Hey everyone! Kie here, with a brand new chapter! Well, maybe not as much new at is revamped.
I've been revamping all the chapters in RtHoT lately because I got inspired to do so by the wonderful people at MTAC (Middle Tennessee Anime Convention) and so this is for them.
Revamp Chapter 2 Finish Date: April 9th 2013

Original Author Comments:
Hi Everyone. I managed to bring this next chapter out fairly quickly! I'm glad!
You'll have to excuse the mini typos. My spell check doesn't catch all of them.
Thank you for those that reviewed my first chapter! I'm really glad to already have a few fans!
I tried to make this better than the first chapter, but I can only hope.
I also tried to get Japan's personality better.
I need some help. Can anyone tell me what China's "aru" means? I need to know for this, because it is something he says a lot.
Anyways, ON WITH THE CHAPTER

BIG NOTE: Please review my revamped chapters, and tell me what you all like about them! I know they're wordier, but they have a lot more detail in them than before. They are also worded a lot better...at least in my opinion.


I knew, right then and there, that this place was not ordinary. I had the feeling that I had known this from the moment that I had stepped foot into this place, but it felt like now I had all the proof in the world. I stood there, gripping the railings and tried to gain my bearings back and going over what had happened in my head.

I came to an abandoned mansion with my allies.

I left to go check a sound.

I got separated from my allies.

I searched the house for them.

I had battled a monster.

A particularly violent shiver wracked my frame and I brought my hand away from the cut in my sleeve.

"N-nani?" I blinked at my hand, finding my fingers red. I looked quickly at my arm where the sleeve had been cut and found it had been cut enough to make me bleed, but not much. Quickly I clamped my hand over the cut. The only time a nation bled was if they were injured by each other or their own people...so how...

The manor gave a rather loud creak, and I jolted to attention. I pulled my hand away from the cut and checked it, finding that it had stopped bleeding. Nations were remarkably fast healers, enough so that it made me smile a little, forgetting momentarily that I had just been cut. Feeling myself ready, I started towards the other set of stairs on this floor. I needed to check all the rooms for Italy or Prussia before I went back to Germany.

I stumbled after a few steps, my feet getting tangled underneath me. I frowned, patting my kimono a bit. I needed to take it a bit slow, but I didn't particularly want to be in this place anymore. I turned the corner and made my way up the stairs, shaking my head in confusion.

"Great Kami-sama above...what is this place..." I found myself muttering to myself. I noticed that my voice cracked and echoed throughout the stairwell, and I hit the top step. I found myself on the third floor, and turned the corner, scanning it quickly. I found only three doors, and I made my way forward cautiously.

I checked the doors on this floor, but found all of them locked or jammed. I felt irritation well up in me, and I knew that I needed to calm down, but after the third locked door, I couldn't take it.

"Why are there so many damned locked doors?!" I exclaimed to myself, hearing my voice echo a bit. I blinked and took a deep breath, turning my attention to another flight of stairs. "How many floors does this place have..."

I made my way up this flight, and listened to the loud creaks. It sounded as if they creaked more than the other flights, as if they were years older. That was impossible, I thought to myself, so it had to be the fact that they were wooden stairs and gravity was playing tricks. I placed my sandals on the top step and noticed that there were only two doors on this floor. Wandering over, I checked the first floor, finding it locked. Fighting my irritation I walked to the last door, frowning a bit as I tried it.

It was open.

I hesitated to go in, but knew that I had to check any room that was open. There was a chance that Prussia, or Italy were in this room, and I needed to know that they were safe. I grasped the handle, and turned, letting the door creak open slowly as I inched in slowly. The room was deserted, and I let out a sigh, closing the door behind me.

The room I found myself in was an office of some sort, very clean, and very organized. There was a rather large red chair against the wall, and a few book cases as well as a desk. I made my way into the center of the room, examining the chair from a distance. It didn't seem like there was anything odd about it, but the fact that it was bright red, the color of blood, made me a bit uneasy, and I turned away from it, going to look at whatever was on the desk.

Scree...

A noise made me jump, turning to face the chair with Tachi drawn. There was nothing there and I lowered my sword, thinking maybe it was a trick of the wind or the wood.

Scree.

The noise happened again, and I flinched. This time, however, I was able to pin-point where the noise was coming from...a book case. With sword in hand, I inched forward towards the case, and slowly examined it. There was nothing really special about it...

