Chapter 12: The Room

Italy's POV:

It's been three days since I told them. I'm still not sure how to feel about the entire situation. They still aren't entirely sure how to act around me—especially Germany. He's so used to having to 'take care' of me, and do 'everything' for me, that now that I'm self sufficient and able to fight for myself, he isn't quite sure what to do.

Luciano was able to get me a new sword, thank Dio. I'm not sure what I'd do without a good weapon. "Morning Japan~" I chirp happily to the Asian nation as he rises from his bed.

"Ohaiyo…" He sleepily rubs his eyes, graciously accepting the cup of tea from me. "Arigatou. Did you make breakfast again?" He asks, resting his chin on my shoulder to see what I'm cooking.

"Si. Breakfast burritos~"

"Sounds American." He scrunches his nose.

"It is, but it's actually pretty good. Besides; it's got a ton of protein in it, and we both know how much we all need that." I wink as he moves over to sit at the table and enjoy his tea before the 'loud ones' awaken. "Cover your ears." I smirk, and Japan is quick to do as I say.

"EVERYBODY UP! BREAKFAST IS READY!" I yell, making several nations jump out of bed in fright.

"Italien!" Germany growls out as he rounds the corner. "That was uncalled for!" He shoots me a glare, but I expertly ignore it.

"But Germany~!" I sing, holding out a special breakfast burrito and placing it at the table. "I have wurst~"

"… Wurst?" He asks, all anger gone.

"Si~ It's sitting at your spot at the table. Please eat it before it gets cold." I grin as he does so, smiling at his cup of coffee. "Same goes for the rest of you. Please eat before it gets cold."

"All right! Breakfast Burritos! You're the best, Italy~!" America cheers; dousing his food in the Tabasco sauce I placed on the table for him.

We all enjoy the food, and make small talk. "So, do you think it's going to rain?" Canada asks, looking out of the nearby window at the dark clouds.

"Si. It'll rain this afternoon, around two thirteen." I state absently. For whatever reason, the weather patterns are always repeated. It always rains today, and it'll keep raining for the next three days, off and on. The day after tomorrow will be the worst. That's when I originally escaped during Loop One…

How're you holding up, Ying?

Since when do you give a crap?

Just answer the fucking question, already!

Ugh… Fine. I'm doing as okay as I can be. I'm… I'm still tired, but I've been restless lately. We've hardly left the Safe Room in three days! I'm sure the Things are getting anxious. Who's to say they'll follow the rules? I shake my head, eyes focused on the clouds. We'll need to be extremely careful. Perhaps I should go to the Fifth Floor myself…

"Oi!" Romano snaps his fingers in front of my face, making me jump a bit.

"O-oh, it's just you, fratello. I'm sorry, I was thinking about something." I smile apologetically at him, re-sheathing my sword.

"I kinda figured. You've been spaced out for over ten minutes, you know?" He gives me a concerned look. "You've been spacey a lot lately. Is something going to happen?"

"I… I'm not sure. It's not often that we spend so much time in the Safe Room without venturing out and fighting. The Things are bound to be restless… and honestly, I am, too." I sigh, tracing the grains in the wood. "It might be better if I just went to break the clock on the Fifth Floor by myself, so nobody else gets hurt."

"No way!" Romano protests immediately, among other voices.

"Italie! Why would you want to do such a thing?!" France cries out. "You could die!"

"No shit, Sherlock." I deadpan, looking him in the eye. America snickers, while the others flinch a bit, still not used to my darker mindset.

"Then why?" Germany asks me quietly, his voice carrying throughout the now silent room.

"So nobody else gets hurt. When those Things get restless, they get much more violent. There's no guarantee of them sticking to the rules of the game, and I'd rather not have anyone die."

"Game?" China echoes, but his voice is lost amongst the protests of the others.

"We can fight!"

"Let us come!"

"The Awesome Me will protect you!"

"Please don't push us aside, Itary-kun." I look at Japan. "We will help you. You are important to us, just as we are to you. You wouldn't let one of us go out there alone, even if we knew exactly what we were up against. Even if you had complete faith in us, you'd still be antsy and worried, hai?"

