I walked along the dark corridor, carrying my flashlight. The only other source of illumination was the moonlight that seeped in through the large windows.

I made my way to the visitors' room. The sound of my footsteps echoed throughout the empty corridor. When I reached the designated room, I stood by the door and took out the piece of paper again.

Holding my flashlight over it, I read the writing again carefully.

Dear (Y/n),

HURRY UP AND MEET ME AT THE VISITORS' ROOM WHEN EVERYONE ELSE IS ASLEEP!

There was no name mentioned at the bottom. I still wonder who wrote this to me.

After dinner, when I was going back to my room, I found this paper placed in front of the door. I picked it up and read the instruction given to me. I was supposed to meet this 'person' after everyone else had fallen asleep. But why me?

Standing in front of the visitors' room, I decided to walk in.

I turned the knob and opened the door. It was pitch‐black inside. No light was on.

"Huh?" I looked around.

There seemed to be no one here...Was I being tricked? No, as far as I know, no one in Hetalia Mansion would do such a thing. Maybe the person hasn't arrived yet?

I entered the room and closed the door behind me. I shone my flashlight around and searched for the switchboard to turn on the lights. As I took a few steps furthur, I accidentally stumbled onto a sofa.

"Ah!" I let out a soft whimper so that no one hears me.

My flashlight fell from my hand and rolled under the sofa. "Oh no!" I quickly kneeled down and stretched my hand to reach the flashlight.

Suddenly, I heard the knob of the door being turned.

Wait, who could it be at this moment? Was it the person who wrote the letter? Or someone else?

I hid behind the sofa to see who it was. The door opened, revealing the silhouette of two figures.

"Ve~ It's so dark in here!"
"You bastard! I told you we should have brought a flashlight with us!"

Feliciano and Lovino?

I could recognize from their voices that it was them. But...what are they doing here?!

They closed the door behind them and everything turn dark again. I stood up from my hiding place but no sooner I did that, the lights turned on.

My eyes locked with the Italian brothers' astounded ones. In a few seconds, the room filled with our screams.

"Aaahhhh!!"

"B‐Bella? What are you doing here??" Lovino asked. 
"I‐I was told to come here!" I explained.
"Wait! You too?"

Huh? What did they mean by 'too'?

"Did you also receive that paper?" I asked them.

They nodded and showed me the papers they were carrying. "Brother Romano and I found these in front of our rooms. Ve~" Feliciano said.

"But who sent them?" I wondered aloud.

Just then, we heard the door being opened again.

"I am pretty sure this is a bloody prank‐"

Arthur stopped as he saw us. Francis and Ivan were standing behind him. We all stared at each other.

"W‐What are you three doing in here?! Was this all your prank??" Arthur asked in shock.
"Ve?! No, no, it wasn't ‐"
"No, you bastard! We have been called here too!"

The three men by the door looked confused. They entered the room and joined us.

"Who could it be then??"

"Aiyah! What are you all doing here, aru?!"

We turned to see Yao, Antonio and Ludwig standing at the doorway.

"Is there any good reason why everyone of you are gathered here?" Ludwig questioned us.
"Let me guess. Have you three received that paper as well?" Francis asked.
"Yes. That's why we came here to check," Antonio replied.

All nine of us gathered at the centre of the visitors' room. Each one of us had received the paper telling us to come here. But no one knew who was behind it.

"Hold on a second," Arthur said.

We all looked at him.

"Did anyone notice that America is not here with us?" he remarked.

We gasped. It was true, Alfred wasn't here.

"You've hit the bull's eye, my friend!"

We heard Alfred's voice. We turned to see him leaning against the door, smirking.

"America, what's with all these?!"
"You were behind it?"
"You bastard! What do you want?!"

Everyone bombared him with questions.

"Umm, I think we should let Alfred speak," I told everyone.

They finally calmed down. Alfred stepped up to us and folded his arms.

"I have called you all for a special secret meeting," he announced.

"What?!" all of us cried out.

A meeting? At a time like this? Why is it a secret? And why was I called for it? So many questions came in my head.

"And what meeting is this for?" Arthur raised his brow.

"For Japan," the American replied.

A visible shock crossed our faces. Kiku? Did something happen to him?

"What do you mean? Be more specific!"

Alfred continued. "For the past few days, I've been seeing that Japan wasn't being himself. He seemed too distracted and unamused."

A frown crept on my face. I very well knew he has been acting like that since...

As if he read my mind, Alfred looked over at me and warmly smiled.

"When he told us he's going back to his country, I realized he's trying to find some time alone. But knowing Japan, he would end up isolating himself for two hundred years again!" he said, dramatically.

Although that seemed too far‐fetched, I won't disagree to that.

"What do you want to do then, da?" Ivan asked.

Alfred let out a smirk and took something out of his pocket.

Tickets?

"We're going to Japan!!" he announced.

We all stood there, dumbfounded. Going to...Japan?

"Whaaaat?!"

"What do you mean by ‐"
"For Japan," Alfred interrupted.
"Then who would ‐"
"The other countries would be here to look after the mansion," Alfred intruded.
"Stop cutting off our ques‐ "
"Sorry, dude! But we're going!" the blonde declared.

At the end of the one‐sided debate, it was finally decided that we would be going to Japan the next day.

Japan...The Land where the Sun rises...

It had always been my dream to visit Japan. To witness the blooming Cherry Blossoms with my very own eyes, to hear the sound of the nearby flowing stream, to watch the fireworks during festivals, to see the glowing fireflies roam at dusk...

My wish to visit the country where my heart lies is finally coming to life.

Yet, somehow I don't feel as delighted as I should have. The thought of visiting Kiku's country after being rejected by him is clenching my heart. A heavy burden is squeezing it from all sides.

I was afraid that my heart would shatter like glass once I stepped onto his land...and remember that I can never be his...

Even so, I will go. As long as it helps Kiku to overcome what he's going through, I will put everything that happened behind me. For Kiku's well‐being that's the least I could do.

Just then, I noticed Yao standing quiet. He was lost in thought as well, his eyes seeming to hold a longing for a dear one.

No, not just Kiku. For Yao as well...