You close the door behind you. Even though Prussia said he was going to go off, you feel like the brothers need a moment. That's probably why Japan was happy to go on this little trip in the first place. He enters the room opposite, flicking the light switch before turning back to you, holding the door open.

"Are we looking for anything in particular?" You ask, approaching the sofas in the centre of the room, looking at the paperwork splayed over the coffee table.

"Other than our friend, no. But, anything that looks useful should be picked up." He states, walking towards the beds. You nod absentmindedly, eyes scanning the papers. They appear to be paperwork, others appearing to be blueprints. Prussia had said something about the front door not opening again, but there may be something about another exit. The ladder room, you suppose. but you know how that will end if something isn't done about it. But none of these damn cabinets have anything, just stationary supplies. Old files filled with numbers. The people that disappeared must have done so before the whole electric documents became popular, or they're too old and stubborn to convert to it. This fake mansion made it out as if the owner was an accountant, or a business owner. Which is weird now that you think about it. Where you ever able to open cabinets before and get dialogue?

To push forward the game, you head towards the lever. It so weird just on the wall. Obviously out of place. Like a game dev didn't patch it properly. You look over at Japan. Or well, the Japan cosplayer. If he wasn't so on point and handsome it would be a lot easier to not believe him. You huff, before speaking up.

"Have you seen other ones of these here?" Because come on, pointing and asking what it is is just dumb. And it's only a sensible stipulation think there'd be one if you didn't know how this song and dance goes. Japan perks up and looks at you, a small furrow on his brow. His eyes are on the plaque on the walk before he even sees the lever.

"'Up is Heaven. Middle is Earth. Down is Hell'." Japan reads the plaque and he furrows his brow, deep in thought. The lever is weirdly stuck between hell and earth. Like someone balanced it between the two. You chuckle to yourself at that. At least the game knew how to be numerous. "I think... Earth?" Japan lacks confidence in his decision, so he looks to you. You nod, shrugging your shoulders. It isn't an unwise decision, at least he didn't say heaven. He pushes the lever up to the middle, clicking into place. Clogs turn, creaking and clacking as they turn each other. A sudden clunk from the back of the room startles you both, so you go to find the source. From the sound vibration, it came from beside the bedside.

"What was that?" Japan questions, looking around for what it was.

"It sounded like..." You gaze around until you spot the object on the floor. "Key." You crouch down to pick it up. "It's a key." Flipping it over, you read the Roman numeral on the head of it. "It says it's for the first floor." You look over at Japan in confusion before your eyes wander to the ceiling. "I wonder how it fell." You mumble as you walk back to him. That is one of your wonders of the game. Above is the fourth floor, and according to the blueprints, a room isn't above. Maybe there is a secret compartment in the ceiling? Or maybe you could make use of all those pens and paper and redraw the blueprints. They may be more true in real life.

"Thank you for getting it." Japan begins before looking over to the plaque again.

"No problem." You place it in your pocket, letting your hands sit there, idle for a moment. You look between the plaque and the lever. Earth meant key. Hell meant to open a secret door. Heaven meant death.

"How about... Heaven?" Japan reaches out to pull the lever, fingers brushing the tip.

"No!" You grab his wrist. Japan flinches back at your sudden yelling and stares at you in surprise. You both stare wide eyed at each other. Now what are you meant to do?! You suck in a breath, eyes darting between Japan and the lever. He waits for you to speak. Japan has always been the quiet kind. You swallow. "Heaven." You stare at the lever. "I think it's a trap. Or maybe I over think and am paranoid, but heaven doesn't seem right, right?" You look back to Japan, eyes wide. Your breathing is shallow, and Japan just keeps the same unreadable expression on his face. "Okay, so, something happened when you all got here. When you entered this mansion, right?" Japan nods. "Something that made your whole group split. And something that scared you and Prussia when I first met you. And Germany for that matter." You look down, trying not to swear. "So if something is really happening in the place, something that attack, I wouldn't trust anything it offers."

"That makes sense."

"Yeah! Yeah, exactly." You nod, smiling. "And heaven is a promise for death. To get to heaven all you have to do is die. But hell?" You point at the lever. "All you have to do is be immoral." You smile at yourself.

"Just so you know." Japan smiles, looking rather pleased with himself. "I was going to agree with you." You chuckle at that, swatting him.

"Don't make me hit you." You wag your finger at his face, grinning. You're being teased. He's kinda cute when he's all pleased looking.

