That all happened so long ago now, it was like some distant dream. I was released from the hospital a few days later and Miss Elizabeta took Fratello and me to our new home.

Apparently, Miss Elizabeta voiced her concerns about what happened to Mr. Roderich, who was her employer and landlord but, above all else, her friend, and he agreed to see if anything might be done to help us.

Mr. Roderich was also a musician. A famous one, at that. He wasn't always around for this reason, but he treated Lovino and me fairly, and when he was at the house, he would let us listen as he played the piano or violin or some other musical instrument, though he expected us to do our chores. They weren't by any means strenuous, and certainly not hard. Sometimes they didn't take longer than a half hour, and the rest of the time Lovino and I got to play tag or hide and seek, as long as we didn't break anything.

The neighbors were great too. I had to admit, the man next door was my favorite one. He reminded me one myself when the matron still felt like caring for us and it got to the point where I called him 'Grandpa Rome'. It wasn't very long after I started calling him that that Lovino picked up on it as well.

Everyone was glad to see that I was recovering, and we all went back to school on the same day, saying that we wouldn't let something like that happen again and that we'd remain together.

Sadly, this didn't remain to be true. About a year later, Ludwig and Gilbert had to move and say goodbye to us. We were all heartbroken, not wanting to see either of them leave.

It was the last time Ludwig came to visit me that I gave him my push broom to remember me by. In return, he kissed me, but we kept it as our little secret.

I hadn't heard from either of them since.

Kiku and Yao were the next ones to leave, they were being sent to a different high school than us, but promised they'd keep in touch. By this time, we had gotten cellphones and given each other our number, so this was easier to do than before.

Alfred and Arthur left with their family to travel cross-country half a year later, though they messaged us constantly telling us where they were and what they were doing and what happened. They seemed to enjoy life on the road.

Francis, Ivan, Lovino and I remained with each other throughout high school. We graduated together, but took separate paths. Francis became an actor, Lovino bought some land in the tropics and started a tomato farm, and Ivan mysteriously disappeared. We weren't sure what happened to Ivan until we saw him leading a gang with that same faucet pipe from all those years ago…

Me? I followed in Mr. Roderich's footsteps and delved into the arts. Drawing, music, cooking, I wasn't very picky.

Today, all these years later, was the day we were all supposed to meet back up and see what became of our lives. I was already in the coffee shop we agreed to meet up in with Lovino and Francis. All three of us grew up healthy, and our scars had all but disappeared. Lovino and Francis were pleased to know my body had made a full recovery. There wasn't any trace on my body of how close to death I came, all the bruises healed, all the cuts mended.

"No way. Veneziano? Romano? France?"

We looked up at the two blonds standing there staring at us. "America! England!" I greeted up.

We all laughed and they pulled over another table so they could sit. We started talking, catching up on what happened since they left.

England was a magician (though, from what Alfred said, he wasn't a very good one and claimed that he could talk to faeries and a little green flying bunny) and Alfred was…well, Alfred. He mentioned something about being an up-and-coming movie actor, but we didn't really believe him. Arthur claimed that Alfred was living in his basement mooching off him.

"Hey, guys!"

Now it was Yao and Kiku who appeared.

There was more greeting and more catching up.

We got onto the topic of jobs, and immediately Yao said, "Yea, can you believe that after what happened all those years ago, Kiku got himself a scholarship to a school that could properly train him to be a doctor?"

"Yao, you said you wouldn't mention it," Kiku muttered.

"Hey, they deserve to know, especially your first patient," Yao replied.

I grinned, saying, "That's great, Japan!"

Kiku chuckled. "Well, it's not all I do. I do have my share of programming. In my spare time I help Yao run his electronics shop."

"That's awesome!" I told them.

Francis nodded, saying, "I may just have to check it out. Maybe I can get my director to help you guys out by paying for some of your special effects equipment."

"Aiyaa," Yao muttered. "France, you don't need to do that!"

"I insist," Francis told him. "If your special effects are anything like they were back when we shared our history class, my director will be willing to pay for them."

We agreed immediately.

"Hey, what do you think would happen if we took our play from then, and did it now?" I asked.

We all looked at each other.

"But, we don't have the sc-" Arthur started, stopping when he saw me grab my bag and lift it into my lap, pulling out pages that were starting to yellow and deteriorate with age.

"You kept that?" Alfred asked, staring from the bag to the script and back.

I nodded, saying, "That wasn't the only thing." I pulled out the costume. I didn't fit in it anymore, but it hadn't lost its sentimental value and it was something I wasn't going to be willing to get rid of. Every time Miss Elizabeta and Mr. Roderich had Lovino and I clean out our rooms, these three items, the bag I had with the Italian flag on it, the costume from our last play, and said play's script, always stayed.

Francis took it and looked through it. "This is Miss Elizabeta's version," he said.

I nodded. "I asked her for it one day and she gave it to me. I've kept it with me since."

"I can't remain long," Ivan asked, walking up.

I almost didn't recognize him. I had gotten used to seeing the crime boss on TV that looking at Ivan straight in the face, with him giving us that same, warm smile he did when we were younger, before he snuck off to play some trick on the matron to allow us time to do something, seemed strange to see.

