---Chapter XII : Beds (Part 4)---



///Romano's PoV! (Chigi. Took you bastards long enough to give me a PoV =.= )///




After we found the metal piece, the four of us--Me, my stupid fratello, the Tomato bastard, and the Potato bastard--headed to the fourth floor of the mansion. There, we planned to inspect the room, when Spain suddenly saw something strange in the corner.




"Whoa! What's that?" Spain asked, pointing to a weird, pudgy white creature.



My brother and I walked closer to where it was. "Was it here before?" Veneziano asked, trying to get the small creature out, but to no avail. "Er...What are we going to do? I can't get it out."




Suddenly, we heard a loud banging sound.



"Argh!!" Veneziano groaned.



The Potato bastard rushed over to us. "H-Hey, are you all right?! Did it attack you?!" he asked my brother.



"Ve... I'm fine... I think." Veneziano replied, shaking his head. He then turned to the creature. "But that sound... it came from this." 



The pudgy thing made a loud sound again for some unknown reason.


"What? That sound---Maybe it's hungry?  Why don't we feed it?" Spain suggested, turning to us. What the hell is that bastard thinking?


I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at him. "Hungry?! Does that sound like a rumbling stomach to you?!!" I yelled, pointing at the creature that still produced a loud banging sound.


"It looks kinda painful...Do you think it's hungry? Maybe it'll come out if we feed it?" Veneziano said as he searched his pockets. "Oh, but I don't have any food."



The Potato bastard stepped forward. I thought he was going to talk some sense into the two, but then he said, "We could ask them to bring some. Try calling them."



"What, you're still talking about it being hungry? I can't believe this..." I said in disbelief, facepalming.




