Upstart

Chapter 7 Trios

Germany felt shaky as he finished writing down his entry in the journal, subconsciously holding the side of his head. He wasn't sure just how long he was frozen in place but he was doing better than the others around him. He felt as though the air had been sucked out of him and he was desperately grasping for breath as Stephan patted his back to help him breathe and hopefully ground him back to reality. And he was positive that Spain will be faring just as bad when they come out of his turn. Hopefully they will be given enough time to recover before being brought into the next room for what they had in mind for rehabilitation.

America's muffled cry was barely heard as he grabbed onto Japan, lifting her up a bit as he buried his face into her chest. She swayed limply like a doll, having been completely quiet and had to be guided back to her seat and her red circle seemed to have gotten a shade paler. Germany understood how she felt as Italy had been clinging onto him as well, muttering apologies. All he could do was pat his back to try and console him. That was earlier, however, when he came out crawling. Now he was quiet sniffling and wiping his eyes as he leaned on Germany.

Finally, Spain came out. He said nothing, marching back to his seat. Germany counted to five and they began to lean against the chair, gasping for air. Stephan went over to tend of them, helping them out of his panic. It took a while, but Spain finally calmed down and was given a glass of water. Only when he was sure that the country could manage did Stephan go.

Germany swore he heard the man saying something about knowing this was a bad idea.

At least now everyone in the group was done, and they were being given time to regain their bearings.

Germany was thankful that America had allowed him and Italy to tag along in his group when they had to meet up. While he and his old ally could've picked another group to go to, he wanted to stick around to see more on his other ally Japan. For the past few minutes, America had been quite helpful by letting him take the other seat beside her. 

For a while, it was good. He was getting to know her, how she had been progressing. He had heard of her advancements in technology, but the way she talked about them when asked, he could hear the passion as she gushed, her tail swishing in delight and ears wiggling.

And yet, with each moment he spent with her now, he noticed how she seemed to keep a distance. It wasn't like she was uncomfortable with him, but it felt odd.

An hour more passed and they were being told to go to the Gymnasium, where they would meet for the third session of the day and be put into assigned mixed groups of three. Now this was the tricky part because it meant colonizer and colony would meet.

"If anyone gets caught fighting, security will stop you" the staff called out over the blow horn.

It was just Germany's luck to get paired with Czech and France.

Czech's flag was the same from the last time they met, a deep blue triangle in the left side dividing the rest of the flag into two colors by the point, white on top and red on the bottom. He came in with a brown jacket with fur on the hood, pulling the hood rather close to his neck. He also had socks in sandals.

France fared just as, her flag divided into three main parts: Blue, white, a red, in that order from left to right. She came in with a blue and white striped sweater, blue skirt, black boots, a red kerchief wrapped around her neck, and a black beret resting on her head. When she saw him, she waved shyly with one hand as the other fidgeted with her kerchief.

As the trio sat down at their assigned table, it was hard to simply even start talking. How do you talk to someone you've hurt? How do you make it up to them? How do you move past it? Could you even? Their governments had good relations and alliances, but what about the very embodiments themselves?

"So..." he coughed. "How have you been?"

"Better"

"Fine"

"That's good to hear"

The trio went back into silence.

France spoke up. "How have you been?"

"Oh! I've been good. Thank you"

She managed a small smile. "That's nice to hear"

A bit of a distance off, they heard several voices being heard. They turned to find that Germany's old allies seemed to be having a much easier job with their given partners.

Italy had apparently still been shaken up about the last session and Ethiopia was currently trying to comfort him, finding it rather funny to find her old colonizer begging at her feet for her forgiveness. Greece was just as amused but with a hint of concern as to what happened that got him so worked up like this. They had expected the scene to go awkward and they would rather just avoid each other's voices. But seeing the Italian come to the table like he had seen a ghost and would not move at all had them prod him before he burst into tears.

Laughter was heard and they saw why. Japan had snapped out of her blank state and was quiet the entire time when she walked to her table. Indonesia decided that he was not having it and began to tickle her relentlessly. Sudan was also there and simply watched the sight. The two hadn't interacted prior to their new dormmate situation so the staff thought she, as a neutral party, could mediate. It would be a while before Indonesia was satisfied that the cat-eared country was alright, even warning her that he would get the tickle monster out again if he saw her without her smile. She tapped his nose in response before catching up with him, asking Sudan how she was faring.

France followed Czech's gaze. "Why don't you ever make a move?"

"I can't betray Slovakia, and I'm not ready for this type of stuff. What about you? Italy was your brother"

"He still is" she eyed the boy. "We may have had our differences, but it's okay now. And blood is thicker than water"

"Even wine?" Germany poked in an attempt at a lighthearted joke.

She chuckled. "He missed you too. Thought of you often when you came back. And Japan, well, she's just a sweetheart"

'It's nice to know they've been fine" the German glanced over at the two groups who seemed to be having a comparatively better time than them.

"Besides, much as I would like to, I can't make a move on your pet" Czech coughed. "She may have trouble remembering, but she still is your pet"

"Hey! It's not her fault she has cat ears and a tail!" Germany defended. "I, for one, know that-wait, trouble remembering?"

Czech raised a brow before a grin came across his features. France read his look and immediately went from calm to worry.

"Czech..."

"He should know, Frenchie" the Republic leaned a bit closer to the German. "She was his after all"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever noticed how come she doesn't seem to recognize you? That bomb did more than just injure her body" 

A/N: I am sorry for the long time it took to update. I caught in some irl stuff, hopefully I can be able to post more rn.