---CHAPTER VI: Password (Part 2)---

When I sensed that Italy was going to leave the room, as well, I hurriedly rushed down the stairs. I went over to the pantry room in the first floor.

They were in the middle of trying to open the safe...

"5294.."

*click*

It opened!

A small popup appeared before me.

Obtained: Study Key.

Study....

"Which door do you think it opens?" one of them asked.

"Ah... I think there was a door in this floor that I wasn't able to open before. Maybe that's the key." I told them.

Japan turned to me. "Which one?"

I placed my hand on my chin and tried to remember. "The one in the hallway near the Tatami rooms, I think."

"Ah. That's right. Italy and I went there earlier. There was a locked room there." Germany confirmed.

Russia looked at the others. "Well, then..let's go."

We all headed to the study, walking in a quick but relaxed pace.

Used: Study Key.

We all went inside the study.

China looked around the room. "This place is almost empty, aru."

"Let's search the place." England instructed.

Ah... What were we supposed to do here..?

A switch was it?

I walked over to the slim Japanese man. "Oh. Japan, I'll check the bookshelf over there, you guys take a look at that er, table."

He nodded. "Alright."

I pretended to look through the books while I watched Japan from the corner of my eye.

"Oh. I found a switch." He reported.

Germany raised an eyebrow. "Really? Might as well press it."

The bookshelf in front of me moved.

"W-Whoa! Guys, over here." I said as I moved away from the bookshelf.

"It's a door!" China exclaimed.

Japan dusted his clothes and walked towards the door. "I'll check it out..."

I grabbed his arm. "Uhm, I want to go, too."

He gave a small smile. "Alright, let's go."

Japan opened the door and walked further into the room.

"I see something over there." He told me.

I locked the door behind me. If I remember correctly, it'll be Game Over if I dont..

He knelt down and picked up a small, metal object. "____-chan. I found a key."

A small popup appeared once more.

Obtained : Basement Key.

"Alright. Let's leave this room and go tell the others." I replied.

"Agreed."

When I opened the door, no one was inside the room.

Or so I thought.

"J-Japan!!" I shouted as I saw the large monster getting near me.

Japan swiftly went out of the hidden room and looked at what made me frantic. "It's that Thing again! Quick let's run for it!"

I grabbed Japan's hand and ran out of the room. The Thing was still chasing after us. I decided to go to the safe room here.

The toilet.

When we were inside the restroom, everything became silent. It's gone.

"I think it's safe to go back now." I said as I let out a sigh of relief.

"Right."

We then went back to the Study room.

"Oh, you guys are back. Are you okay? Sorry you had to go through that." China said apologetically.

Japan shook his head. "No, on the contrary, I'm the one who should apologise for asking you to deal with this. We actually managed to escape easily."

"I wish it had been me instead, though... But you two are really fast, as well~" Italy complimented.

Canada walked over to me and gave my head a soft pat. "You guys did very well. And we found the clock!"

I smiled at him and looked at the clock. It was ticking ever so loudly.

"The key we found leads to the basement, right? Before we go, though, we have to settle this memory confusion." Russia told us.

Germany took a step forward and looked at us. "Each one of you has three minutes. If you have something to say, raise your hand."

England raised his hand slowly. "Er, can I go first, then?"

We nodded.

"I don't think it's just me, but... didn't you notice anything when you broke the clocks?"

China tilted his head and faced England. ".....You noticed it, too? Then it wasn't just my imagination."

Russia squinted. "You mean we all get false memories whenever we break a clock?"

"R-really?" Germany said, dumbfounded.

I wanted to say something, but all I could muster was, "..I..." No one heard me.

"....When we broke the clock in the piano room,I got memories of coming here with Japan and others. But..." China said, unsure.

Russia closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Our memories are all tangled, but first, let's try to remember how we started."

"It all started at the world meeting. We were all gathered in a single place, including those who are missing now." England explained.

Japan agreed and continued for England. "Right. There is no doubt that this was where we started. So, America had heard rumours about this mansion and said he wanted to come to see what it was like."

"The meeting had ended and we had nothing better to do, so I came with America, China, Russia, France, and England..." Canada said softly.

"We also invited Japan, but he didn't come. That's why I sent him a message right before I came into the mansion." China added.

Germany crossed his arms. "When he saw that message, Italy began to say that he wanted to come, too, and the three of us headed here, along with my brother."

Italy shifted nervously. "...... Yeah."

England clicked his tongue. "But I also have different memories. I remember coming with America and Japan, and it was China who got separated from us, not France."

Italy suddenly piped up. "Maybe we're getting confused because there are several mixed memories? We don't know which one is right... and it makes us draw the wrong conclusions."

Russia cupped his chin and thought for a while. "Ah, that's also an idea... When false memories get mixed in to hide the truth, we get confused and don't know what is what. And once you suspect something..."

To my horror, he suddenly locked eyes with me before continuing his statement,

"...everything else becomes suspicious."

Like, whoa there, Russia. Why am I the suspicious person here? I mean...okay he's got a reason...but Italy's hiding something here, too...and---OH. You'll be suspicious later, too. So don't be like dat man. I avoided his gaze and stared at the floor instead.

"Well, then, that means that from now on,whenever we break a clock, we'll get a lot of false memories, but we shouldn't believe any of them!" Italy told us.

Japan agreed. "If we invite confusion... Right, I think we must discard those fake memories without believing them."

China rolled his eyes. "What a bother. Also, we have to be ready to get strange memories while we break the clocks."

"Right. If you can discard them without worrying about them, you should definitely do so." Germany said.

They all nodded.

"Anyway, I'm going to break this clock. If you get any strange memories, just forget about them right away.

Don't forget whom you came with or how you came to be here now." Germany instructed us.

England let out a sigh and looked at his watch. "Y-yeah, if we don't break it, time won't go back to normal. We have to break it as soon as possible."

Italy nodded cheerfully. "Ve~ Right."

I looked at him in disbelief before proceeding to stare at the ground while clenching my fists.

They're being fed with lies.