Scree...

This time the noise did not frighten me, but rather made me a bit sad. It sounded so pitiful...and it was coming from behind the bookcase. Letting out a grunt, I pushed the bookcase to the side, and was quite surprised with what I found.

A small creature was stuck in a crack in the wall. I recognized the creature, with it's small white body and big eyes. I let out a frown, wondering how something like this had gotten here.

"A mochi?" I asked, and it blinked up at me with rather large blue eyes. "You look a bit like America-san..." Indeed it did, it even had the same look on it's face, the same blue eyes, and even looked as though it wore glasses. I frowned a bit.

"Are you stuck, little one? Here...let me see if I can get you out." I said out loud and sheathed my sword. I reached forward to grasp it, and then I stopped. My hands trembled, and it was a wonder that they hadn't been shaking when I was holding Tachi. I let out a sigh, my arms dropping to my side and shaking my head slowly.

"Iie...I can't get you out...not like this..." I said sadly. I knew that with how my hands were trembling, I wouldn't be able to grip the mochi out of this predicament. I let out a sigh, looking at the mochi sadly. "Poor thing..." I muttered before an idea struck me. "Perhaps Doitsu-san would be able to get you out...but would he come up here for that?" I pondered this for a moment. "Then again, I may have to drag him out..." as soon as the words left my mouth, I felt horrible. The man hadn't been able to walk straight, what in the world was I thinking? Trying to force him to do something he didn't want too...that was absurd. "Iie. I'll go ask him. I'll be back as soon as I can, little America-mochi."

I turned and gave it a smile as I made my way back to the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of another closet, curtain hanging limply. I frowned, and headed over towards it. Germany had been hiding behind a curtain very similar to this one, so there was no reason that Italy or Prussia were not hiding behind one as well. Italy was known for hiding...

"Italia-kun? Are you in here?" I asked aloud, keeping my voice soft. I knew that when Italy was frightened, even semi-loud noises gave him even more of a fright. I didn't want to startle him even more. When there was no answer, no noise at all, I gripped the cloth of the curtain and pushed it open. It was just a closet, however. There was no one in it at all, nothing of interest save a small box in the corner. I let out a dejected sigh, and let the curtain fall back into place.

Slowly, I made my way out of the room and started my way back down the stairs. I tried to keep as quiet as possible. My mind had already made the connection with noise and that...thing or whatever it was. It had attacked me when I had spoken, so it was only logical that I'd be cautious. Even recalling it made my grip on Tachi's hilt tighten, but I found myself back on the second floor without incident. Counting the doors, I found myself in front of the room that I had initially found Germany in. I grasped the handle and turned it slowly, opening it and closing it softly as to not startle anyone. As I turned to go over to the curtain where Germany had stumbled back under, I was hit with a wave of confusion.

In the curtain's place stood a rather large iron door.

Nani? I thought to myself, tilting my head. Was this door here before? No...I'm sure it wasn't an iron door... I shook my head, and hesitantly approached. Perhaps I had the wrong room? No, that was impossible. I can counted correctly.

"D-Doitsu-san?" I called out, tapping on the iron softly. I felt my voice stutter, and I frowned a bit. I shouldn't show that I was afraid to my ally! Still, with all that had happened to me so far, I couldn't help but tremble, my clenched hands shaking as I waited for a response. Seconds ticked by, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was even still here.

"Iz that you, Japan?" came Germany's voice after a moment, startling me.

"Do you have a minute?" I asked, thankful that my voice didn't stutter this time. This made me rather glad, and I waited once again for an answer.

"Vat iz the matter?" he asked, opening the door a crack and sticking his head out to look at me. I let out a sigh, and readied myself.

"You see, there is this mochi that is stuck in the wall on the fourth floor." I explained, feeling my face twist just thinking about the poor thing. "I feel rather sorry for it. I tried to get it out, but..." I felt my voice falter a bit, and watched his eyes narrow slightly. "I could not get it out. I was wondering if you would come up and free it..."

I watched Germany for a moment, calculating his actions. He was staring at me, those blue eyes staring holes in me. It was as if he knew that I had gotten attacked...Out of nowhere, he closed the door, and there was a rather loud thud from behind the iron door, followed by a few German curses.

