best. What's New York's 'tell?'"

He grinned, "I'd tell you to see for yourself, but his is a bit more difficult to catch. His left eyebrow has a slight twitch to it when he lies, it'd be easy to catch if his eyebrow didn't also twitch when he's aggravated, which is most of the time. I'd tell you everyone else's, but it'd be better if you found them out yourself, so keep a careful eye."

"Mary!" Washington called, causing him to jump. "Whatever you're babbling about all quiet-like over there can't be more important than challenging me to a round of air hockey."

Maryland sent Italy a quick wink, "No it can't. Let's see if I can beat you." He hopped down from the chair and lowered his voice again, "It's not too hard once you figure it all out, just remember to use it as a tool rather than a weapon. Good luck with the investigation." He strode over to the air hockey table and started the game, leaving Italy to quietly watch them and reflect on what he heard.

XXX

The few hours between then and lunch passed almost too quickly. Italy's drawing was coming along well, while he couldn't finish before Romano called him to announce that the food was done. Most of the states dragged their feet heading towards the dining room. They half exhausted themselves playing games against each other.

Italy could smell the food several hallways away. It smelled like home; herbs, spices, tomatoes, garlic, he recognized it immediately. He had to force himself to slow down so he didn't leave the states behind. He let out a gasp when they entered the dining room through one of the two luxurious doorways. Italy appreciated the work of art that was the dining room. The table had a delicate beauty with it's gold table runner over the white tablecloth. Now the long assortment of table centers that ran down the middle of the table were lined along one wall, and in its place were platters full of food. Italy instantly felt his mouth watering. There was steaming pasta, seasoned pizza, sizzling sausage, large meatballs, warm ciabatta, rich tortellini soup, thick lasagna, biscotti, and dishes that were so far down the table, he couldn't identify them.

When Italy spotted Romano, the first thing he did was rush up to him and wrap him in a tight hug, lifting him from the ground in his excitement. "Veneziano, put me down!" Romano shrieked.

Italy lowered him to the ground, his smile not fading, "Romano, this is amazing! How did you make all of this?!"

"He didn't," Louisiana said, casually leaning against the wall besides them. "All he did was write down the recipe, and yell when we did something a tad different from his special instructions."

Romano rolled his eyes, but there was no anger etched onto his expression. While he was easily annoyed, and lost his temper often, he tried to hold back when around pretty women. Italy bet he has been mostly holding back around the states since there were so many pretty women, but he doubted he went long without a few slip ups here and there. "It's not my fault some of you can't make a dish correctly the first time. Remind me, how many times did you have to remake the tortellini soup?"

She shrugged, "All that matters is it made it to the table. By the way, remember that since I helped you convince everyone to make Italian, the next time we're in the kitchen together I'm showing you how we make food in New Orleans."

He shook his head, "Fine, as long as it's not disgusting."

"It won't be, I can promise you that," She gave him a beaming grin, and Italy giggled. So far he was enjoying watching the others talking to the states, it was interesting how after avoiding them for so long, the states ended up getting along with them quickly. We'll at least a handful of them, which was enough for Italy to be happy about.

Louisiana left to talk to a few more Western states Italy has yet to meet, while Romano left to talk to Spain, who just entered with his group of states. Italy peered over the group of states flooding into the dining room, all hanging their mouths open and staring at the food wide-eyed. He kept searching the faces of states until he spotted a head of light blond hair swept back in a clean manner, "Germany!" He ran towards the nation he knew so well and jumped into a hug.

Germany didn't seemed surprised from the hug. He gently put Italy down, and nodded towards him, "Hallo, Italy. How was watching the states? They didn't give you any trouble, did they? If they did then I'll set them straight, and teach them how to show a little respect."

He laughed at Germany's overly-serious tone, "Nope! Everything went really well, the only issue was when an argument between the Isolationists and Internationalists started, but it quickly came to an end."

Germany quickly glanced around the room, most of the states were too preoccupied with the delicious Italian food, and didn't pay too much attention to the two nations standing to the side. "I still don't understand why neither the Southern states nor the New England states mentioned their heated debates. Certainty it could have been brought up in conversation based on some reactions to meeting us, but for some reason it wasn't."

Italy shrugged. He considered that weird before, and mentioned it to Romano, but then he was much more concerned about his brother's well being to dwell on the thought, "Maybe they didn't want us to know at first, but not all states agreed to keep it quiet." He faltered and studied the ground, "Then again, I don't know why they would do that, or when they would've had the time to plan something like that. It's not a very good suggestion." He knew he really wasn't a strategist, maybe there was a reason he was sent to watch the states.

Germany knitted his eyebrows together and spoke in an even lower tone. Italy had to lean forward to hear him over the states' chatter, "I wouldn't say that. Remember how England and France spied on New York when he was chatting with the other escorts?" Italy nodded, "They said they left when New York announced there were two minutes before he had to return to us. He could have mentioned something in that short period of time. I don't know why they would want to hide that from us, it's hard to try to see things from their point of view."

