1
"Well the meetings finished for today." England said, impressed that he had coped so well throughout without his usual disparaging comments and sighs. "If you want to go to your rooms, we can carry on tomorrow morning."
"Good point." Italy yawned. "I'm really tired! Talking is so tiring!"
"No that's just because you're horrendously lazy." Germany muttered to himself.
"No it is!" Italy said smiling "It makes me feel really excited and happy when I talk to everyone about how we can make progress to help the world! You know what I mean Germany?"
"Well…" Germany looked to one side, whilst blushing slightly. "I suppose I understand the satisfaction of helping others a little."
"You see?" Italy smiled. "So, I'm going to bed! Night night everyone!"
*20 minutes later*
"Japan, I got lost… England's house is really big and scary and dark… and I saw this really scary picture, I think it was this old haggered looking woman with a crown on."
"ARE YOU… DISRESPECTING HER ROYAL MAJESTY-?" England started, his voice shaking with rage.
"Italy-kun that is such an inappropriate thing to say… *ahem*I'm sure that he was looking in a mirror or something England-san… I don't believe he was making a slight on her highness at all…" Japan's apologising skills could only stretch so far, he decided to create some form of exit plan in his mind. "Italy-kun, I think you are vaguely close to my room… perhaps we should go together? That way you won't get lost? And perhaps you won't potentially embarrass yourself anymore than you have already?"
"Wow…. Thanks Japan!" Italy smiled, clinging onto Japans arm. "But seriously, I saw a ghost before!"
"Is that so?" Japan said, looking sceptical.
"You saw a ghost?" England said urgently. "What did he look like?"
"He?" Japan said.
"Well… it…" England stumbled over the words in a slightly suspicious manner.
"Well… it was this cute tiny little boy… -"
"THAT'S RIDICULOUS!" England said, laughing in a slightly forced manner. "GHOSTS…errr… AREN'T… here."
"England-san? I thought you said that this house was haunted earlier today?" Japan said now looking perplexed.
"Well… yes… but I mean… they don't go walking around… you just have… a sixth sense for them!" He said, with a massively forced grin.
"He looked real to me." Italy said, looking distraught.
"Japan… look who you're talking to! I mean it's Italy! What does he know about anything?" England added snidely.
"This is true… Italy-kun… you were probably just seeing things." Japan answered, "Now come, let's go and find our rooms."
"BUT I SAW HIM!" Italy whined as they walked away from England.
England immediately stopped smiling once they were out of eyeshot, he turned around and looked at the mirror 'It's too early… why had Italy seen a ghost already? They aren't meant to be here until later tonight… '
"England!"
"RUSSIA!" England turned around rapidly to see Russia standing right behind him. "w-W-W-What are you doing here? I thought you'd gone to bed already?"
"I thought I'd look around your house." Russia smiled with a gentle curl in his lips, that momentarily turned into something of a sadistic grin. "I've seen some very interesting things…people… in this house… it's nice yes?"
"Y-y-y-yes?" England affirmed hesitantly, wearing something of an ambivalent expression. "What did you see exactly?"
"Well." Russia smiled, leaning in. "It looks like England has a lot of secrets… a few personal demons… to sort out, yes?"
England ceased to be intimidated and looked more concerned. "It would appear so…"
"Well… I think I shall be going to my room now… I want to be well rested for tomorrows talks… you will get some rest too, yes?"
"Not likely." England said, "Excuse me." He said, striding away from Russia into his own private study as quickly as he could.
Russia looked around his surroundings and sighed, but a wicked glee was present in his voice. "If I had a portion of your wealth… I'd have demons like that too... It's a good job I didn't… sometimes it must be hard to get along with everyone when you were once so… what word should I use? Controlling…yes?"
"Wha?" England fretted as the words came out.
"Goodnight…" Russia smiled happily as he walked up the stairs.
England ran to his study shut the door and let out a sigh of relief, bolted the door and then opened his eyes.
"AND THEN THIS GUY WAS LIKE 'YOU'RE NOT A SUPERHERO… YOU'RE A LOSER…"
England let out a horrified choking noise.
"Then what did you do?" Canada said, unimpressed by America's 'riveting' story
"I BEAT HIM SO HARD THAT HE CHANGED HIS MIND HAHAHA!"
"WHAT PART OF 'PRIVATE STUDY' DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? GET OUT!" England shouted furiously.
"Obviously, he doesn't understand the private part." France quipped.
"Not you too! This is the last thing I need right now, all of you get out!" England said aggressively. "I'm busy!"
"What? Did the latest issue of Zoo come out or something?" France laughed. This comment caused Canada to blush, England's face went bright red.
"WOW? ENGLAND'S GOT A ZOO?" America said. "WHAT ANIMALS DOES IT HAVE IN IT?"
