AN – Hello! Long time, no update P: Sorry, life has been busy and I am working for the summer (and trying to avoid heatstroke) so updates may be sporadic... but they are coming. I swear. Yep. Chapters will also be a bit shorter, sorry P:

Partly what took me so long was fleshing out where exactly I would be taking this (as originally was to be a one shot) and I still only have a rough idea so I would love to hear your thoughts on this and any ideas you may have or stories you would recommend. :D

I do not own Hetalia, only my plot.

Arthur stood up from the crouch he had been in, stretching before slumping a little, exhausted and defeated. The weather was gorgeous, the day quiet and there was a slight breeze - a perfect summer day really - but when Arthur stared out at his garden, he couldn't help but imagine a dark cloud was hovering above him.

Upon returning from trip to Italy and Russia to repair the underworld boundaries, he had been horrified by the state of his garden.

Truly and completely horrified.

It wasn't that the Green Man living in the garden hadn't looked after it for him, no, not at all. In fact, it was more the opposite.

When you have a creature living in a garden that is the personification of plant growth and well-being without a helping hand to keep the results down, well, to put it simply... his garden had become a jungle. The herbs were growing rampart, the trees had shot up a foot, the grass was level with his hip, the flowers were fighting each other for space, animals had gotten in the fruit and vegetable garden with the remains strewn everywhere anddon't even get him startedon the more magical plants that inhabited the space.

God. Damn. It.

He was gone for only two weeks.Two weeks! And already he had weeding that would take him at least a week to catch up on and it would take another two for him to bring it back to the state of organized chaos. He looked out once more at his 20mX10m garden, hoping that somehow it had ordered itself a little.

Nope.

Instead, he did see the Green Man looking down at him apologetically from the tree he had claimed for his own.

Well, he couldn't have that. So with an exhausted smile and a wave he reassured, "Don't fret about it mate, I wouldn't ask you to go against your nature. Thank you for looking after it while I was gone."

When the Green Man waved back and vanished, he felt slightly better and with a groan he crouched once more.

"Now come here you damn hogweed and meet your death at my hands!"

He was so distracted by his task, he failed to notice the shadow until it was too late.

Ludwig sighed as his train stop was at last called, bent over to get his rucksack and briefcase from under the seat before quickly making his exit, avoiding looking around as much as possible as he did so.

You see, since he had helped Arthur in the case at the Palace, he kept seeing weird things everywhere. Unnaturalthings. For a small while, he managed to convince himself that it was just hallucinations caused by stress from work. However, that idea quickly but the dust when Lust reappeared into his life and dragged Ludwig through a mess of problems.

The demon just couldn't keep himself out of trouble and Ludwig felt himself rapidly going grey. Especially, once some particularly mischievous imps discovered that he could see them and also his OCD for cleaning. Yep, he could feel his blood pressure climb even just thinking about it.

That was why, after fifteen days, nine hours, sixteen minutes and fifty-four seconds ago, he handed in his resignation. His life would need to follow a new path now, even though it had always been his dream to be the head of the Guard, it had become increasingly clear to him that he had changed and would need to gain control of this new ability for his life to have any semblance of normalcy.

This is why he found himself once more standing out in front of the Kirkland residence, fist poised above the door, about to ask for help from a sixteen year old boy. Albeit a highly trained and powerful boy, but a boy nonetheless. One that was eight years younger then him. Yes, it was a blow to his pride but he needed help and he knew Arthur could help him.

"How long are we going to stand here Luddy? We can just go in~"

After all, the boy was rather mature for his age and...

Ludwig was then yanked abruptly from his thoughts as Lust threw open the door and flounced in just as a very muddied and enraged Arthur came tearing down the hall swinging an axe chasing the cackling Wrath and Gluttony.

"COME BACK HERE YOU SODDING LITTLE PIECES OF..." Echoed through the hall followed by pained cries and the crashing of glass upon which the cry of "HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?... WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO TINY THAT THEY CAN ONLY BE SEEN WITH A MAGNIFIYING GLASS YOU JERK!" was heard.

...perhaps not so mature after all.

When all the commotion had settled down, Ludwig was guided over to the mostly-intact living room by a embarrassed Arthur where they then spoke about why he was there and his circumstances. While the expected blow to his pride came, it was only a self-inflicted one, Kirkland not mocking him or making fun of him but rather just nodded in acceptance.

