Readers,

I have decided to completely reboot my story, "Crap An Oni". However, this story will be far different from the original, and will focus less on Hetalia and more on my OC from the previous story.

It will be more serious and far darker than the first, and may even have better writing, if I can manage. If you liked the original, and you don't want to see anything change, you probably shouldn't read this. 'Cause, to be honest, I hated the first one!

Anyway, I just wanna throw it out there that I don't own anything- save for our OC's- and I'm writing this purely for entertainment. This is not meant to inflict on any copyright agreements or anything. I might leave stuff out, or add things in, but that's sorta to be expected, right?

So, without further adieu, I present to you:

The Mansion

-Otto

I couldn't remember falling asleep. I must have at some point, because my head hurt, and I couldn't see well, but I knew I wasn't at home. I sat up as best I could, holding my head in both hands and wincing.

I blinked until I could see straight again and did my best to stand, leaning up against a wall for support. I looked around quietly, taking in very slowly the fact that I was in a completely new place- somewhere I'd never been to or even seen before.

"Hello?" I called, but regretted saying anything as my head began to pulse with pain greater than before. 'Christ.' I thought to myself. 'Well, that's no fun.' I began to slowly push away from the wall and stumbled towards the door at the other end of the empty room.

The second I pulled the door open, I was nearly trampled by someone much taller than me barreling into the room. The figure stumbled for a split second to regard my presence, then grabbed me and dragged me along with them back towards the back of the room, and into a closet there.

It took me a moment to process what had just happened before I turned to glare up at the blonde man occupying the small, dark space with me. "What are you-?"

I barely had a chance to say anything before he shushed me and clamped a hand over my mouth.

My fingers curled tightly into fists, and I was close to hitting him before I heard someone else open the door to the room. I forced myself to calm down and stay quiet, gently removing the blonde's hand from my mouth. White noise and giant footfalls waged war throughout the room, and it took me a second to realize that I'd stopped breathing.

After some time had passed, I heard the heavy feet grow quieter and quieter as the door shut once again. As soon as the wooden slab had refitted itself into its frame, I pushed myself up and away from the man in the closet and walked into the middle of the room. "What the hell was that?" I demanded, careful to keep my voice low.

The blonde followed me out of the cramped space and stood up at his full height- which just so happened to be much, much taller than myself. "S-sorry," He mumbled, awkwardly rubbing at the back of his head. "I-it's just that . . . That thing was . . ." He trailed off quietly, leaving us both in tense silence.

Heaving a heavily irritated sigh, I began to walk a small ways away, back towards the door. "Jesus . . . What was it?"

"I'm not sure, really. A monster or something?"

I huffed a small, unamused laugh. "Monsters don't exist. This isn't some fairy tale." I put my hand lightly on the doorknob. "Look, I'm going to go see if it's still out there. It's probably just some kid playing a trick on us." Without stopping to listen to any objections he may have had, I pulled the door open and stuck my head out. Nothing appeared to be down either long stretch of hallway, so I slid all the way out of the room. "I'll be back soon." I told him. "Either stay here or come with me- don't wander."

Shutting the door behind me, I began to walk down the hall to my left. The hall must have been too dark in this direction, because it wasn't very long at all until I hit the end of it. I turned sharply and began to walk in the other direction. On the opposite side of the room I'd left, there was a much longer hallway, which opened up to a set of stairs and a whole new bank of rooms.

I cursed loudly, realizing the place was bigger than I'd originally thought. I cautiously approached the stairs and peered into the darkness of the floor below. The lights were on, but they didn't seem to help much.

Slowly, I began to descend the staircase- mindful of my wobbling legs and aching skull, and clutching the handrail in such a way that I might've caused the wood to splinter. I staggered and nearly fell at the bottom of the stairs, but I regained my composure enough to have a quick look around. I had only just begun to walk down the left hallway when I ran into someone.

I fell flat on the ground- cursing as my back made contact with the cold wood floor. "Shit, that hurt!"

"O-oh! I'm sorry!" Came the quiet voice of the person I'd run into as they gently tried to help me up.

"No, no." I shook my head as I stood up to face them. "It was my fault. I wasn't paying attention. Didn't realize there was anyone else down here." I extended a hand to shake. "Mari Summers.

He took my hand gingerly and shook it very lightly. "Nice to meet you, miss Summers. My name is Japan. I just was just checking on something in the kitchen."

"Japan?" I asked, laughing lightly. "Is that what your friends call you?" The nickname certainly fit- he looked and acted really, really Japanese.

He tilted his head a little. "Yes." He seemed to remember something suddenly. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I really need to get back to the people I came here with. Would you like to accompany me, miss Summers?"

