---CHAPTER VII: Memories (Part 1)---

//Japan's PoV//

Cautiously, we all went to the door to the basement. I took the key and slowly turned the knob until I heard it click. Before entering, I looked at everyone and they gave me a nod in agreement. I opened the door and led everyone inside.

It was pretty empty, as I expected. But when we walked further, I spotted another door.

"Oh. A room." I said out loud.

At that, Italy went up to me and placed his hand on my shoulder and spoke, "Ve~ Let's check it out, Japan."

I nodded and walked over to door and entered the new room with Italy.

--

It was just a normal looking room. But I'm positive that there's got to be something in here.. I wonder if there's something of use in these drawers.

I opened the dusty drawers one by one. There, I saw a key.

"Hey, Japan." Italy suddenly said.

I looked over to his general direction and raised and eyebrow. "Yes? What is it?"

"Haven't you been brooding about something for a while?" He said, looking down to his feet.

I do not know how to respond truthfully to his query, so I only replied, "Have I?"

Italy raised his head to look at me straight in the eye. "Are you hung up on something? You've been odd since we broke that clock."

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine. What about you, though? You're shaking a little."

"What, really? Isn't it just your... imagination? Um, l-listen... if you saw anything, it was all a lie; you shouldn't think about it." He said in a nervous manner.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "... Shouldn't I think about the confusion being a hint? I was just trying to rethink some ideas?"

To my surprise, Italy's expression suddenly turned dark and he suddenly replied harshly, "NO!!!"

"Italy?!" I managed to squeak out.

"Just forget it! Forget it right now! Don't even think about those strange things!" Italy shouted, his voice raising but at the same time...trembling. It was...in such a...desperatetone.

Before I could ask him--or even say anything to at least console him, he stormed out of the room.

I could only let out a sigh of frustration. "Italy..."

------------

//Reader's PoV//

While Italy and Japan were checking out the room we saw in the basement, the rest of us waited outside.

I waved my hand to see what progress the two made inside the other room, when Russia tapped my shoulder.

"Hmm? What are you waving your hand for, _____?" He asked, peering over my side.

England also caught this and spoke up, "Oh right... I also saw you doing that a while back."

"Ah, well..uhm..y-you see i-it's.." I stammered. I got caught off-guard, not knowing how to answer them.

As if I was saved by the bell, the door from the other room opened. It was Italy. He looked...exasperated or some sort.

After that, Japan went out of the room, too.

"We found a key. Let's investigate some more." He said.

We all nodded and proceeded through the other hallway further in the basement.

Then, we entered a room that had some blue sofas. It wasn't that interesting, but then I saw the corner of the room. The wallpaper there was a bit torn. Now, following gaming logic.. there's got to be something fishy there. So I told Japan to check it out.

He knocked on it.

"That was... the sound of a door .There's a cut on the wallpaper. I'll tear it off." He announced.

After some careful peeling, a door was revealed. Japan marveled at the door then opened it for us.

"Ah, there was a hidden door, after all. Let's proceed with care."

After going through some more doors, we ended up seeing a door made of steel. This must be for the key they found.

We entered the room to our right and saw something that shocked them.

"You!" Japan exclaimed.

There was a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing glasses and a brown bomber jacket.

AMERICA. It's America! This is my first time seeing him in person, so I just stood there dumbfounded.

"Japan, it's you! What are you doing here?!" he asked loudly behind the bars.

England suddenly got worked up upon hearing the American's voice. "We're the ones who should be asking you that!! We were wor--wondering where you were! What the hell have you been doing?!"

Before America could reply, another blonde haired, blue-eyed man stepped up front. He was older looking, with a beard...and very fancy clothing. I haven't even recovered from seeing America yet...now I have to deal with seeing...FRANCE--in person.

"Anyway, could you please open this door for us? We can't open it from here, you see~" The Frenchman said in a thick accent.

"Ah, yes, of course. I'll open it right now." Japan said as he walked over to open the cell door.

=======

As they got out of the cell, America let out a sigh of relief. "Phew~ Thanks! This was a good place to take refuge in, but then we couldn't get out and we've been waiting for you guys to get here!"

"This is the only time we're doing you this favour!" China said, crossing his arms.

Germany turned to face his older brother. "Oh, well...Anyway, Prussia, what were you doing here, again?"

"You guys wouldn't wake up! I had a really hard time after that! It's a miracle I'm still alive!" Prussia replied, raising his hands.

"Prussia, you were gone when we woke up. Was it because you encountered that thing?" Japan asked.

"Oh, that.When I was having fun keeping watch, someone suddenly began to pound on the door." Prussia explained. Then, he turned to his side and pointed at France before continuing,

"When I opened it, I found it was HIM. "

"His face was a masterpiece. But he came out swinging his sword at me and I got a little injured." France said, clutching his shoulder.

Prussia gave a pout. "Aw, come on, I said I was sorry! It was just a flesh wound, anyway!"

France continued their story. "Anyway, while we were out in the hall, we were exchanging some information,when suddenly--"

"--that monster came out of fucking nowhere! I wasn't ready to fight and my sword wasn't sharp enough and we got injured. We were in big trouble!

Waking you guys up would only make things worse, though, so we fought in the hallway. We were at a disadvantage, so we ran away to the first floor." Prussia cut in.

"And then, before we knew it, that monster was there ahead of us, attacking America. We were going to sneak away behind its back, but then America waved his hands and said,'Hey~! Over here~!!' with a huge grin.... So we got dragged into it." France told us as he rolled his eyes over to America.

"I couldn't fight it alone! What's the problem?! I just thought we'd have three times more chances to beat it?" America said in his defence.