The boy had instead gotten up, gotten tea for them both before saying sadly, "I was hoping this wouldn't happen."

Of course, Ludwig had been bewildered by this. However, with some explanation from Arthur and a bored Envy (all the other demons in the house having been temporarily sealed in the basement by a very irate Arthur), it was determined that the collapsing boundary had been at fault for awakening the sentient gift in him. It was regrettable, they told him, that he had been around so many powerful magic users and demons because otherwise his gift probably would've gone dormant again. That was what they had hoped for for him, knowing that if it were to remain active it would completely alter his life.

"Why didn't you warn me then? I thought I was going mad!" Ludwig asked.

"Feliciano was supposed to tell you." Matthew sighed, the demon running fingers through his hair as though that answered everything... which it sadly did.

"Well then, perk up old boy. I'll help you... not that I'm doing this for your sake or just wanting to help, it's that I'm feeling responsible after I was the one who exposed you to more magic and even had you consciously use it and... you can be my apprentice!" Arthur seemed to be doing his best to hide his excitement and appear nonchalant but judging by the looks he was getting, he was failing.

Ludwig decided to accept before the normally composed boy could become any redder or stammer something else; the poor teen seemed even more awkward then he was and didn't seem to know quite how to react in front of his request.

So over the next few weeks Ludwig was exposed to a world that he had never even dreamt could have existed.

Mornings was meditation in a protection circle so it could get a better feel for where his magic was within him and thus, how to draw on it. Then there was some gardening and weeding where Arthur would point out different plants and teach him which ones were helpful and which could be used in spells. After a quick shower, he would then go ensure that Lust was up before making his way to the kitchen. After breakfast (something Ludwig now insisted he cook), Ludwig would retreat to the study to read one of the many books Arthur had given him while Arthur went and did...something and Feliciano did his best to not distract him and in the process made it impossible to read at all.

Following lunch, the demons would all go sleep as while they could go out in the sunlight, their powers were greatly weakened in the daylight and as a result would usually sleep when the sun was at it's zenith until about mid-afternoon. Meanwhile, Arthur and Ludwig would go over the different branches of magic, Ludwig so far liking potions and seals which were both logical and more to his personality while transfiguration and illusions on the other hand...not so much.

Then around four, an hour or so before dinner, Ludwig would wake Lust, Envy and Gluttony up and they would go help Arthur track down any unpleasant creatures that had snuck in past the wards. Which, due to the continuous presence of demons, weren't that strong. So far, Ludwig had had to learn how to deal with and get rid of Dryer Wolves, Closet Gremlins, Pen Dragons, Bathsilisks, Bed Wraiths and a pooka named Harvey. He had yet to find where the Sock vortex was (a pesky thing that, Ludwig was now missing half his socks), but he was coming to suspect that it was the demons way of messing with him (Matthew and Alfred seemed to enjoy tricking him about such things) as Arthur had yet to mention said creature.

After dinner, he then had free time, which he would typically use to exercise a little and cajole/bribe/drag the lazy demon Feliciano to do it with him before going to bed.

It wasn't until a month had passed that this schedule changed.

It was nearly time for dinner and Ludwig had left Arthur and the three demons to negotiate with the House hippos that had settled in the linen closet while he began to prepare a simply dinner of lasagna and salad. However, just as he finished preparing the meat, the doorbell rang. So after a brief glance down the hall and seeing that the trio were completely engrossed in their present task (moving the herd of tiny hippos, including a number of calves), he quickly rinsed his hands and went to answer it. After wiping his hands with a tea towel, he threw the cloth onto his shoulder while he simultaneously opened the door.

"Hello?" Ludwig called, not seeing anyone.

"Excuse me, is this Kirkland Paranormal Investigations?" Came a soft voice.

Upon looking down a little, he jumped when he saw two younger children around the age of ten standing there, a boy and a girl.

Finding his voice, he then verified before worriedly questioning, "Yes, yes it is... Isn't it a little late for you to be out? Where are your parents?"

"They're sick..." Explained the little girl before the boy cut in.

"We need help! Somethin' weird's been goin' on and we just finished savin' our allowance and we really gotta talkta the ghost guy and we had to sneak out cause the 'rents aren't listening and..."

