The next day we were awoken by an enthusiastic American running throughout the house and shouting on top of his voice.

"C'mon everyone!! Wake up already!!!"

His thumping footsteps on the wooden floor made the whole house shake as if an earthquake had hit us.

"Who bloody yells at this hour in the morning?!" Arthur's voice rang all over the place.

Gradually we all started coming out of our rooms.

I slid open the door of my room to see what the commotion was about.

Alfred was still shouting for everyone to gather. At least he had stopped running around.

"My beauty sleep was ruined because of this child," Francis sighed.
"Maybe I should talk to him about this using unconventional methods, da," Ivan ominously smiled.

After a few moments, Alfred finally calmed down. "Is everyone here??" he asked, looking around.

"You bloody git, I swear I will-"
"What did you call us here for?" Ludwig interrupted the fuming English country.

Alfred let out a big grin before pumping his fist in the air.

"Let's go...to Tokyo Disneyland!!"

We all stared at him.

"Nope."

"Eh?" Alfred sweatdropped.

"I want to go to Shibuya and do lots of shopping!" Antonio smiled.
"Ve~ How about we visit the Tsukiji Market? I want to try all the food there," Feliciano suggested.
"I really wish to visit the bars in Shinjuku, da~" Ivan beamed.

The countries collectively fell into a discussion on where to head today.

"But...but I want to go to Disneyland!!" Alfred whined.

I watched them energetically talk about the places they have been wanting to visit.

Come to think of it, where would I like to go?

There were so many amazing places in Japan that I wanted to visit. I had even read about various fun tourist spots for first-time visitors. But because of the short notice of our trip, I couldn't plan anything.

I stepped aside, thinking hard when a small sigh interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up to see Yao walking towards us with a drowsy look on his face.

"Good morning, Yao," I greeted him with a smile.
"Zǎoshang hǎo, (Y/n)," he gave a tired yet still warm smile.

He looked over at the other countries arguing amongst each other. "What are they fighting about this time, aru?" he asked.

"We were talking about where to go today," I said.
"I see, aru."

I glanced at him. Seeing his calming face made my heart leap, stirring up memories from last night.

I felt my cheeks grow warmer as I recalled everything from back then and lowered my gaze. Whenever I remembered Yao coming so close to me, I couldn't help blushing because of it.

But...what about Yao? Maybe he doesn't think much about it...? Maybe he just treats me as someone to look after...?

"(Y/n)!"

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard my name being called.

"H-Huh?" I looked up, confused.

Everyone was staring at me.

"We were asking where do you want to go, bella?" Lovino said.
"Umm...I actually haven't decided yet," I nervously smiled.

"So, it's decided! The hero wants to go to Disneyland!" Alfred announced.
"No, we won't!" Arthur rebuked.
"Waaaaah! But I want to!!"

Again the house filled up with voices of the countries who were still unable to decide where to go.

"Enough!! Let me speak for a moment!" Ludwig cried out.

Everyone went silent.

He cleared his throat. "I understand everyone wants to go sight-seeing but I'm afraid we have to return back to the mansion as soon as possible."

"Whaaaat?"

A wave of disappointment swept over us all.

Ludwig continued. "We left to come here so urgently that much of our work is still pending back there. We can't neglect those," he said.

I could see many of them looking like crushed souls with drooping shoulders, and figured Ludwig was probably right.

"Well, that's how far our fun was then...haha..." Antonio gave a defeated smile.

A few others joined him and sulked in a corner. I sweatdropped seeing them like this.

"Ahem."

A voice from the end of the corridor caught our attention. Kiku, who was silently standing there and waiting for everyone to calm down all this time, finally spoke.

"Even if our time here was short, I would still like to honour my guests with the best experience as a token of gratitude," he smiled.

Walking up to us, he gracefully bowed. "Therefore, I wish to invite everyone to visit one of the oldest shrines of our city and pray for a happy future."

Everyone's face lit up on hearing that.

"Arigatou gozaimasu!" We bowed in return.

"See? I didn't mess up the line this time!" Alfred winked.
"Well, seems like the sun does sometimes rise from the West," Arthur smirked.
"Alright now, you two," Francis placed a hand on each of their shoulders and chuckled.

Everyone chatted and laughed amongst themselves. I smiled seeing them laughing together again.

The spring breeze from outside seeped in and gently blew my hair. I looked out the window. A morning as fresh and serene as the blooming cherry blossoms.

Hopefully, another day in Japan will go smoothly.

~~~♡~~~Bonus~~~♡~~~

Yao still couldn't hide the drowsiness from his face. He sighed while leaning against the wall, watching the others enthusiastically talk amongst themselves.

"Hmm? China, what's wrong? You look tired" Antonio came beside him.

"I couldn't sleep last night, aru," Yao admitted.

"Oh? Why is that?" the confused Spanish nation asked.

Yao sighed. "I don't know, aru."

"Well, I did hear one thing," Antonio continued. Yao looked at him.

"It's said that if you are thinking too much about someone, you can't fall asleep!" Antonio smiled.

The Chinese man raised his brow. "Why would I- "

He stopped as his eyes landed on the young woman staring out the window, her hair gently blowing with the breeze like swaying petals and her smile as beautiful as the first ray of dawn.

Like a far away dream he always wanted to realize...

If only he could embrace it in his arms. If only he could embrace her again and never let go...he would always whisper in her ears how much she meant to him...how much happiness she brought him...

Yao realized that he might never be able to realize this dream. He didn't deserve a dream as beautiful as this.

But even if he could have her in his arms just one more time, he would be eternally thankful.

"I-I...don't know what you are saying, aru!"

Yao walked off with a flushed face. Antonio watched him go with an amused expression.

"That was fun," he chuckled.

The countdown of fate has already begun.