"So, since we weren't ready to fight, we couldn't fight, and we ran away to this place. We took refuge in that cell, but then we couldn't open it from inside, so we had no choice but to wait for you guys to find us." Prussia finished explaining.

I went up to Prussia and pinched his cheeks.

"No wonder you disappeared just like that. I was worried! I heard some sort of sword clashing outside, and when I opened the door, no one was there!" I said, slightly pouting.

The albino winced at the sudden pressure on his cheeks. "Ow... But, awww.. Thanks for worrying, frau. Hey, at least the awesome me and the others are all okay!" He said, after I let him go.

"I suppose..." I said in response.

Suddenly, France stepped closer to Prussia and I.

"Mon dieu! Prussia, my friend! Who is the lovely mademoiselle?"

"Yeah. I was also curious about the dudette over there." America piped in.

Once more, I gave an awkward wave at them.

Prussia placed an arm over my shoulder. "Oh, this is _____. She's stuck here with us, too."

France made a flashy pose and spoke. "Bonjour, ______~ I'm France. "

"Uh, hello."

"And I am America! Don't worry about getting out of here, dudette. I'll get you out of here because I'm the HERO! Hahahahahaha!" America said loudly. I swear, it's like I can actually see an American flag in his background as he gave a thumbs up sign and laughed. I laughed along with him.

Canada smiled and spoke up softly. "... We need to explain to them what is going on. Why don't we split up into two groups?"

"Indeed. Their injures aren't that severe, either. I'll keep looking around the basement." Japan said.

Canada nodded. "England and I will stay to lecture America."

"I have some things to tell them, too." Germany told them.

"Then I'm coming with Japan!" America exclaimed, grabbing Japan's arm.

China crossed his arms and spoke, "Weren't you listening? We're going to explain to you what's going on, so you have to stay!"

"Aww, do I have to? Japan can explain to me, can't you, Japan?" America turned to Japan, making a puppy dog face.

"It had to be the slowest to understand..." Japan thought to himself and sighed.

After careful thought, Japan eventually agreed. "Very well. I would be glad to do it."

"Oh, I want to take a look around, too. Can I tag along with you, Japan?" I asked him.

"Of course, _____-chan." He replied.

Japan turned to the others. "Well, we'll go and look around. We'll see you later."

"I'm coming with you, too!" Italy said.

Japan shook his head and spoke, "No, we'll be fine.We'll just look around and we'll be right back. Canada, England, we'll lecture him on your behalf."

"Give him a good earful." Canada said as he crossed his arms.

"No, wait. I'm coming with you. There's something that has been bothering me." England told Japan.

"Er, but..." Japan tried to protest.

"It's just something I want to check out. Please." England pleaded.

"I see. You may come along, then. We'll be back in about 15 minutes. See you later." Japan said to the others as we left the room.

Italy gave an upset look and spoke softly. "Japan..."

=================

The four of us walked through the hallway until we entered another room. It was pretty small, with shelves filled with various books.

England stopped and scanned the room, as if searching for something there. "There's something about this room that is bothering me."

I turned to him and asked, "Hmm? What is it, England?"

"No...I'm not sure yet...I guess I'll check it out later." He replied.

"Very well. Now, let's hurry." Japan said as he motioned us to proceed walking.

=================

We passed by some rooms until we entered through a door that led us to a dark place that had walls that looked jagged and dusty. Good thing I had a flashlight with me. I handed it over to Japan as he led us through the unknown hallway.

As I was walking, I accidentally stepped on my shoelace and almost tripped. Good thing America reacted fast enough and caught me.

"Whoa, dudette! Gotta be careful." America chuckled, giving my hand a light squeeze.

I felt my face heat up from embarassment. "Th-Thanks, hero." I told him as I took a step back and straightened my clothes.

"HAHAHAHA! No, problem!" He said in his usual tone.

"...Hero, huh?" Japan said out loud in a low voice.

"Yeah! The one and only!!~" America grinned.

England clicked his tongue. "Ugh. Don't let him get too full of himself, love." He told me whilst rolling his eyes at the American.

"Aww, c'mon Iggy! Just accept it!" America said, crossing his arms.

"You're being completely preposterous. Also, I already told you not to call me that!" The Brit snapped.

Suddenly, Japan stopped walking, making me bump into him.

"Oww..S-Sorry, Japan. Uh. Hey, why did you stop, anyway?" I asked.

He pointed the flashlight to the wall in front of us and spoke. "This rope ladder..."

All four of us looked up to where the ladder went. Ever so faintly, we saw light. It was sunlight. It led to the outside of the mansion! I remember this from the game, now! I also remember that...this ladder will prove to be useless. I let out an unnoticeable sigh. The others, on the other hand, had newfound hope in their eyes.

"We've got it! I can even see outside!! We can finally get out!" England exclaimed in relief.

Japan gave a small smile and took a deep breath. "Thank God...Let's call the others here, quickly!"

England nodded and grabbed my arm. "Yeah! C'mon, _____."

"Okay!" I replied.

England and I ran back together, leaving Japan and America behind.

=======

//Japan's PoV//

Before I could even tell the two to be careful, they were already out of our sight. I turned to America and motioned him to follow them and go back.

"Well, let's go." I told him.

I was about to start walking, when America placed a hand on my shoulder and spoke, "Hold on, Japan."

I was silent. I waited for him to continue speaking.

"I haven't asked why you brought me along yet." He said in a serious tone.

I couldn't help but smirk at his words. "Well, you've grown sharper."

America crossed his arms, closed his eyes and spoke, "Mhmm.. I've been 'reading the atmosphere' a lot today. Thanks to that, I got what you were saying earlier at once."

I gave out a small chuckle before replying,

"Right. Then it looks like we're going to have a nice chat together."