"Well, of course I would! I care about you all." I protest, before the words circle back around in my head. "Oh… But… I don't want to risk you all…"

"And we don't want to risk you." America smirks, sending me a wink. "You're our friend, too, ya know? I think I speak for all of us when I say we'd all be pretty devastated if something happened to you."

You sure weren't in That Loop…

"Quite. Though we should perhaps have a smaller group?" England suggests, pulling out a couple of sheets of paper. "Let's write down who's going and who's staying.

"I'm going." I state immediately.

"Obviously." Romano rolls his eyes. "I'll go too, then." I send him a mild glare, but he resolutely ignores it.

"The Awesome Me will go!" Prussia yells, as England jots down his name.

"I will come, too." Japan quickly writes down his own name on the sheet in very tiny, but very neat handwriting.

"THE HERO WILL GO!" America scribbles down his name in barely legible chicken scratch.

"I think that's a large enough group." England states.

"Wait. I want to come as well." Germany says, but England shakes his head.

"That's half our group already. I don't want anyone else to come along."

"Then I'll stay behind. West, you can take my spot." Prussia smiles, ruffling his baby brother's hair.

"Hey! Mein hair!" He shoots his laughing brother a glare as he huffs and straightens it out again. "But danke."

"So now we have our group. Italy, Romano, Japan, myself, America, and Germany. Everybody else will stay behind." England confirms. "We'll leave shortly, so please make sure you have everything ready."

"I can almost guarantee that we'll fight." I speak up, drawing the room's attention. "If there are any oddly colored Things, especially ones with purple stripes, I'll take care of them. Please, for all our sakes, don't engage the Elemental Things." I stress. Listen to your Ryuuzu.

You know, I think that should be our Catchphrase. 'Listen to your Ryuuzu.'

Yeah, if only we could get them to actually follow our rules. I mentally huff, even as we all exit the Safe Room and head towards the Fifth Floor.

Upon entering the Bloody Handprint Room again, the nations around me grow weary. I heave an irritated sigh. "Guys. Relax. It's mine."

"How is that supposed to help us relax?!" Romano shouts, and I send him a fierce glare.

"Shut up." I state seriously in a low tone. "All of you need to be as quiet as possible. Those Things track us by sound."

"W-wait, they do?!" England gasps quietly.

"Yeah. So maybe if you could, oh, I don't know, keep it down?!" I whisper sarcastically.

"I'm so proud of you." Romano mutters, pretending to wipe a tear from the corner of his eye. "Your sarcasm… My baby brother's all grown up!"

"Yeah, and he's about to stab you in the goddamned eye if you don't shut the fuck up and Listen." I threaten, and the group, thankfully, finally gets the damned message and shuts up.

Wow, don't think I've ever heard a group with the damned loudmouth America be so quiet.

You're trying my last nerve, Yang.

We got past the Blood Clock room with no problems, as well, and upon entering the Cell Room, I stiffen, suddenly on full-alert. "This isn't right." I mutter, my eyebrows furrowing as my pulse quickens.

I look around, trying to understand the situation.

"Itary-kun?" Japan asks, concerned.

"Shh." I quiet him. "This isn't right… this is wrong… the Things should still be here." I stare warily at the empty cage, door ajar. "This is too easy…" I look around and up, just to be sure, but there's nothing there. No sign of the Things.

I strain my impressive hearing, but… nothing. My gut twists up in knots. Where are they?

Beats me…

I cautiously enter the Cell, motioning for the others to wait just outside the cell, and keep the door open, just in case. I make my way across, expecting a surprise attack—perhaps from the Elemental Things. But there's nothing. Adrenaline thrums through my veins as I try to see or hear something.

I slowly… silently open the door. There's a light creak, and I instantly fall into a battle stance, my already drawn sword ready to fend off a sneak attack that never came.

I don't understand… I step inside slowly, surveying what appeared to be a small study. There's a cherry wood desk set up against the far wall, a lamp and some papers strewn about, and several pens were scattered as well, as if someone had been working on something earlier today.