"Um, it's just 'Mari'." I corrected. "But, sure- I'll come with you."

He nodded and led me back towards the stairs. When we reached the entryway in front of the stairs, the Asian stopped suddenly and stiffened. "Maybe . . . Did they leave?" He sighed. "How regrettable." He walked over to the door and tried the handle- his entire body becoming stiff. "It's . . . It's locked . . ."

"What?" I marched over to him. "Are you sure?" I tried the handle, growing more frustrated the longer it refused to turn.

I must have been at the door for some time, because eventually the man put a hand on my arm and looked at me through his hard-to-read eyes. "I don't think the door is going to open."He muttered quietly. "Why don't we try looking for my friends? I'm sure they're still around."

I stared at him for a moment before my mind caught up, and I remembered the blonde I'd met upstairs. "Oh, hey- I might have met one of them, actually. We ran into each other upstairs, in one of the rooms. Blondie- 'bout the size of a small building."

Japan perked up immediately. "Oh! That must be Germany!"

I had to force myself not to laugh. "Well, he did seem pretty German."

He didn't seem bothered by the comment at all; simply turning towards the stairs and starting to climb. Quickly deciding that I didn't want to be alone at the moment, I ran up the stairs after him. "Hey, wait up!" I called, maneuvering in front of him. "The room's down here."

The two of us nearly ran down the hall- me simply trying to keep in step with the older man. When we reached the room I'd woken up in, Japan ripped open the door and began looking for his friend immediately. "Germany! Are you there?"

He walked over to the closet in the corner of the room and pulled the curtain back. He nearly shouted in surprise and jumped back. "G-Germany!"

The blonde from earlier sat shaking in the tiny indent of a closet behind the curtain. He didn't seem to notice us at all- just continued to shake and shiver with wide blue eyes staring blankly ahead.

" . . . Germany . . . Where are the others?" Japan asked gently, patiently. But there was no response from the man. If anything, his shaking grew worse.

I watched him try to coerce some sort of response out of the man he was calling Germany for a while before taking action. "Mr. Japan, why don't you have a look around this floor- see if you can find your other friends?" I suggested, wanting some time to talk to the man myself. "I'll keep an eye on him. Just meet us back here when you're done."

The Asian hesitated for a moment, looking back and forth between his friend and me. "Well, alright. But if he gets any worse, please call me back here." He nodded back at Germany for a moment before leaving the room.

"Take your time!" I called after him. When he'd left, I crouched down to the blonde's height- which, despite his being seated, was not that much shorter than me. "You weren't like this when I was here a few minutes ago . . . Maybe you did see something?"

I didn't quite catch it, but something near-silent slipped out under his breath.

"What was that?"

He started twitching. " . . . Ita . . . ly . . ."

I frowned and opened my mouth to say something else, when we heard the door open and Japan walked back in. "Mari-san, I didn't find anyone." He walked closer to Germany and I and crouched down next to him. "He doesn't seem to be getting any better. We should get him some water."

"You said you'd come from the kitchen earlier. Does the faucet work?"

He shrugged. "I don't remember checking. Let's go."

The two of us made our way back downstairs and into the kitchen. We checked around there for awhile. I found a glass in the cupboard, but the faucet didn't seem to work. I felt dejected, but Japan insisted that we carry on.

"There must be a bathroom around here," The man reassured me. "We should keep looking."

I nodded, unsure of how else I could respond. I followed him slowly as we made our way back through the hallway towards the entrance. We walked straight past that are towards the left side of the house. The first thing I noticed was the door to my right. I tried the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

Japan continued on ahead of me, turning down the corner into the next hallway. Or, he would have. But something stopped him.

"Japan?" I asked quietly. I don't think he heard me. He stayed perfectly still and silent- staring down the hall with wide, scared eyes. I began to stride over to him, but I only got so far before something caught my eye. Something huge.

Just down the hall from us, a huge creature lumbered slowly towards a door. I would have shouted in my surprise in that instant, but Japan clamped his hand over my mouth before I could make a sound. That seemed to be a theme around here.

As soon as the man had silenced me, the monster disappeared through the doorway. I pulled away from Japan as quickly as I could and dragged him out of the area.

"W-What the hell was that?" I demanded as soon as we reached the entryway again. "That thing, Japan, what was it? And who are you?"

The man shook his head, though he looked as though that wouldn't help him much. "I-I told you, I-I am Japan. And I'm j-just as confused by this as you are." He spoke in a manner that was both urgent and quiet, as though he refused to shout unless it was necessary. He seemed so . . . Meek.