"For the love of God and all things Holy! GET OUT!" England pointed at the door. "GO… TO YOUR ROOMS! I SPENT A LONG TIME PREPARING THEM FOR YOU! DON'T BE SO UNGRATEFUL!"
"I really appreciate it England." Canada said blushing.
"Yes! I even did you your own room Canada!" England added, as if this was some kind of miracle. "So drag your wretch of a brother to his room and get the hell out of my study!"
Canada tried to persuaded America to stop questioning England about his new Zoo and eventually got him out of the study … but only outside the door…
"You, twatface…" England snapped, watching France leave the room in an extremely avante garde, showy fashion.
"I assume you're talking to me mon Cherie?" France turned around with a debonair smile that he had obviously been planning to use for such an occasion.
"Don't you cherry me! Listen! Don't you dare go poking around in my house okay?" England said, his brows furrowed. "Remember last time?"
France didn't really recall last time, he very vaguely remembered finding some superb wine, that England had obviously stolen once upon a time… France could only recall the furious look on England's face when he found empty bottled littered all of the floor and when he found France himself, sprawled all over the floor singing 'Je ne Regrette Rien'.
"Ahh yes… how could I possibly forget last time?" France said, blushing at the thought of his own amazingness.
"THAT'S NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF! YOU MORON! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH THAT WINE WOULD HAVE BEEN WORTH?" England shouted, trying not to become too angry and fight with France for no real reason. "To prevent that kind of disgusting display (that I do in other countries) from happening again, I've locked the wine cellar."
"But why can't I look around the rest of the house?" France smiled. "DO YOU HAVE KINKY STUFF AROUND THAT YOU DON'T WANT ME TO SEE!"
"OF COURSE NOT!" England said, blushing slightly. "Even if I did it wouldn't be here I don't have that kind of stuff!"
"Why not England? Come on? Why not? It'll be fun… Let's go on a tour… it's like stepping back in time! Your house is so old? When are you going to have it done up so it looks cool like my place?" America said bursting back into the room unannounced, causing Canada to follow him in, apologising. America then slapped England on the back in what should have been an encouraging fashion, but ultimately resulted in him spitting his tea everywhere.
"You see America!" Canada said. "You're always getting carried away."
"IT'S FINE! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!" America then did the same with Canada, causing him to fall to the ground.
"Ouch…Maple."
"A hero never holds back!" America said with a youthful grin on his face.
"A hero never smacks unsuspecting people on the back for no real reason either." England muttered as he recovered.
"HAHAHA I love you England! You and you're wacky humour!" America smiled and commented loudly.
"That wasn't a joke…" England sighed dismissively. Besides, I'll never have my house done so it looks like your place." England said, with a slight tone is disgust in his voice. "My place has a deep long rooted history… and I can't just go and change it…"
"Why not?" America pouted.
"Because my house… is haunted by ghosts." England said with a crazy demonic smirk on his face
"… Are you serious?" America said, cowering behind Canada… (as if that would really be helpful).
"Of course I'm serious!" England said, with a dark glint in his eye. "And they're all coming for youuuuuuuuuuuu."
"AHHHHH! Screw that! I'm going to bed! God England! Your place is so damn creepy!" America said, muttering to think happy thoughts as he went to bed.
Canada looked somewhat confused about the whole series of events. "Is your house really haunted?"
"DID I NOT JUST SAY IT WAS?" England said harshly.
"But I mean… what is it haunted by? Why don't you get like an exorcist." Canada said.
"Well…because… I can't exactly… get rid of these ghosts…" England paused.
Canada looked puzzled by this comment. "Well surely you can get rid of them I mean-"
"Besides…" England continued, closing down Canada's line of discussion "…they keep Yankee doddle dandy upstairs away most of the time… that is reason enough for me… I'm having a drink of tea now… so you can-"
"Oh…well…" Matthew looked hopefully at England. "I'm really thirsty…I'd love to have a cup of tea with yo-"
"Well… there's a tea set in your room… go on… off you trot…" England said, waving Canada away.
Canada went to his room and looked at the tea set and blushed. "Wow my own tea set… in my own room…" he tried to pick up the tiny china cup carefully, knowing that it would be just his luck to have something like that and then it to go flying in the air and then break into millions of tiny pieces. "Wow… I forgot Kuma… whatever his name is… isn't here either… I should stop talking to myself now…"
'I wonder what England meant… ghosts he can't get rid of? That's too strange… I wanted to ask… but he seemed like he didn't want to talk about it… and he's been way too nice to me recently… I wonder if I could figure it out for myse-'
"!"
The tiny tea cup was flung in the air, but luckily fell on to the bed… Canada wouldn't have to pay for any breakages just yet…
"America!" Canada said, trying to sound angry. "You can't just walk into a person's room unannounced! I could have been asleep!"