There's a mini-fridge in the corner, and a second door that I know leads to a small toilet. The carpeted room quiets my already silent footsteps, and I can't help but notice that the feeling of wrongness has increased tenfold. I'm being watched. I know I am. But I can't see anything or anyone.

Then I hear it; the ticking of a clock. I cautiously make my way forward to the wall upon which it is hung, and I pull it off. I glare at it before slicing it in half.

I brace myself, ready for a Memory Clock Flashback. I stand there for several moments before I realize that there is no Memory Clock Flashback. "Wh-what?! But… all clocks have flashbacks…" I shake my head suddenly, unable to believe it.

Not only has there now been a clock in the Safe Room, but now there's a clock that doesn't show memories?! What was going on?!"

I hesitantly move over to the desk, noticing that the writing is in very neat English. It takes me a moment to realize why this particular piece of information strikes me as odd. We're in Japan… Why would someone from Japan write all this down in English? There's not a piece of Japanese written here!

I glance through the papers for a moment, keeping a sharp ear out for anything out of place. They're notes about the layout of the Mansion. Some of them even note common hiding spots for the Things, and others are places where I've found Metal Pieces before. Including the ceiling.

I then notice a single sticky-note written in Italian. I instantly recognize the handwriting. I've gotten several notes throughout the Loops in the same handwriting.

'So you've found my Office yet again, Feliciano. It's been a while. I look forward to our next round.'

I crumple the note angrily and shove it in my pocket for later analysis. I triple check everything to make absolutely sure I've missed nothing, before heading back out to the Cell Room, where the others anxiously await my arrival.

They let out a sigh of relief when they see me unharmed. In that brief moment, I let my guard down. And in that same brief moment, the most terrifying Thing I've ever seen dashes out of the shadows with the speed of the Lightning Things.

I bring up my sword, barley able to block the blow, but my unpreparedness knocks me off-balance, and it counters much too quickly for me to properly recover. I stumble, and its bladed tail knocks my sword away. I almost don't dodge the next attack, and fall on my butt. Its clawed foot stomps on my torso, pinning me to the floor.

The sudden slamming of the Cell Door tells me that I'm on my own. I look up into the eyes of my death. No… we're so close! This time… we were going to…!

I flare my magic as a last-ditch effort to minimize the damage. I fight the urge to shut my eyes as the tail swings down. There's a sudden feeling of release, as something within me snaps. Red blood, so familiar, flies through the air, even as a pained gasp sounds.

I realize it's not from my mouth. The blood is not mine. It takes me a moment to understand what I'm seeing. White hair, freckles, my blue uniform bleached nearly white. Pale skin… ice-blue eyes.

"Think… you could lend me a hand, you ass?" Yang pants, a sword of ice in his hand. He's bleeding badly from the cut on his torso.

"Y-Yang?" I stare. He's corporeal. Solid. Here. And he just saved my life. "W-why?"

"S-shut up already!" He shouts, catching the back of my shirt to drag me out of the way of another attack, which he barely blocks. "I need help, damnit! Feliciano!"

I snap myself out of my shock enough to take the proffered sword and join him in battle. It's only now that I get a good look at the Thing.

"I-it… no way! A hybrid?!" I gasp, noting the characteristics of the Lightning Things, and the Shadow Things from Luciano's Mansion. "Time damnit. We can't catch a break, can we?" I mutter to Yang.

"Nope. Sure can't." He pants, a large grin on his face. In that moment, I forget that Yang's suddenly inexplicably solid. I forget that my friends, my brother is standing on the other side of the iron bars, watching the entire scene unfold in confused horror.

I smirk, allowing the familiar, and admittedly welcome trill of battle to thrum throughout my veins. "Let's go." I say, and Yang gives a dark chuckle.

"For once, we agree."

"Yeah, but only because it's a fight." I counter, distracting the Thing while Yang circles around.

"It's about the only time we can agree, isn't it?" He winces as he's forced to dodge an angry swipe from our adversary, aggravating his injury. Using the distraction to our advantage, I rush in, lobbing off the tail with a lucky swing.