I huffed angrily at him. "Yeah, well, you don't seem to be!" I wasn't quite sure why I decided to in the first place, but I turned back towards the way we'd just come and began to march.

"Miss Mari! Where are you going?" The man called after me, clearly flustered and uncertain.

"I need to see this thing again." I told him. "There's no way it was real, and I won't sleep right until I prove that." I continued to stomp down the hallway for a moment before I heard Japan's light footsteps following after me. I stopped suddenly with a slight growl of disdain and glared at him. "Why are you following me? I don't need your help!"

The man didn't seem surprised at my outburst, and fired back a look that rivaled mine in intensity. "I never implied that you did, Mari-san. In case you had forgotten, we already agreed to help each other earlier. I never said anything about you being weak or needing help from anyone."

I couldn't help but feel completely floored at that moment. His words had been sharp and precise, and the looks he was giving me just drove the blade in deeper. "Um . . . Sorry." I muttered, turning away from him. "I didn't mean to snap at you like that . . . Can we be cool?"

Japan looked at me oddly for a moment before smiling. "Yes, we can . . . be cool." He laughed lightly at that, and I couldn't help but smile and join in.

"Alright," I turned back towards the hall. "We saw that thing go into a different room. We've got at least a little bit of time before it comes back, whatever it was. You sure the bathroom was in there?"

Japan nodded. "Yes. Although it seems a bit dangerous for us both to go. Should one of us stay at the door to watch for that creature?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, why not? I can do that."

"A-Are you sure?" His eyes widened. "Are you even armed?"

"Well, no . . ." I replied, shoving my thumbs into my regrettably-small girl-pockets. "But you are, right?"

"I have my katana." He deadpanned.

I forced back laughter at the thought of the gentle-looking man wielding a weapon. "Right, so I'll keep watch, and let you know if you need to come save me." I flashed a quick grin at him and turned the corner into the next hallway.

Japan followed closely behind, though I don't think he agreed with my plan. When we reached the bathroom- oh so close to the door we'd seen the beast lumber through- I ushered him inside while I stood at the door. He spent much longer in the bathroom than I had expected, however, and I nearly had to go in after him. "Japan, where are you already?"

"Here!" The asian jogged back out of the bathroom with a glass of . . .

I poked at it. "What is that? Is it even water?"

Japan seemed to wilt at that. "Uh, w-well . . . I think so. It came from the faucet, but . . . I don't think water should ever have to be described as 'thick'."

Shaking my head, I started back down the hall. "Alright, whatever. Let's just go back and find your friend."

When we reached the room the blonde was in, he chugged the water quickly, only stopping to question it's consistency and color afterwards. "Was that . . . really water?" Before either of us could answer, it seemed as though he'd changed his mind. "You know, never mind. Either way, thank you."

"You're welcome, Germany." Japan sighed. "Well, I think we should go back out and try to find Italy and Prussia." He turned and looked at me for some kind of input.

I just nodded and turned back towards the door.

We were already halfway to the door when Germany stopped us. "Oh, by the way. I have something that might be useful to you. I found it while I was running." He pulled himself up a bit, though he probably didn't need to stretch as far as he did, and handed Japan a key.

"What does it go to?" I asked, eyeing the small hunk of metal.

The gargantuan blonde shrugged. "I found it in the hallway that leads to the kitchen. Maybe it goes around there?"

Japan nodded and handed the key over to me. "We should be going." He smiled almost nervously. "Thank you Germany."

I guess I had expected it to take longer, because it surprised me when it worked on the first door we tried on the first floor of the house. But as soon as we turned the key, a soft ker-chunk filled the hall. Japan and I glanced at each other for a moment before we could even think of moving. The air coming from the room was heavy- far heavier than air should be on its own. I was genuinely afraid to open that door, and I think Japan must have been, too.

Regardless, I gently prodded the door open and slipped through, Japan following close behind. The first thing I noticed were mountains of books lining rows of shelves throughout the room, causing the sudden realization that this was a library. The second thing was a large, lumbering, grey . . . thing, which disappeared behind a columned shelf before I could say a thing.

"Did you see that?" I whispered to Japan, who nodded and placed his hand on his still-sheathed weapon. Cautiously, I stepped out into the open area of the library. Japan and I approached the shelves I'd seen the creature disappear behind and peeked down the aisle.

"What's going on here?" I muttered aloud. "It's gone."

"Gone?" He questioned, eyes narrowed in my direction. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "We both saw him. He walked behind these shelves, didn't he?"

Japan looked confused, crossing his arms and studying the floor. "Maybe . . . Did we just imagine it? Or see something that looked scary?"