"I see." His voice came after a moment. "Okay, I'll go and get it out. I just have a favor to ask of you." I blinked at the door for a moment, slightly surprised that Germany was asking me to do something for him. Normally he chose to do things on his own...

"Of course." I replied, but then hastily added "If it's something I can do."

"You see, vhen I vas running, I dropped my vhip." he muttered from behind the door, "There vas this thing...Und I believe ve should have some sort of veapon if it returns...So, if it's not too much trouble, could you find it for me?"

I moved forward to say that I would, but then I felt something brush up against me within my kimono. I remembered that I had already found it, and reached into the folds to pull it out.

"What a coincidence!" I exclaimed, grasping the whip and pulling it out into the open. "Actually, I found your whip a while ago. Tripped over it, really..."

"Oh." The iron door opened once again, creaking loud enough to where I winced, and Germany poked himself out once again. His green jacket was gone, and he was now only wearing his black tank top. I handed him the whip and he tucked it into his belt, where it normally would be.

"It was lying on the floor in the hallway." I said pleasantly, waving a hand dismissively.

"Oh...I see...erm...thank you..." he stuttered back, glancing at the darkness beyond the door behind him. I gave him a small smile, trying to put him at least a bit at ease.

"Not at all! It was only by chance that I nearly tripped over it." I replied, and then held out my hand in a motion for him to follow. "Now, lets go to the fourth floor..." Germany suddenly took a few steps backward, and I felt my smile falter a bit.

"Oh, Japan!" he suddenly said, and I tilted my head a bit.

"Hai? What is it?" I watched him inch closer to the door and look suddenly very sheepish.

"Ah...I'm really...really sorry..." he suddenly apologized, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "But...I'm actually...hungry, too." I blinked at this as he leveled me with a hesitant look. "Do you have anything to eat on you?"

"To...eat?" I asked, my mind going back to the ruined rice ball on the floor of the library. "I'm sorry...I didn't bring any food with me, nor do I have any ingredients..."

"I see!" he exclaimed, and I frowned a bit. He certianly was saying that alot wasn't he? "So if it's not too much trouble, could you please look for something to eat?"

"Eeeeeehhh?" the noise left my mouth before I had a chance to even think about what he had said. I quickly composed myself, and shook my head a few times. "Th-That's impossible! This place is abandoned! There is no way that there would be food in a place like this!"

"Ich bitte Sie!" His voice suddenly spiked in pitch, startling me. He was...begging? "I have...little to no strength right now. Anything is fine, just...find me something, okay?" Germany, one of the strongest nations I knew, was begging me for something so trivial yet impossible to find. I stared at him, trying to figure out a way to get around this...but I could come up with none. My mind could barely wrap around the idea of Germany begging. Finally I could do nothing but let out a disgruntled sigh and nod my head.

"Hai...Hai...I'll take another look around..." I gave in, and he looked relieved. I frowned, trying to think of an excuse...ah, that was a good one! "I also have to look for Ita-kun, anyways." Germany's face brightened as he moved to grip the iron door beside him.

"I see! Danke!" With that, Germany disappeared back behind the iron door and it was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "...By the vay, did you find mein bruder?"

For a moment I was confused, then I remembered that Prussia had also joined us on this little expedition. With everything that had happened, I had forgotten all about him. "Iie...but he should be fine." I replied, then blinked a bit before adding "Somehow."

"Sorry for the trouble..." Germany muttered, his voice muffled by the iron door. It was softer than it had been, as if he truly regretted that he was unable to do anything. The door opened for a third time at that point. "Oh, by the way, take this with you. Maybe it'll help at some point."

There was a clink, and I looked down to see what had been set on the floor. It was a bottle...of...beer? I bent down and picked it up, frowning as I stared at the liquid inside. After all I went through to get him some water...he gives me Beer? I grumbled a bit, and turned to leave, but stopped.

"Arigatou..." I replied to the iron door, silently cursing my politeness. "I'll be going now."

"Okay. Danke again." was all I got before silence once again reigned in this place. I took a few steps towards the door.

VRRRRRRRR

I must have jumped at least a foot into the air, Tachi instantly drawn. I swung back around, stareing at the iron door. Surely that noise couldn't have...