At this point Ludwig had heard enough, "Sorry to interrupt, but would you like to come in? No sense standing outside talking."

Getting two nods in confirmation, he opened the door a little wider and let them in. "I'm just in the middle of making dinner, so if it wouldn't be too much trouble..."

"Of course mister Kirkland." The girl intoned quietly.

Ludwig stopped short, a little surprised and had to hold in a derisive laugh. "Sorry little one, but I'm not Kirkland..." and as if summoned by his name Arthur slid around the corner calling his name - though if Ludwig's ears didn't deceive him, Alfred, Feliciano and Matthew were not far behind - a mama house hippo balancing precariously on his head and two babies in his hands. "...he is."

"Ludwig!...Oh! We have guests!" The Kirkland heir had the decency to look sheepish, quickly looking down at his present disheveled appearance before getting bowled over by Gluttony, Envy and Lust as they slid around the corner into him. Giving a weak chuckle, Arthur sprang up before turning to his apprentice and gently handing the hippos over.

"Beilschmidt, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you please get some peanut butter toast crumbs, raisins and a small bowl of water for the little ones? Take these three with you, won't you please?" Ludwig nodded, glad to get back to the kitchen before Arthur could change his mind and try to take over. After all, rebuilding a kitchen is expensive and exhausting, not to mention the residents of the house would then have to eat whatever charcoal the hapless Arthur had concocted.

As he walked away he heard, "My name's Arthur, what's yours?"

"I'm Peter and she's Hanya! Why are your eyebrows so big?" The little boy's chipper voice answered.

Arthur was clearly struggling to keep a reign on his temper, his voice tense "...Why don't both of you come this way and you can tell me why you're here."

Quickly looking after the hippos and getting them back to the linen closet, Ludwig got back to work with Feli's help, Matt and Al wandering off to the recesses of the house, likely to play video games. It was only after finishing making the lasagna and putting it in the oven and putting the complete salad into the fridge did Ludwig wander back out. He found Arthur and the two children in the living room where it seemed Arthur always took potential clients and gave them his traditional cup of tea. Upon entering, he was surprised to see the supernatural expert leaning forward in his chair, elbows on his knees with his fingers steepled; clearly lost in thought. Looking to his left, he saw the two kids calmly sitting and sipping their tea, oddly adult-like in their mannerisms.

Kinda like Arthur...

Knowing that the kitchen timer would go off when he needed to remove the lasagna from the oven, Ludwig's curiosity got the better of him and he found himself sitting on the settee by the fireplace, waiting for Arthur to speak.

About fifteen minutes later, just as Ludwig was finishing counting the number of bricks that made up the fireplace and chimney (two-hundred and twenty-eight), Arthur finally came back from his musings and slowly announced. "Peter and Hanya, the case...we'll take it."

We'll? Arthur was getting him to help? That was new. Having gone back to his former employers after Arthur had agreed to help with the seeming haunting problem, this was the first time Ludwig had the opportunity to have an inside look on how the teen worked on large cases. After all, all the ones that had come up over the month, Arthur had taken care of on his own and the gateway case, he hadn't been able to help for most of it.

This could be very interesting.

Any references are intentional and for my amusement, can you spot any?

All the household creatures I mentioned with Ludwig I made up for my own amusement, except the House Hippos. House Hippos are from a Canadian commercial aired when I was kid (ages ago) by concerned children's advertisers and is worth the youtube search to watch :D ( www. youtube watch?v=YLG2JP0P5JE )

Arthur is a curious combination of mature and childish due to his experiences as an experiment when he was a child and the death of his family before his dormant supernatural abilities awoke and was thus not really able to have a childhood. This is why he may seem a little OOC, but I hope that that came across :)

In case anyone was wondering, Ludwig is 24 and Arthur is 18.

EDIT - SO MY COMPUTER HAS CRASHED FOR A SECOND TIME TAKING ALL OF MY NOTES WITH IT AND CORRUPTING MOST OF MY WIPS AS WELL. AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED WRITING THIS, I DO NOT REMEMBER WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THE REST OF THE PLOT (WHY THE CHAP NOW ENDS HERE) AND AM NOT INTERESTED IN TRYING TO REWRITE THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR THE FOURTH TIME. SORRY THIS IS NOW COMPLETE