(Nobody POV)
It was almost 2 in the afternoon when the rain clouds finally cleared up. The cafeteria would usually be empty at this time but on this day, a small group of countries remained at a table. Most of them had finished trays and were chatting with one another but one was still trying to satisfy his appetite.
America had demolished three trays of desserts before he remembered to breathe.
"What?" he said in between mouthfuls of cake, "I need to refuel if I'm gonna fight later."
"Then would you mind eating a bit more... er- mannerly?" Canada suggested as he handed his brother a napkin, "Slow down before you choke yourself."
The next rounds had been postponed until the end of the day. America had destroyed the stone floor in the first match so that needed to be fixed.
"Don't be so reckless next time," AU had scolded him, "Or else we'll never get this finished."
Netherlands was loaded with drinks from water to non-alcoholic pina coladas. Brazil helped refill for him. Japan was explaining potential couples to anyone who was willing to listen (aka South Korea). Russia, who was seated beside Ame, had scooted all the way to the other side to make room for the trays of desserts. It was a rather odd choice of lunch but he couldn't bring himself to care at the moment. Germany and Canada, on the other hand, were all over his meal plan.
"What's with all the sweets and sugar? You know they serve other things too. Right?" Germany raised an eyebrow as he pointed to a section filled with fast food goodies. America just scrunched up his face and continued on with his eating. This reaction just made Germany more confused and it made Canada crack up.
"I honestly never thought I'd see the day where Ame would turn down a burger," he laughed.
"After that match, I don't think I would be able to stomach it. Do you know how much salt I accidentally swallowed? No offense, Neth."
"None taken," Netherlands replied as he finished his drink.
Finally, after they had helped tidy up, the group dispersed to their separate classes for the afternoon. Or, in America and Russia's case, they wandered up to the rooftop with a borrowed chessboard in hand.
They placed the pawns, the rooks, the knights, the bishops, the Kings and the Queens onto the board in silence. As the match progressed, the Superstar found his gaze lingering on the other, quickly darting down to the board before floating right back to where it started. The Russian seemed to have noticed because he looked up suddenly and they made eye contact.
"What's your problem?" Russia grumbled as Ame suddenly found himself glowing red.
"N-nothing," he stammered before shoving a rook forward without thinking. Unfortunately, Russia's pawn was standing right there so he removed the piece from the board.
"SHIT-" America whined, mentally slapping himself for not paying attention. After that, the game only got worse for America, who was making the dumbest mistakes ever.
"I know you said you wanted a rematch, but this is just sad," Russia shook his head as he toppled the king, "Try again when your head isn't full of air."
The chimes of the last period had rung about ten minutes ago and Japan had yet to enter her last class.
Perhaps she would use the excuse of helping an injured student? Organizing things for the new Headmaster? Whatever the case, she was late and really didn't want to deal with the professor's fussing. Of course, skipping was an option that came to mind but she didn't have a valid reason if she was asked why.
Japan skidded around the corner and sprinted, full speed towards the door at the end of the corridor when a hand came out of nowhere to stop her.
"Woah there," a voice chuckled as she stopped just in time.
A human girl was standing in front of the door, petrified at the sight of someone charging at her, and quickly scurried away with a sigh of relief.
"And this is why we don't run in the halls. Well, not that I ever listened to that rule but still."
Japan turned, startled that she had almost forgotten the presence that had spoken to her mere moments ago. The person the voice belonged to stepped out from behind a corner and motioned for her to come with him.
Normally, she would be sweating buckets, wondering how much trouble she was in but right now, she had a pretty good idea what all this was about.
They stepped into a teacher's office and after confirming that they were alone, he plopped down on a desk and looked at her expectantly.
"So, did you look into what I asked you to look into?" Five asked as he stretched out his hand.
Japan lifted her chin into the air and proudly presented him with a necklace. A shining teal magatama charm was strung to the black thread, radiating a strangely cold aura.
"You said to look for whatever the one before us could have left? I was told that I was found with that charm. We were together when someone picked us up from our predecessor's grave," she explained, "My brother was born with a mirror, but he keeps it very safe and never lets anyone see it. At least he used to. I'm not sure how he's doing now..."
Five stared at the charm and suddenly found himself at a loss for words. Japan, who was usually the most chipper and cray-cray girl around, stood in silence as a lump lodged in her throat. She had never taken off that necklace before. It was literally part of her and the charm shaped birthmark beneath her collarbone was a clear sign of it.
"This necklace, it's a protective charm given to you by the same person that gave you life," Five stammered, "I promise I will return it as soon as I can-"
"Then please," Japan blurted out, "If you understand how important it is, please grant me one request."
Five placed a hand on the girl's shoulder and nodded. With a deep breath, Japan untied her hair and two feline ears that hid perfectly in her hair stood.
"I need you to find my stupid brother. I need you to tell him to come home and to stop making me worry!"