VRRRRR...thud thud thud...VRRRRR

I felt myself jump again, but I lowered my sword. What on earth was Germany doing in that closet? Whatever it was, it must have been important for him to not want to leave it. I knew that Germany didn't do well with supernatural things...and that he would do anything once he set his mind to it. He must have had a good reason for doing...whatever it was in there, so I left him too it, walking out the door and closing it softly behind me.

I had to look for food for him, and I felt slight irritation well up within me. The most logical place to look for food was on the first floor in the kitchen. So that was where I headed, stepping delicately on the stairs as to not make much noise. I quickly turned left, and made my way to the kitchen. I checked the cupboards first, opening them quickly but found nothing. Not even a crumb. The fridge was next, but I immediately knew that there was nothing edible in it. Whatever that was in the fridge...it was not food...not with that green...fuzzy mold growing on it. I shut the door in frustration, the entire thing swaying slightly with the force. Where in the world did Germany expect me to find anything to eat? It was not like I could just walk to the store. If I could, then I didn't think we'd be in such a mess.

I wandered down the hallway, trying to figure out where I could find food. I thought about going in to the library and picking up the ruined rice ball, but then decided against it. Despite how clean the floors were, I doubted once it touched the floor it was edible. I wondered for a moment if the bathroom had any vitamins of some sort. That was food, right? With that in mind, I turned the corner to go check...

And froze for the...however many times it had been.

The door at the end of the hallway, the one that had been locked...it was open. I knew for a fact that door had been locked...or at least jammed. There was no way that it could be open...yet it was. Hesitantly I took a few steps forward, unable to contain the curiosity that was inside me. I couldn't see inside the room, it was pitch black inside, so the light must have been off...I reached forward to grasp the door frame, stepping into the darkness with my other hand outstretched to flick on the light switch. The moment I was in, the moment my hand left the door frame, said door closed behind me, plunging the rest of the room into darkness.

"Nani? The door...Sugoi...It's quite dark in here..." I muttered, feeling for the wall. "Where's the switch..." Finding the wall, I moved along side it, groping blindly for the light switch. finally my hand hit the switch and I smiled. "Ah~ There it is." without another word, I flipped the light switch, letting light bathe the room.

I barely had enough time to think "Shit." before I was sent crashing into the wall. Stunned, I blinked upwards, finding myself cornered by that...that thing again...it's black eyes calculatingly glaring at me. Feeling panic welling up in my chest, I groped almost blindly for Tachi's hilt.

"YoU...WOn't...ESc...aPE..."

I almost didn't recognize it as a voice, but whatever it was, it had come from that creature, and I turned to look at it. There were almost a million bells going off in my head. Half of them were to run, and the other half was that this creature looked remarkably familiar. I couldn't place where, but why did I feel like America was behind this? No, I didn't have time to think about that, I had to get out of this tiny enclosed space, get better ground!

Quickly, I pushed a curse into Tachi's blade. I knew this attack did far more damage than just my regular slash and hack technique. I felt my hands tighten on the hilt as the sword pulsed, and turned my head up to look at the creature. It's calculating gaze had turned...smug? My resolve faltered just long enough...

White, hot energy surrounded me on all sides, taking me by surprise. After a second, this energy molded, forming vines with razed edges that instantly clung to me. I moved to counter, only to find that the more I moved, the tighter this energy held me, digging into my skin and ripping the fabric of my kimono. I could feel tears in my skin even from moving just a bit.

"T...the hell?!" I exclaimed, stunned to find my voice laced with pain. This pain was like nothing I had ever felt. Unlike the times where I had been at war, where I had felt the pain of my people instead of myself...this was pain that I, myself was feeling. It brought tears to my eyes, scaring me. I did not like this pain, not one bit.

"K-Kuso..." I muttered, trying to shake myself free, but only succeeding in making the energy cut my skin even deeper. I felt anger flare up in me, and before I could stop myself, I had discharged the curse that I had been holding in my blade. I directed this curse to the energy surrounding me in hopes to free myself, and watched in triumph as the energy quickly dissipated. Then a wave of exhaustion hit me, and I knew I was using far too much energy. I needed to rest...but until I was out of this room, or this monster was defeated, I could not do so.