"Yea, but I don't mind bothering you… you don't count." America said smiling cheerily.
"What are you doing with your duvet and pillow?" Canada said, feeling sicker by the second at the thought that Alfred would be staying the night.
"I'm sleeping in here! I got scared alone… so I thought I'll sleep with you! Isn't that great? We can like… catch up! Like brothers should do every now and again… or at my convenience…" America grinned. "You're having the floor!"
"…Maple." Canada muttered despairingly.
Finally England was on his own. He could have a private moment of peace and quiet, perhaps listen to some music and have a drink before the evenings real trials started. For England knew that Midsummer was not always the most settled time for the supernatural… To have an important meeting with the G8 at this time was really inconvenient. He hoped that nothing too disastrous would happen this year.
"Are you having tea or a night cap?" France said, lingering around near England's sherry cabinet.
"FUCK… OFF!" England snarled furiously "I'VE BEEN CIVIL WITH YOU ALL DAY AND YOU STILL MANAGE TO WIND ME UP! STOP BEING SO BLOODY NOSEY AND GO TO BED!"
"BUT EN-G-LAND… Your place is so boring if we don't go drinking… there is nothing to do!"
"We are having meetings not going drinking! We can go drinking once we've finished with the meetings! Now shut up whining and go to bed!" England had tried to be reasonable, but France was really trying his patience.
"Hey… you're not usually this uptight about curfews and the like, Is it because of these fictitious ghosts of yours?" France sniggered.
"Listen." England sounded slightly less angry. "It's midsummer solstice… spirits and ghosts like this time of year… so it'd be better for you… if you just go to bed okay?…"
"That's rubbish." France thought aloud.
"It's not!" England answered frustratedly.
The seriousness of his tone took France by surprise. "I'm not saying this because I hate you… I don't want you getting involved in something you can't handle… so don't go wandering around my house tonight, do it tomorrow, tomorrow night… I don't care… just not tonight…"
"Wow…" France said with a feigned sincerity. "If it means that much to you… I guess I'll just go to bed… Okay? I'm going now."
"Bonne Nuite."
France's head almost did a 360 degree turn. "Did you just speak French!"
"JUST GET OUT OF MY BLOODY STUDY!" England threatened.
France shut the door and sniggered as he started to walk in the opposite direction of the room that England had prepared for him. 'He's obviously got loads of beer and wine and the like stashed upstairs… that's why he doesn't want me to go…. Well… Nii-san sees through your treachery!'
And so rather than taking England's advice, he decided to go to root around England's house, to see what he could find. But… Little did France know that he would see things he'd never dreamed of seeing… a second time…
2
"America is so noisy…" Japan muttered to himself, waiting outside the bathroom paitently, whist America was singing terribly. "America-san?" Japan said in his politest asking voice. "Will you be too long, I was thinking that I might freshen up a little bit?"
"I PLAN ON BEING! IS THAT A PROBLEM?"
'Well of course it is…' "Not at all." Japan said. "Maybe I will just shower in the morning."
"AWESOME!" America said, continuing to sing terribly.
Japan walked down the corridor frustratedly. Sometimes he wished that another Eastern country was in the G8, just so then he didn't feel so massively intimidated by the European atmosphere. He then heard the dulcet tones of his current 'anime' ringtone and picked up the phone. "Hello, it's Japan speaking."
"Japan… are you bored?"
"Italy-kun…" Japan sighed heavily, his duty of being a good friend dictated that he should probably offer to keep Italy company. "You sound a little disheartened? Shall I come and see you?"
"That'd be amazing! I want to tell you about that ghost that I saw."
"Mmmm." Japan said in a non-commital tone. "I'll be there shortly."
"Wow." France walked up the long staircase to the East Wing of England's house. "So this is where he's been hoarding all his stuff from the old days hmmm? England you old rogue…"
He looked at some of the exquisite decorations surrounding him and then saw a door, in the corner, a door so plain in comparison to the rest of the décor that no one would notice it. "That looks suspiciously like a wine keeping room to me…"
France opened the door and walked inside. To his disappointment, no wine was in the room, but lots and lots of what appeared to be England's momento's from his youth.
A bow and arrow set was on the wall, some books in some weird Rune looking language some candles and the like, a few letters on the desk… The room smelt of must.
"Maybe some of my old stuff is in here." France smiled in glee "Maybe I can get some of my old stuff back!" He rummaged through the items and successfully located some treasures that may or may not have been his. "Wow! This is why he didn't want me to come up he-"
He felt the muzzle of a pistol gun pressed gently against the back of his head. France dropped the possession immediately and took a sharp breath.
"Hands off my stuff bastard…" a familiar, yet very unexpected voice said to him.
'That sounds like… it can't be…'