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///Japan's PoV///



"Well, now we're going to wait until we're contacted." I announced to my comrades.

~~~~

I decided to go around and chat with them, as a way of passing the time.



"I can't go anywhere, so I have nothing to do. I'd try making a new cake or something, but the kitchen has been taken over." America told me, pointing at the kitchen area. Giving a nod in sympathy, I headed over to where Prussia was.


Prussia slumped on a chair. "The reception is bad and we can't contact the outside world. We'll have to wait a while. If Italy and the others ask for help, this time we'll all leave together."  he said in a serious tone. I smiled, feeling happy that we're on the same mindset.


"We do get reception once in a while, but it's bad right now. I was talking to them until some time ago." France commented, facing us. He went up to Prussia and started to talk about other things, so I left them be and I went over to Russia instead.



Russia placed his phone back in his pocket. I asked him if it was his sister, he replied, "Belarus? Yeah, I talked to her on the phone. She was surprisingly calm. It looks like she has made new friends. She sounded a little happy." he grinned. I feel a bit odd about his action, though. It's like what he was saying was true, but something was off. Maybe I'm just too paranoid.



"We can't make contact with the outside world. I guess time hasn't been completely fixed, so we'd better keep breaking the clocks." Canada informed me as I approached him.



China was just nearby, so I decided to ask him about a certain acquaintance of ours. "Oh... Korea...? He called earlier. You should talk to him later, too. He was suspiciously worried, too." he told me. I nodded in understanding and took a deep breath.




Do I smell something burnt?



I walked over to the kitchen area where I saw England busying himself with something. I was asking him about what he was planning to do, but he was too distracted with the black objects on the plate that look like coal. Oh no. 



When he did notice me, he spoke, "Oh? I wasn't really paying attention. Just wait, I'm almost done here."




To put such good food to that kind of state, my heart felt like it got clenched tightly. "What the hell, you're in tears. You don't have to be that overjoyed!" England said cheerfully as he saw my reaction.



"... I'm sorry. When I get all of my magic back, I'll be able to be a little more useful." he told me sullenly, whilst looking down.



His statement made me a bit confused. "What will happen exactly when you get all of your mag---erm, strength back?" I asked.



England suddenly faced me and spoke in an extremely serious tone. "I'll turn into an angel."




"....Is that so." I managed to say, stepping back a bit. I excused myself so as to let him continue his so-called cooking. He means well, but I just feel bad for the food.



-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=--=-=-



Scanning the room, I noticed something hung on the wall that wasn't there before. I walked over to the blue and orange stands that had the documents on them.



"Sing karaoke together. Shop for yukata. Saucepans. Amusement park. Bucket pudding. Harvest. Bring instruments and play a concert together. Visit (Name)'s house. Watch our own anime. Go on a roadtrip together...?" I recited as I read one of the documents posted. "What is this?" I asked the person who was standing the closest to me, which happened to be America.



America stepped closer to me and looked at what I was referring to. "Oh, that's our to-do list! We wrote down the things we want to do when we go home! Why don't you write something, too?" he suggested.



"I see. Then I'll write one thing, as well...'Sudden Death Pillow Fight'..." I said as I grabbed a pen and wrote on the remaining space on the paper.



America looked at me curiously. "What the heck is that?"



"It's a routine game that can make us all get along really well. I'm very good at it. Look forward to it." I told him, smirking slightly. Slightly.



I turned to look at the other document, "Everyone's signatures." I said out loud as I studied how different we write and how interesting it was too see all of our signatures in one document.




I was walking around the room when I heard the door open. I turned around to see a (h/c) haired girl with (e/c) eyes.



"Ah, (Name)-chan, how did the talk with your parents go?" I asked her.



She walked over to me with a weak smile. "Oh....well, it was fine. They were worried, just like me. We cleared out a lot of things. They'll be waiting for me. We were going to talk about more things when Ol--"



Widening her eyes, she suddenly stopped talking. "What?" I asked.



"A-All of a sudden...the...call got cut off because of the reception..." she said, frowning.



"Don't worry about that now. We'll all be able get out of here soon...Thank God, really..." I told her, placing a hand on her shoulder as a way of comforting her.



The girl suddenly gave me a troubled look for a moment, but then spoke, "That's great..."



"(Name)-chan? Is there something wrong?" I asked with concern, leading her to the side of the room so we can talk without disturbing or be disturbed by anyone.



She looked down, rubbing her elbow. "Nothing...It's just...well..." she paused for a while. "......do you guys hate me?"



"W-What? Why would you think of that?" I exclaimed.



She spoke, "I've...done a lot of things against you before, remember? I did things that got you guys so angry. Sometimes...sometimes I just think that you guys just took me back because...you pity me."




"Yes...it's true that you've done things like that before, but that doesn't mean that we hate you. We were mad at what you've done, not of who you are. We've already forgiven you for your past actions. It's not like it was your real intention to hurt us, you were just forced to do so because of the circumstances. So please, don't let yourself believe otherwise." I told her, giving her a smile.



For a second, it felt like she gave out some kind of sarcastic chuckle. I wasn't sure because she was looking down. I was about to ask her about it when she suddenly pulled me into a hug. "... You really think that way?" she asked me.



"O-Of co-course, (N-Name)-chan..." I stammered, still not used to this kind of physical contact with others, and with a girl, too.



Noticing my uneasiness, she broke the hug. "...Thanks, Japan. I'll always remember what you said. I hope you remember that, too."



"You're welcome...and, huh? Well, yes, I will remember that." I told her, slightly confused by what she meant.



Smiling, she spoke, "One last thing..."



"Hm?" I raised an eyebrow, motioning her to continue.



She faced me with hopeful eyes. "....I belong here with you guys, right?"



=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=


///Matthieu's PoV///




"What's taking Oliver so long? If we get caught, they're gonna tie us to the chairs again." I told Al, frowning at him. We were in a room near our base. Al and I were separated from the others since they don't seem to trust us to carry out their plans anymore.