I leveled the monster with a glare, unable to help the smug feeling rising within me at the creatures slightly shocked expression. As quickly as I could, I charged Tachi up again, knowing that the sword could probably not stand too much more. I lashed out, sending the curse towards the monster and forcing it backwards. It recovered itself and retaliated with that cursed vine-like energy again. Seeing it coming, I tried to dodge, but in such a confined space, I could not go far, and it caught my arm. Since the kimono sleeve there was shredded, the energy had little resistance getting to my skin, shredding that as well. I let out a string of curses, stumbling with the pain. In my anger, I charged a curse far larger than the ones I had been using to conserve my energy, and fired it. This curse got a rather large roar out of the the monster, who after a second charged at me. Panicking, I rolled to the side, and it hit the light switch, plunging the entire room into darkness. The lights...I groped blindly, trying to be prepared for a counter attack...but I knew it was impossible...

Out of nowhere, the lights flickered back on, blinding me. I let out a hiss, completely on guard for an attack...that never came. Blinking the stars away from my eyes, I looked around...

"N-Nani?!...It's gone..." I couldn't believe it. Where in the world had it gone? I took a step, and nearly doubled over in pain. My arm was nearly numb, and I turned to look at it, finding that it was bleeding freely. I let out another hiss, and took in my surroundings. This room was a bathroom? But wasn't there another bathroom right down the hall? I didn't question it, making my way over to a cupboard and opening it. There was a various assortment of medical supplies, and I grasped the gauze I spotted.

I turned the sink on, smiling as clear water came out, and wet a rag that I had found, running it over the shredded skin on my arm. I bit my tounge and turned back to the cupboard. There was a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, and I hesitantly took it in my hand, opening the top and taking a breath before pouring it over the wound.

"Sssss...Tch.." I muffled my pained gasp from the stinging sensation, quickly patting the wound dry with a rag and unrolling the gauze and tried to wrap the arm the best that I could. "K-Kuso...this is hard doing it myself..." I muttered, wondering vaguely how people could do this. I shook my head after a moment, using some medical tape that I had found to tape the gauze together and lowered the shredded sleeve. I turned my attention to the mirror, and nearly jumped.

My entire face was nearly devoid of color, and already there were dark circles forming under my eyes from the amount of energy I had been using. I felt panic welling up in my chest once again.

"I-Is that...really me?" I asked no one in particular, before shaking my head and pushed myself away from the sink. I needed to find Italy and Prussia. I was more worried about Italy than Prussia though. I knew that Italy was good at running, that he was fast on his feet, but I could not help but wonder where he was and if he was okay. I could not place the reason why I was so worried...

I turned on my heel. I needed to get out of this room, I didn't want to be cornered again. Making my way to the door, I laid my hand on the handle but didn't turn it. There, in the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something shining in the bottom of the shower. Turning, I went over and hesitantly bent down to pick it up. It was a key with the word Bedroom2 engraved on it's handle.

"Bedroom...two?" I wondered aloud, slightly confused. The number 2 could mean numerous things; second floor, second bedroom, two beds, twins...I shook my head, pocketing the key and turning back to the door. There were many locked doors in this place. I had no way of knowing which door it went too, or which door led to bedrooms. The only way to figure it out was to try every locked door I came too, until I found the right door. With this in mind, I opened the door and inched outwards.

I made my way down the hallway with Tachi drawn. I did not wish to be attacked again, but I knew I couldn't keep using curses like this until I could rest. I tried the first door that I came too, knowing that it was locked...but the key would not even go into the lock. I let out a sigh and made my way up the stairs to the second floor. I remembered there were at least two doors on this floor that were locked, so I turned left and made my way to the first one.

I slid the key in, and it fit almost perfectly, sliding in and turning with grace and ease. I gave a small smile, and opened the door. True to the key, it was a bedroom, with two beds. I made my way in, but stopped after a distance and turned; closing the door and locking it. I didn't see any enemies in here, so it would be fine if I locked it so that I wasn't ambushed. I slid the key into my sleeve, and turned to survey the room. There were the beds, and a table against the wall. There was also a bookcase, and i instantly made my way over to it, running my fingers along the spines. It made me feel a little better and I moved to take a book off the shelf.

The sounds of shuffling put me instantly on edge, and I turned quickly with Tachi drawn, the beginnings of a curse already forming in the blade. There was no way that the monster could be in the room with me...I hadn't seen it, and it was huge! Then...what was in the room with me? Inching towards the noise, I soon got a peak of a mop of unruly silver hair in between the two beds. I only knew one person with silver hair. I stepped forward, lowering Tachi and letting the curse dissipate, and got fairly close before my foot snagged on a loose floorboard, letting out a rather loud creak

In that instant, the other was on alert.