Italy smiled, "They're not too hard to understand when you start talking to them." Maybe he could figure that out. These states really weren't too different from any other personification. He learned a lot from them with the little contact he had, if he could learn more then would he actually serve a purpose in this investigation?

"If you say so," He said, glancing back to the long table. "We should eat, you must be happy since this is all Italian food."

Italy bounced up and down excitedly, "Yes I am! Romano and everyone helping him did a great job!" Washington waved to him and gestured to an empty seat next to her, "I think Washington wants me to sit with her, but I'll talk to you later, Germany!" He gave Germany a quick hug, and sauntered towards Washington.

She grinned at him as he took the seat she pointed to, "Italy, nice to see you sitting with the cool kids." He smiled and looked at the states around him, he didn't recognize many of them. She gestured to the state on his right, "That's Oregon, the state across from you is California, and the state across from me is Idaho."

Italy had to stop himself from introducing himself out of habit, it was obvious they already knew who he was. Instead he blurted out, "you can call me Veneziano if you want," with a nervous smile.

These states seemed welcoming so far. Oregon waved, her forest green eye and dark brown hair gave her a down to earth look. Idaho greeted him with a polite nod, she had a garnet eye and wore her light brown hair in a messy bun. California beamed at him, her blue sea of an eye dancing with amusement, and she flung a strand of golden hair from her face. She offered him a pearly white smile, "You can call me Cali. We were just talking about you, actually."

He stared at them with wide eyes, "Really?!"

She nodded, "Of course! After all, you let Washington and them into the game room! I had to request that like, a thousand times, and Prussia kept saying no. I didn't feel too bad though, I love movies! I've been producing them since film was invented."

"That's so cool! Prussia and Romano tried to make a movie once, and it didn't go exactly how they planned," He remembered them constantly trying to reconstruct their ideas to fit having no money, no actors, and limited time.

California leaned forward, sparked with interest, "Really? I'd be happy to help them if they're still up for the challenge. I know the movie industry inside and out."

Idaho shook her head, "and there she goes with her crazy plans again." California stuck her tongue out at her as she plopped a fat slice of lasagna onto her plate. She sighed when she looked at the food, "Italy, is the food always this good in your country? Because I wouldn't hesitate to move there only for the food if I could."

He couldn't help but beam at the state, "At least in the kitchen in my house it is. You should visit sometime!" Her smile wavered, and Italy could sense a heavy emotion fall across the four women that he couldn't identify.

Washington rubbed the back of her neck and let out a shaky laugh, "Thanks, but for now we'll just stick to the food here." Italy decided not to press the matter.

"Anyway, let's dig in!" He stood with his plate and grabbed a little of whatever was in arm's reach.

XXX

Author's Note: Hello all my beautiful readers! I had so much fun writing Italy's chapter, if you enjoyed it then don't worry, because there will be more to come! I can't believe it's September already. I hope every student ready this is having a good school year so far! I am in love with my college and my classes are great! So far my favorite classes are Sociology, French, and English. Sociology and French are awesome, and my English class has a heavy concentration on writing. Also I need a gym credit, so I'm taking ice skating in October, which I'm so excited for!

So what do you think of the chapter? I tried to keep Italy in character, but I'm not too used to writing him so I'm sorry if he's OOC. If I did anything wrong I'll try to correct it in the future. Anyway I really wanted to show some of the politics behind the Isolationists vs Internationalists, because these states can get really political. Do you think Capital is Isolationist, Internationalist, or Neutral? Do you think Italy can help the investigation by learning from the states? Also if you have any other theories or predictions I'd love to hear them.

Speaking of theories and predictions I'd like to take the time to thank my wonderful guest reviewers, since I can never reply to the wonderful things they say. You're awesome guest reviewers! I'll answer a few here, but I don't want to make this author's note too long, because I ramble enough as it is. To the guest reviewer Krinos who asked if I would make a glossary at the end, the answer is probably yes. I have a glossary of the states already, but it's extremely disorganized and has spoilers everywhere. However I started making a organized version without spoilers since eleanoralovesananias requested it. Which I will finish sorry eleanoralovesananias I got distracted. I'll probably end up posting the edited version as a bonus chapter or something. And to the guest reviewer who asked if Michigan is a major fan of Nicki Minaj... the answer is YES. There is absolutely no reason why Michigan wouldn't be a major fan of Nicki Minaj. Ohio, what's good?

Sorry for the lengthy author's note, I wasn't expecting the author's note alone to boost the word count by 500 words. Next chapter will be told in Prussia's POV, where we're looking at a different and equally important portion of the investigation. I'll try to update soon!