Our teamwork, forged through millennia of habit and (forced) shared headspace, is absolutely flawless. Suddenly, Yang and I have the advantage.

"You sure you can keep this pace up with that injury?" I ask, concerned. Never thought I'd be concerned for you of all people.

Yeah, well, let's not make this a habit. "What do ya take me for, a pathetic weakling like your buddies over there?" He scoffs, flicking snowy locks out of his eyes. "This is nothing but a scratch. Come on, you know what I can handle." It's about the same as what you can.

"Fair enough." I shrug. Yang suddenly glances back over towards the nations, and pales.

"What's wrong?" I ask urgently, risking a glance myself. A nearly fatal mistake, but I don't see any danger other than the Thing we're already fighting.

"It's not what's there, but who's missing." Yang answers. "Look, we'll worry about it after we kill off this one." His words nag at my mind as a strong sense of unease washes over me, but I ignore it in favor of survival.

I see an opportunity to create an opening, and slide beneath the Thing's legs as fast as I can. Of course, the Thing goes after me. Yang then lobs its head off in the moment it's distracted, ending the battle.

We stand there for a moment, prepared for another one just in case, but nothing is forthcoming. I sigh, relaxing my battle stance and re-sheathing my sword, as Yang does the same with his ice-blade. Luckily, the key for the cell door is laying in the corner of the room.

Yeah, because that's not suspicious at all.

We can analyze this crap later, Ying.

You called me by my name earlier. I raise an eyebrow at my bleached twin.

"Yeah, well that was a fluke!" He crosses his arms and pouts like a petulant child, causing me to chuckle.

"Wh… what the fuck is going on?" Romano finally asks, as we come over to the cell door and let ourselves out. "And who the hell are you?!" He glares at Yang.

"Yo, dick-brain! That any way to thank the guy who just saved your twin's life?" Yang scoffs. I roll my eyes and whack the white-haired annoyance upside the head. "Ow! The fuck was that for, Ying?!"

"Hmm… because I felt like it?"

"The fuck kind of reasoning is that?!"

"Mine." I smirk, but that uneasy feeling is still there. Something isn't right…

You sense it, too?

No. I'm a paranoid bastard who's got no sense of danger. I reply sarcastically. Of course I sense it! I shoot him a glare.

"Um… Perhaps an introduction is in order? Since you two seem to already know each other…" England interrupts.

"Right. This is Yang." I say, and I'm suddenly overwhelmed with the irony of the situation. That once this man beside me would've killed all these people without a second thought—myself included, but now he's being introduced civilly.

I scan my friends for anything off. What is it…? Suddenly, I realize what's wrong. Or rather, who's missing.

"Where's Japan?" I ask, dread sinking down to the pit of my stomach like ice. The group stops, looking around for our missing friend.

"Aw, fuck. He's not dumb enough to wonder off alone, so… Kidnapped?" Yang looks at me.

"Most likely." I shudder. It's not like nobody's gone missing in the Mansion before, but normally it was in the night or something. Not… quietly like this. Not like a kidnapping. I shoot Yang a look and close my eyes.

I shut out all other senses, and concentrate only on sound. The breathing of the room is easily tuned out and disregarded as unimportant to my current task. I search. The hallways, I can even hear light scuffling sounds from the Things in the Basement.

This is something I rarely use, as it leaves me entirely defenseless. I am only aware of whichever physical sense I'm concentrating on. And it's magnified almost tenfold. If someone were to speak in a normal voice, it'd sound like they were screaming at the top of their lungs into a megaphone next to my ear.

Yang is keeping the group quiet, and watching my back. I nearly draw back, almost reaching the conclusion that he's dead, when I suddenly hear it. It's very faint, but… Japan… that sound… it's his katana being jostled. It's only a moment, but it's enough to let me know he's alive. There's two very quiet heartbeats near the source of the sound. Japan is almost assuredly unconscious.