"Eh?! Vho's there?!" He called out, revealing with that nasally voice, it was in fact Prussia. He had already drawn that odd sword of his on me, and I had to take a few steps back so he would not slash me.

"I-Iie! Puroisen!" I exclaimed, putting my hands up in defense. "C-Calm down!"

It took a second for Prussia to realize that it was just me, and lower his sword. I let out a sigh of relief, lowering my hands.

"Oh? It's you, Japan?" he asked, a mixture of relief and sheepishness on his face. He quickly placed his sword down, and nearly collapsed on the bed. I noticed he looked pretty pale, despite the fact that he was pale to begin with. Still, I was relieved. There was only one member of our party that was still missing. I focused on Prussia as he raised himself from the bed. "S-sorry" He stuttered, and shook his head.

"Are you all right?" I asked, concerned as I noticed that his hands were shaking. Prussia and his brother were very similar in the fact that they didn't scare easily, so for him to be shaking...

"There..." he started to say, looking up at me, before looking back down and clenching his hands into fists. "There vas a monster! I saw it!" It was like the gates opened at that. "A stark-naked giant the color of rotten scone!"

I blinked at this, then was unable to hold back a chuckled. Prussia didn't seem to notice, but I couldn't help it. It was quite an interesting way to put it. Finally Prussia caught my chuckles, and frowned at me.

"It's true, Japan!" he exclaimed "Ve all saw it! Me and Vest..." he paused to take a breath " and Italy, too!" He opened his mouth, and I raised my hand in an attempt to calm him.

"Hai, I know..." I started to say, but he didn't stop.

"Before I knew it, I'd vound up here..." he continued. "Those two...I don't know vhere they vent..." I frowned, knowing I needed to calm Prussia down before he panicked too much. "Am I making any sense?" he suddenly asked, and I looked up to see his red eyes staring at me in worry. He must have taken my silence as disbelief, so I nodded my head.

"Yes, quite." I replied and he stood, as though he was ready to go at it. I quickly placed my hands on his shoulders and pushed him back down, and he sat down without much complaint. "It does make sense. I saw it too."

"Vhat the hell is that thing?!" he exclaimed, pushing himself into a standing position again. I sighed, and pushed him back down.

"You need to rest..." I muttered and he nodded slowly.

"O-oh...vhat happened to the others?" he suddenly asked and I turned my head to look at him before shaking my head.

"Please calm down." I said softly, sitting on the other bed with my hands in my lap. I was considerably calmer now that I had found Prussia. Suddenly I remembered that getting Germany something to drink had calmed him, so perhaps doing the same for Prussia would help? "Would you like me to bring you something to drink?"

"Vhat?" Prussia asked, as if he hadn't heard me, before looking down at his hands sheepishly. "Oh...now that you mention it...I am a little thirsty. Do you happen to have anything?"

"Iie." I said, shaking my head as I stood. "I can go get you something, however. Would you like me too?"

"Yeah..." he muttered, looking down at his sword. I followed his gaze and frowned. His blade was so rusted, it would do little to nothing against that monster. After a second he shook his head. "No, vait. Never mind. I don't need it." he said and shook his head again, looking up at me. He seemed much calmer now. "Vhat happened to the others?"

"Doitsu-san is on this same floor." I said, sitting back down. Prussia's eyes turned to me in hope. "He claimed he was hungry...I still have yet to find Italy yet. Do you happen to have any ideas where he could be?"

"Vhat?! Italy is missing?!" Prussia was instantly upset again, and I rose to calm him.

"Hush Puroisen!" I hissed, glancing at the door. "Calm down."

"But vhat if he vas attacked by that monster..."

I let out a sigh, shaking my head and sitting back down. Absently I fingered one of the many rips in my kimono as I thought this over. "We cannot be one hundred percent sure..." I replied, keeping to the facts. "But Ita-kun is very fast, and very good at running away. I'm sure he escaped somehow." This seemed to calm Prussia down considerably.