That wasn't it. I wanted to disagree with him, and tell him that it was impossible. That something had to be here. But he looked nervous, and I was too bothered by my own thoughts to push them onto him. "Yeah . . ." I submitted. "It was probably just dust. This place is pretty old."

That was the end of the conversation for both of us. I lightly brushed passed the older man and made my way over to a table covered in old, crunching paper and dust-covered books that I began to sort through. "I wonder if there's anything useful here?"

"Maybe." Japan mused as he walked over to a shelf and picked out a book. "Hmm. Why would the previous owner have owned books on the dismissal of demons?"

I glanced over at him. "What, like exorcisms?"

He shrugged. "I suppose." He opened the book and began looking through it.

"You know," I started with a scoff "We don't really have time to be-."

Japan glanced over at me as I picked up the squishy object my hand had run over. "Mari-san? What's wrong."

I held the rice ball out to him. "It's an onigiri."

He narrowed his eyes, cocking his head slightly. "Why is there an onigiri here?" He took it out of my hand gently and smelled it. "It's still fresh."

"This is weird . . ." I grumbled, rubbing the back of my head with an open hand. "Well, there doesn't really seem to be anything useful here besides food. Do you want to move on?"

The older man shot me an odd look, but nodded nonetheless.

We only barely made it to the door before we heard something that made us stop in our tracks. Stunted breathing. Heavy footsteps lumbering slowly. A bookshelf being pushed close by. When we turned to look at it, I nearly had a heart attack at the close proximity of the beast.

A huge grey thing with no clothes and a massive skull was gently thundering towards us, arms outstretched and sopping maw gaping.

"Oh my God . . ." I couldn't think enough to say anything else at that moment. "The door . . . Japan, the door!"

The man turned and grabbed at the handle as I stood watching the thing. "I-It's locked! where's the key?"

I immediately began to search myself up and down. The key . . . The key . . . where's the- "Key!" I spotted something gleaming in the far corner of the room. I couldn't remember us having walked through that area, but I ran for it anyway. The beast, turned towards me with shocking speed and blocked my path with a loud cry of rage. "I can't get close to it. Japan, get your sword out!"

Thank God, he heard me. He snapped himself together in a second and drew his blade from its place on his hip. He didn't quite charge at the beast, but he did shout something at it in his native language. I'm not sure exactly what he said, but I'm pretty sure he was trying to get its attention.

It seemed to work, because the beast's hollow eyes were suddenly trained on him instead of me. It charged at Japan, and I just barely had time to dive out of the way before it crushed me.

I worried immensely about the older man for all of two seconds before I dashed towards the shining key that was our only hope now. It felt like an eternity to me as I ran towards the object- my legs feeling heavy and breath coming short despite my physical fitness. When I finally reached it, I scooped it up without a second glance, just in time to hear Japan shout and the creature stomp at the floor in triumph.

Japan was caught in the monster's huge hand, dangling helplessly by one arm as he reached desperately for the sword he'd dropped. The open look of terror that was plastered on his face is probably what caused me to shove the key in my pocket and run towards the giant.

I picked up the sword- completely unbalanced under the weight of its thin, sturdy blade- and did my best at hacking away at the beast. It didn't seem to do much, and the monster didn't seem that concerned by my efforts, but it dropped Japan nonetheless. He fell heavily, landing on a small stack of books, and his shoulder bending back slightly, but other than that he looked unhurt.

"The key!" I shouted, lunging to one side as the creature swiped at me. I threw the gleaming metal at him, and he just barely caught it, looking unsure of it for a moment. "Get the door open, Japan! I've got this!"

Japan did as I asked, scrambling over to the door, and the creature's attacks became more and more forceful. I blocked what I could, but eventually found myself cornered with my back up against Japan's as he fumbled with the key. The beast's monstrous roar was enough to assure me that I was going to die in that dusty, mold-filled library.

As I prepared myself for that last blow, I heard something incredibly unexpected.

KER-CHUNK.

The door flew open, and I felt myself being dragged backwards. Japan and I fell to the ground just outside the door, dropping his sword between us. He was up not even an instant later and slammed the door shut, locking it with the little brass key.

He pulled me up gingerly. "Are you okay?" He asked, grimacing at the pounding at the door behind him.

"I'm fine. Thanks." I rubbed at my arm. "Come on. We should keep moving." I nodded towards the door. "That thing could break out of there at any time."

Japan nodded, picking up and sheathing his blade. "Alright. Let's go."

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that! If you guys really hate this, or want me to write something else instead, please let me know in a PM or review. I'm feeling better about this one, to be honest. And don't worry about Zik and Aja- they'll be coming in shortly!

As always, thanks for reading, and have a lovely day!

-Otto