"I would hate to be at the receiving end of your wrath." Japan nods his head at you smiling. He offers the lever to you. "If you would do the honour."

"Can I?" You blink in surprise. He steps back. Japan is a quiet man, but a kind one. Or would you say honourable? You smile and say quick thanks before pulling the lever down. Once the wooden stick reaches its maximum distance, it snaps off, leaving the cool metalhead in your hand. For a moment, you stare at the broken piece. "Ah." You just state at it blankly. The sound of cogs echoes in the room once again. Something shifts across the floor, and you turn to look over to the bedside cabinet. Where it was at the beginning, a hole remains now.

"Look (F/n)-chan, you're right." Japan points out as he walks towards the hole and peers into the dark tunnel. Standing on the very edge, Japan stares down. He can't see anything other than what the light from above allows. The lever did open a room, just not in the way he initially thought. He stands on the very edge of the floorboards and jumps slightly, testing out how secure they are. They creak but don't break underneath his weight. He peeks over the edge once again. He bends his knees, trying to get a better look.

"Japan, I don't think you should--!" A loud crack resonates through the floor and you tense. Japan plunges through the boards and into the room below. "Japan!" You shout, dropping the broken leaver and running over to the hole, leaning over. You stare down in panic, only to sigh in relief when you spot him. He is in shock, laying on the floor and staring up at you in bewilderment. He sits up, pulling one knee towards himself. "Japan, are you all right?" You ask as you stare down at him in worry. The hole allows light to beam through and the nation has the glow of the light bulb to shine upon him in a small circle, as if God himself was shining his omnipotent light upon Japan.

"I'm all right. I'm sorry for worrying you." He apologises, and you let out a breathy laugh. Only he could apologise when he is hurt. "Are you coming down too?" Japan asks warily. "It's quite a big drop."

"How?" You ask as you peer over the boards, your hands gripping the edge, watching Japan sceptically. You lay on your legs and shuffle forwards, trying to see him clearer while not wanting fall to the same fate as him.

"I will catch you," Japan says with little conviction. He isn't as strong as America, but he's sure he can catch you. Japan stands and stares up at you.

"You'll catch me?" Your eyebrows rose in doubt. "I don't mean to undermine you or anything, but this angle isn't the best to simply 'catch' people from." You chuckle sheepishly.

"I will not drop you." Japan holds his arms up. From this position, he looks like a child reaching up to their mother, so you suppress your laughter by bringing your fingertips to your lips. You grin and remove your bag, shaking your head at the thought.

"I'm going to drop my bag first." You inform him, hovering said bag over the edge and then dropping it to him. Japan catches it and places it besides himself. You move feet first, lowering yourself over the side to minimise the distance as much as possible, holding the floorboards as the rough edges poke your palm. You are sure this will give you splinters. Japan watches you and notices the hesitation in your eyes as your pupils dart around to see where to land, so Japan sends you a soften smile.

"I'll catch you," Japan reassures. You take a deep breath through your nose as your muscles begin to strain, and Japan watches each movement meticulously. Your fingers began to sting, reddening under your weight.

"Okay." You take another deep breath as the boards begin to creak. "Three, tw--!" The floorboard snaps. You yelp as you plummet and fall right into Japan. You both groan in pain, rubbing your sore spot with pursed lips. You could hear the floorboards still creaking upstairs as you scowl up at the ceiling, then to the broken pieces that lay around you. You check to see if Japan is okay, but instead, you see a face engulfed in red. You sit up and panic. Then, you realise what you're doing now is worse as it dawns why the Asian man's face reminds you of a tomato. You are straddling him. Japan too, begins to panic and thinks back to Shoujo manga. Doesn't this happen all the time with the two love interests?! You laugh as you hold yourself above Japan.

"Sorry, Japan. The boards broke." You stand up quickly and extend your hand to the fallen personification. Your knees sting badly and the palm of your right hand burns. The fall was bad, but probably not as bad as it could have been with Japan softening the blow. "Are you hurt?" He takes your hand before brushing himself off.

"No, and I'm sorry for not catching you." Japan apologises with red cheeks, bowing. You smile and tilt your head, ushering him to straighten up.

"You don't need to apologise constantly. It's not your fault the planks broke." You say, smiling. Japan laughs through his nose, giving a polite smile, before turning his head to look around the room. You mumble incoherently to yourself, wondering what is going to happen next. You jump at sudden flickering lights and squint to see Japan standing by the door, his hand over the switch. "It's a piano room." You stare at the sleek black object in the middle of the room as you and Japan both walk towards it, in a trance-like state.