"He's alive." I state, coming out of my trance. I blink when I realize Yang's put the nations in a soundproof barrier spell. "You can drop the barrier." I send him a mild glare.

"What?" Yang defends himself. "You wanted me to keep them quiet."

"Without giving my brother a hernia, please?" I gesture to a very red-faced Romano, who's screaming something loudly enough that England's got his ears covered and is wearing a glare of his own.

"Eh, specifics."

"Yang?"

"I know, I know. Shut up." He drops the barrier.

"—over there and…" Romano cuts himself off, realizing we can hear him, now. But before anyone can say anything else, Yang stumbles, catching himself on the cell. Blood drips from his still open wound, and I mentally slap myself for forgetting about his injury.

"It's nothing." He glares at me.

"Carbonara." I respond, healing his wound. He sends me a fiercer glare.

"Fucking idiot. I could've just slept it off."

"This isn't an anime, moron. You can't sleep off that shit." I counter.

"We should find Japan." He finally sighs, looking at the group. "I'm here to stay, whether you like it or not." He stretches cautiously, wincing when I slap the back of his head again. "Ow! The fuck?!"

"I didn't heal it all the way, dumbass." I walk towards the door to head in the direction of the Safe Room to regroup. "Just enough to stop the bleeding. Strain it too much, and it'll reopen."

"Oh, so I just get the half-assed treatment?" He flips me off.

"Only because I don't know how injured Japan is. He may need it more." I reply darkly as I lead the others up the stairs to the room.

I am not looking forward to explaining what happened today.

Well, I'm not doing it.

You weren't even supposed to come out, anyways! But… Thank you, Yang. For saving my life.

D-don't go getting used to it!

Why? Why save me? I mean, I've died so many times before… why's this different?

…. Yang mumbles something under his breath mentally.

"I didn't hear you." I say aloud.

"I said because you've really grown on me, you asshole! HOW DARE YOU!" He yells, making a few nations stop to stare. I blink in confusion, not at all perturbed by his apparent fury. "I'll never forgive you." I can tell he doesn't mean it.

"Never forgive me for what?"

"For growing on me… For making me… think of you… as a brother." He grows fiercely red, and all but runs up the stairs, screaming, "I'LL NEVER SAY IT AGAIN!"

And for the first time in many, many loops, I throw back and laugh.

A/N: My HetaOni readers, I am back! I've been updating Memories of Old practically religiously, and because of that, it's catching up to this story. So now, rest assured, I will FINISH THIS STORY WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR~! (Aiming for the next month or two, but I feel like if I say that, I'll jinx it.)

There's a bit of an unexpected twist, here~! Not only has Kiku suddenly gone missing, but Yang has finally been revealed. Sort of.

I'll be honest. When I started this story nearly 7 years ago (Yes, it's been that long, check the upload date. XD), I never expected it to become so popular. Nor did I expect Yang to become the fan favorite. Honestly, I sort of expected Silver~! XD But now she's practically been forgotten, and Yang's the star of the show. Smol One/Smol Bean/Slightly Burnt Cinnamon Roll and so many other nicknames you've given to my little devilish creation. I think sometimes even I forget that he's technically an OC.

In all honesty, Yang feels as much a Hetalia character to me now as the actual nations do. ^^ So expect to see him crop up in a few of my other stories.

I also now have an app called Telegram, where you can message me, and join our Hetalia Group. It's free, and no matter what country you're from, there's no pesky fees for texting out of your country. ^^ (Message me~! I'm under the username SilvermistAnimeLover)

The chapters for this story will start to become shortened. Normally, it's… what, 10,000+ Words in a chapter? Well, it'll probably start to be more like 3,000-5,000 words so I can update it faster, and keep my own motivation up. ^^ More updates for you, more writing for me.

I've also gotten myself an Instagram under the same username (SilvermistAnimeLover), so check it out if you wanna see some pictures of flowers and me and other stuff I find interesting in the world around me.

So I hope everyone's well, and that 2019 is shaping up to be a good year for everyone. Look forward to the next update! ^_~

Words: 3,658

Pages: 8

Posted: 02/15/2019