After a bit of assurance and comforting, Japan wiped her eyes and gave him an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry about that. I got a bit worked up."
"No no. It's nice to see the bonds of family at work. Especially twins, I've never heard of any other countries personified with twins."
"Well, let's just say I'm only a face to the world. Big bro does all of the work so if he dies, I die."
"That's a cheery thought," Five winced as they stepped out of the office. As Japan looked back at her classroom doors, her initial dread of skipping class returned but then she remembered Five was with her. A guilty smile crept onto her face as she turned to him.
"Hey uh- Mr. Five?"
"Call me Five."
"Um, I have one more thing I need to ask you for," she fiddled sheepishly, "As an exchange of course."
She presented him with a little charm box, "In exchange for this trinket, could you uh... write me an absent permission slip?
Five walked down the hall with the pretty little box in hand. After securing the magatama charm, he pried open the box to find another beautiful heart-shaped necklace inside.
How odd, he thought to himself. Sure, it was pretty but why would she give him a necklace? It wasn't like he wore jewelry or anything. And then, that's when he found the little slip of paper that lay under the necklace.
And to his horror, it read:
❤️For my love, African Union❤️
...
"THE VICTOR IS AMERICA."
This was the final verdict for every round that had occurred but it wasn't very surprising. Nonetheless, the crowd went wild every time he got to his feet and declared his victory.
Even though the school day was over and the amount of homework was just as bad, literally everyone stayed behind to keep watching as their peers stood to face the Superpower.
America wasn't doing badly but his performance wasn't the best either. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to fight at the maximum. He also couldn't help but notice Russia wasn't there and it made him a bit upset.
Finally, the last competitor of the day stepped into the Coloso, ready to test his limits against the best of the best.
"AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE HAVE SOUTH KOREA ENTERING THE STAGE!"
They walked to opposite sides and South couldn't help but feel nervous as he stepped to his side where giant scorch marks covered the ground.
AU raised the white ribbon hesitantly as she continued to scan the stadium seats for Five. She needed to concentrate on the candidates but without Five to ref, she would need to focus on their safety instead.
Finally, she let the ribbon slip from her hand. It twisted and writhed through the air, dancing a slow waltz before dropping to the ground.
It only touched the ground for a split second before it was blasted back into the air from the explosive start to the battle. South Korea had watched every match before him. Hand to hand combat was the first task he had to survive. Of course, he could use his Awakening to ease the difficulty a bit.
Taekwondo was South Korea's specialty. America remembered learning a bit of it during his training with NATO back in the day so he wasn't a complete stranger to the art of punches and deadly kicks.
He put his guard up, just like how he remembered but when South's leg made contact, a giant burst of speed shattered America's defense and sent him crashing to the side.
Impossible, America thought to himself. He had practiced guarding to the point where even NATO's attacks couldn't come through. Yet here he was, blown away by a single kick.
"Shit, I forgot to take your Awakening into account," America sighed as he brushed himself off. South had a rather interesting Awakening that could work well in many situations. That was also the case with his brother, North Korea.
On the surface, North Korea's Awakening would look like an energy bomb Awakening but that really wasn't the case. Of course, the way he used it would be very misleading. China had taught him well in the art of deception.
His ability was something called Repel. He is able to pinpoint a center and then push a certain thing away from the center. Of course, it could work with things like objects and people but it could also alter things like wavelengths.
South Korea's Awakening simply worked in reverse. Attract.
With that in mind, America found himself in a serious disadvantage if he didn't activate his Awakening but of course, there was the current hamper. A shiny, transparent band was strapped around his neck, which allowed his energy to leak continuously if he triggered his Awakening. It would tire him out and he could easily lose control.
AU trained her vision on the Korean and observed. The Awakening itself was a powerful one but there were still many limitations with the available energy South Korea had. His energy reserve was far smaller than America's and it would prove to be a serious roadblock in the future. But at the moment, his incredible skill and manipulation made up for it.
"His chances of victory sit unwavering at 47%," AU noted, slightly impressed, "Not bad at all. Now I wonder what our champion has to say to that."
Suddenly, a chill ran up her spine as she gazed at the Superpower.
AU had planned to use her Awakening on the USA for just a moment, just out of pure curiosity but what she saw stunned her.
She had read over a hundred thousand possibilities of over a hundred thousand people, including the Powers. She had caught multiple glimpses of people's fortunes and demises but never had she seen what America presented to her.
"It's...blank!"
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I kind of rushed this one. I was planning on putting this up on Friday but... HAPPY RUSAME DAY!
(It'stotallynotlikeIdidn'tknowthisdayexisteduntilafewhoursagowhensomeonestartedscreamingatmeindiscord.nope,nuhuh.)
But I still can't seem to get an actually decent piece of art out, nor am I any good at drawing people kissing. So have this. (From Russia and Ame's chess game)