The redhead threw me a glare. "Shut up. I have no fucking idea. We just have to act natural so they won't suspect us."



"I know, I know. But, do you really think the girl would accept Oliver's offer?" I asked.



Al looked down. "Nah. The girl's too smart and loyal for her own good. The old man would still probably do what he can to persuade her. I mean, after finding out about Luciano's plan, he's more determined than ever to get her out of this place before they could...you know."



I furrowed my brows, not knowing what Al meant. Brushing it off, I spoke, "I find something off about that Luciano. It's like there's something else that he's hiding from us." I commented.



Before Al could speak, we noticed the mirror behind us shake a little. "He's back." Al said.



We took off the cloth that concealed the old mirror in the room. After a moment, Oliver suddenly appeared from it and walked out of the mirror and into the room. "This will never stop being creepy." I told them.



"...The poppet declined." Oliver told us sadly.



Al sighed and crossed his arms. "Well, we already saw that coming, you know."



"I know! But I don't get him! I'm perfectly fine with sending her back home to safety....but I don't want her to....to...." he was on the verge of crying.



I raised an eyebrow and gave a puzzled look, "...I don't understand what you're trying to say. You don't want her to what?"




"To forget."




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///Japan's PoV///

She faced me with hopeful eyes. "....I belong here with you guys, right?"

"Yes. Yes, you do." I confirmed her with a smile. It was quite strange for her to bring that up again, but my guess was that she was still anxious about it. I was about to ask her some more things, when my phone suddenly rang.



"Oh, a call from Italy. Maybe the reception has gotten better?" I told (Name) as I pulled out my phone from my pockets and pressed the answer button.



"Yes, Japan speaking." I said as I placed the phone to my ear.


Italy gave a soft gasp. "Oh, that was fast, Japan! Listen, I want you to bring us some food. There's a weird creature on the fourth floor, you see, and we're going to try luring it with food." he explained.



"Huh? I don't really... understand, but all I have to do is bring you some food, right? We're on our way." I told him.



Italy let out a squeal and spoke cheerfully, "Thanks!"



"... You sound really happy." I commented, noticing his change of mood.



Italy paused for a while. "Oh... Well, yeah, I mean, it looks like we're going to get out for real very soon. It's like a dream! I'm so happy, like you wouldn't believe!" he beamed.


My eyes widened at his statement. "Is that so?! That's a surprise. I thought we would be here a lot longer---"



"I was surprised, too. ... It's been such a long, long time..." he whispered nostalgically. "Er, so... we're all going to get out together, aren't we, Japan?" he asked.


"Yes, certainly! Well, now, first I'll bring you the food." I replied, turning towards the crates in the saferoom.


I heard a muffled voice in the background. "Since it's a weird creature, it might eat weird things. Germany was saying that maybe you should bring unusual food." Italy informed me.


"All right. I'll take a quick look in the kitchen. We'll be there immediately." I assured him. I looked at the screen of my phone and pressed the button to end the call.


Placing my phone back in my pocket, I faced (Name)-chan. "Germany said--"


"No need to explain, I know." she told me with a knowing smile.


She walked over to the crates of food supplies, with me following her. I saw her take a blueberry and a scone that England had made earlier. "Is that enough?" I asked her.


"Yeah. This is all we need. Tell the others that it's time for us to go to where Italy and the others are." she replied, getting her bag and placing the two food items in it.


Nodding, I spoke, "Alright."




=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=


After making sure everything was prepared and that we were all ready, we headed to the fourth floor where Italy, Germany, Spain and Romano were.



"Sorry it took us so long to get here." I apologised to them as we entered the room.


Germany shook his head. "No, we've also been through a lot. I'm rather thankful that we're all gathered."


I opened my bag and showed them the food. "Wow, you sure brought a lot. We just needed something to tempt it with." Romano told me.


"And we also found a clock. We hadn't broken the one in this room yet.We weren't sure we should..." Italy informed us, holding up a small maroon coloured clock in his hands. I noticed (Name)-chan look at it strangely. She asked Italy if she could hold it for a while. We all know that the girl wouldn't receive any memories from the clocks at all, but maybe she was just curious.


"I think you already know this, but we're going to get out very soon. There's no need to see memories from the past any more..." Italy said. "And Austria and the others are taking care of things outside."


We noticed Germany shuffle nervously in his place.


America saw this and tilted his head. "Germany? What's the matter?" he asked.



Germany simply shook his head. "Nothing, I was just wondering... why don't I see any memories from the past? Isn't that odd? Well, I know the frau here doesn't see any because she's never been here before unlike us. So that means... I'm the only one..."


"Oh, right, I've always wondered about that, too." Italy said. He looked up in thought. "... What universe was it... ? 

You see, America said that the memories were just forgotten, but they hadn't disappeared. So, you should still have them, Germany." he said, facing his muscular, German friend.


Romano stepped forward. "Maybe they're being passed on?"



"Passed on?" Prussia asked curiously.


Romano nodded. "What I mean is, maybe Potato Head is the same as Veneziano?


Some of Veneziano's memories were passed on to me and we shared them. Because we're very close." he then turned to face Germany. "In Potato Head's case, maybe all of his memories are being passed on to

...someone?"



"But then... who on Earth could that be? Prussia?" Italy wondered, facing the albino.


Prussia took a step back. "M-me?! But I haven't got any of West's memories!"



"Nah, you're a little different..." England pointed out, shaking his head.



France cupped his chin. "Someone so close to Germany... that his memories are being passed on to them...All of his memories, at that..."



"......Or someone who matches his wavelength an awful lot..." Spain suggested.



Germany looked at them with a confused expression. "They have all of my memories? But...someone like that--I don't--"




Italy suddenly froze and opened his eyes, revealing amber orbs that had a glint of unknown feelings. "......Veneziano? What's wrong?" Romano asked his younger brother.


"Could it be...? No... it can't be..." Italy croaked out, his lips trembling.



Prussia noticed this and frowned. "Italy...."


"..... Italy." France looked at the younger Italian with sad eyes.

"That---"