"No need to ask how you've been," Francis stated. "Can't change a channel these days without hearing of some raid from your gang or a shootout."

Arthur looked around, asking, "Is everyone here?"

"Everyone except Ludwig," I replied, looking at the familiar faces of all my friends.

We heard sirens. Ivan said, "If we're going to do this, we should hurry."

We all agreed. I pulled out a camera, the self timer already set, and we took a picture of us together.

I got the picture printed and sent everyone a copy. They agreed they'd keep in touch, and that they'd be there if I needed them. I grinned, telling them the same thing. I also invited them to my concert coming up in a few days with Mr. Roderich. That was going to be the day he announced his retirement and that he was passing his legacy onto me.

I was really nervous about this fact, but he said that I was more than ready to take it on. Miss Elizabeta agreed, saying that I had learned everything from Mr. Roderich that I could, and learned some more myself. These days, they were constantly telling me how happy they were to get to have the chance to see and watch Lovino and I grow.

I never doubted them, and I was just happy to know I made them proud. Though I still felt my nerves on the night of my performance.

"Don't worry, Feliciano, you'll do fine," Lovino said from next to me.

Mr. Roderich pat my shoulder saying, "You will. You have already surpassed your teacher."

Miss Elizabeta joined them, grinning as she hugged me. "You'll do fine, Little Italy," she muttered in my ear before smiling and patting me on the head.

I grinned back as Mr. Roderich said, "Come on. We're starting."

We walked out on stage. Our concert had sold old almost instantly, to the point of where we agreed to allow it to be broadcast on TV.

I pulled out a violin and made sure it was tuned right while Mr. Roderich sat down at the piano. This wasn't just any violin though; this was Mr. Roderich's old violin that he gave to me to practice on. I had made sure to treat it with care and kept it in top condition.

Then we let the music start. Everyone fell silent immediately, catching every note we played, every tone we hit. People had been asked to describe our works before, but they simply said they couldn't, just that it seemed like we told stories through our music.

I never admitted it, but I did, indeed, tell stories. After Mr. Roderich had me start writing music, I went back to my roots and started taking some of the greatest battles in history, designing music around them to show the battle that took place, and it never ceased to amaze me how amazing it was to listen as everything came to life through the music.

We finished the song and Mr. Roderich stood up, walking over to the microphone. "I am very pleased to see such a turnout," he said, smiling. "It's also a pleasure to know that so many of you love my adopted son's music so much."

No, we never kept it a secret I was adopted. It was bound to get out eventually. We, also, never kept it a secret about how close to death I had come, but that was still a touchy subject and everyone, especially the press, knew better than to go into it.

"But tonight, I have an announcement," Mr. Roderich continued. "I'm retiring."

There were gasps and cries. The crowd didn't seem happy, but who could blame them? Mr. Roderich started a new age in music, and everyone said they would regret when he decided to retire.

Mr. Roderich held up his hand, making everyone fall quiet immediately, and said, "This doesn't mean my legacy will die. I hope all of you will continue to follow this legacy as Feliciano takes it further and gives it new life."

Everyone started cheering, chanting my name. I smiled and waved. Mr. Roderich walked up and hugged me, before going back to the piano and we played a few more songs.

The last song of the night. I walked up to the microphone and said, "This is a special song for my friends. If I didn't have any of them, I wouldn't be here today, and each and every one of you know who you are."

I nodded to Mr. Roderich, not missing his grin. He started playing in time with my violin.

And I started singing Marukaite Chikyuu. It was the one song I kept close to my heart and, even after all this time, it comforted me. Of course, I wouldn't have been able to learn the violin and set out the keys for the piano without Miss Elizabeta's help, but I was so happy to see it all pay off in the end. Even in my ears, the song was as beautiful today as it was back then.

xxx

In one of the top boxes in the stadium where they could clearly see the concert, everyone watched in delight as Feliciano started playing.

Yao grinned, saying, "Same old Feliciano. In Alfred's words, where would we be without him?"

"You got that right," Arthur replied, laughing.

Just as Feliciano hit the chorus, Francis started singing, adding France's version to Italy's.

Feliciano wouldn't ever come to know this fact, but by the time he had finished singing, Arthur, Kiku, Yao, Alfred, Ivan, Francis and backstage where Lovino was watching, they had all completed singing with him, remembering those harsh times they lived through and still finding their own comfort in the song, and in each other.

xxx

The theater was almost empty and I was just leaving, when I thought I saw it. I looked again and, sure enough, standing there staring at me was a brisk German. A very familiar brisk German. One that just became more familiar when he was joined by an albino with a chick on his head who said, "Hey, West, want to go get something to drink?"

I could've sworn the German met my gaze, before turning to the albino and saying something in what I would've guessed was German, but I couldn't tell. Then they both left the theater.

I walked back to the room that was assigned to me and pulled out two pictures. The one I took with everyone a few days ago, and the one that we took when Ludwig was still in the orphanage, before Francis showed up. Then I slipped them back into my bag, wondering if I really did just see my childhood friend.

But, that couldn't be right…Surely if it was Ludwig, he would've said something…

/AN

Finis. So, what'd you guys think? I tried picking professions I felt they would be good at.

R&R Please!

AN/