"I wondered what I had bumped into." Japan muses as he walks over and seats himself down on the small black seat. You raise a brow, lacing your fingers together and watch patiently as Japan's fingers skilfully dance across the ivory keys. It is the same song as in the game, except even better - you get a live performance. Your (e/c) eyes gaze at Japan's features. His brow creases as his eyes focus on the notes, his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. Your doubts about this place feel as though they are vanishing.

He really couldn't be a cosplayer. But this must be fake, right?

Suspicion clouds your mind again. You couldn't let yourself be fooled. There is no such thing as personifications of countries, aliens, monsters, and all those other weird things you saw in the manga and anime.

"That's nice." You compliment as you look at your fussy reflection on the piano. "Soothing."

"Thank you, (F/n)-chan. Do you like classical music?" He asks as he stops playing, the last note continuing to carry around the room. You think for a second, staring down at the ground.

"I like most types of music, and classical is always nice for studying."

"I do not listen to much music. You will have to show me some which you enjoy when we leave here." Japan turns away from the piano and stands. "But I am surprised. It is not off-tune, even if it has been here for years." Japan notes. Then he stops for a moment, a look of confusion covering his face, as though he is trying to remember something.

"Something wrong?" You ask as you move to his side.

"I am forgetting something..." Japan mumbles, staring at the piano. You thought for a moment about everything in this chapter of the game.

Piano. Piano? Pee-a-no... No. Note.

"Like a note or something?" You quirk a brow.

"Yes." He visibly straightens, fluttering his eyelashes as the edges crinkle. "There was a note in the dojo. It said, 'fix the toilet. Fix the piano and get the first aid kit from the first floor'." Japan informs you.

"We'll have to look for the first aid kit later then. That could come in handy." You nod your head in gratitude. Both of you check the room over once more, looking through all the draws.

"There is nothing useful here." Japan comments, closing a draw. Then he starts muttering to himself. "I might have to activate my ninja skills to get out of here. Or maybe the door's open now?" You shake your head at him with a grin. You walk up to the door, turn the nob, and it open it. You look over your shoulder to him, a smile on your face as you raise your hands in a what-can-you-do gesture.

"I guess there was no point in jumping down, was there?" You brush your hair back in embarrassment, chuckling. "Perhaps if this one is open, the rest of them are open too." Japan walks out into the hallway as you hold the door for him and approach the room opposite. The door opens freely, no key needed. It is a large library.

"There are a lot of books. If I had time, I would leaf through them." Japan wonders down an aisle of books as you walk in pace beside him, eyes scanning each shelf for anomalies.

"You could just take some, maybe read them later." You remove a book and skim the blurb.
"I will not be able to fight The Thing if my hands are full..." Japan says as he carries on looking.
"I have my bag. I can just put them in here for you." You smile in content as you run your finger over the shelf, taking in a deep breath. The smell of old books and dust. You sneeze, shaking your head and blinking your eyes before giggling. Your inner geek is being released. Leather bound anthologies and dictionaries covered the rows, wide heavy books giving the room that thick sent. As you look through two rows of shelves, you don't notice Japan wondering. You are so immersed in finding something - anything - to read. You now walk down the second aisle, immersed in the books around you. Each and every hardback. It has encyclopaedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, books with a ribbon bookmark and others with coloured binds. They are so pleasing to look at, and not a single book is ruined. That is until you come across one that is different to the hardback books around it. It is at the very end, wedged between two large books. You shimmy it out, the almost stuck between the two larger books, so you have a tough time removing it. It instantly weights down in your palm once you yank it from the shelf. It seems to be a diary or journal. It dawns that it could be Italy's one, but as you flick through the pages, you realise it's blank. You crease your brow, then feel something sticky on your fingertips. Closing the book, you look to see some sort of pink sugar crusted onto the bind and now on your fingers. Scratching off the crusting parts, you brush it off and onto the floor before making a face at the stuff now under your nails. You flip through the pages once again and think. Perhaps it is for home-made recipes but never got filled in. You overturn it in your palm to look at the front. It is bound with a black case wrap with two words written in golden cursive across the front.

"Nova Terra." You read aloud. You hum in thought as you run your finger across the spine. "Wonder what it means." You mumble, furrowing your brow in thought. You put the empty book in your bag. You could take notes and things, and it's not like anyone would miss it. Walking around the edge of the shelf, you spot Japan. You smile, raising a hand to tell him that you found nothing, before you realise he isn't alone.