"All right then! I'll look for him too!" Prussia said, giving a chuckle and clasping his hands together in determination. I gave a small smile and shook my head. Leave it to Prussia to lighten the darkest of moods. "But first, lets go to vhere Vest is. Vhat's he doing anyvay?" I felt my face furrow in confusion at that, since I wasn't exactly sure of that myself.

"Well...he said he was too hungry to move..." I muttered, placing my hand on my chin. "Puroisen-san, do you have anything for him to eat?"

"Something to eat...something to eat...hn..." Prussia muttered, and started to dig in the many pockets of his blue military uniform. "Now that you mention it...I did find some mushrooms when I vas finished running avay." He pulled them out and handed them to me. "Vill they vork?" I checked them, and then nodded.

"That should do." I replied, and handed them back. He grinned and put them in a front pocket. I frowned a bit, looking down at my sad excuse for a kimono. At least he had pockets now. I had the sleeve that wasn't shredded, but that was about it.

"Keessee...vhat did you do to your kimono?" Prussia suddenly asked, and I watched his eyes widen slightly at the damage. I turned myself a bit, so he wouldn't see the bandage on my arm.

"I was attacked." I stated, frowning. "I managed to fight it off, but it has an odd energy attack that ripped my kimono to shreds. I need to get my military uniform from Germany when I get the chance." Prussia nodded slowly, getting to his feet, and I stood as well. "There is also a mochi on the fourth floor. It's stuck in a hole and I couldn't get it out. I thought Germany might be able too, but again, he claims that he is too hungry to move. That's how this whole...food thing started." Prussia nodded again, grinning at me.

"All right! Then le-" His voice died almost immediately, and I looked at him in confusion.

"Nani? What's the matter?" I asked, but he shushed me with a flick of his hand.

"Don't you hear that?" he asked, and I focused, but couldn't tell what he meant.

"Nani?"

"Something's...getting closer..." he muttered, his red eyes on the door of the room. I focused even harder, and then I heard it.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Footsteps...and not friendly ones.

"Kuso...it followed me..." I muttered and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Oi, If that thing at your vaist isn't just for show, pull it out of the scabbard." he said, motioning to Tachi's sheath. "If you don't vant to be eaten, that is. " he threw in the last part with a strained grin.

"Agreed." I replied, and pulled Tachi from it's sheath, turning slowly as I watched Prussia raise his rusted sword.

Clink.

Both of our attention was instantly directed at the door, watching in horror as the handle turned slowly before snapping back into place. It turned again, and something pressed itself against the door.

"Ah...I locked it...thank god..." I muttered under my breath as the door bowed slightly. The handle turned a few more times, and I was prepared for the door to be forced in, pieces of wood flying...but it never happened. The door did not give in, and the footsteps wandered off. I let out a sigh, lowering Tachi in relief.

"...is it gone?" Prussia whispered, lowering his own sword. His voice had suddenly become hoarse, instead of nasally.

"Hai...Probably." I replied, nodding my head as I lowered my voice as low as I could. Prussia lowered his sword a bit.

"That...vas a little scary..." his voice wavered a bit, and I scoffed a bit. "But now ve should join Vest. Lets find Italy and get out of here as soon as possible!" I nodded, fully agreeing with the silver haired ex-nation.

"Indeed." I said and made my way to the door. I pulled the key out of my sleeve, and slid it into the lock.

"Oi, so you're the one who locked the door?" Prussia suddenly voiced and I turned to look at him, noticing the look of confusion, then relief.

"a-ah...hai." I muttered, feeling my face heat up in embarrassment.

"You really saved us, ya know..." he grinned at me, and I gave a small sheepish smile.

"I just didn't want to be attacked again..." I said softly, opening the door and walking out to hold the door open for Prussia.

"Vhoa! Japan, Look out!" Prussia suddenly screamed, causing me to turn quickly and dodge an attack. I lifted my eyes to find that monster had waited for us to come out of the room, it's black eyes nearly smiling in triumph. "I thought it vas gone!"

I drew Tachi from it's sheath once again as Prussia raised his sword again in defense, the door slamming shut behind us. I nearly rolled my eyes.

"Apparently not." I almost snapped back, watching the creature for any sudden movements.

"The more I look at it, the scarier it looks!" Prussia exclaimed. "I can't show my awesome techniques like this!" leave it to him to crack some sort of joke, and I had to shake my head a bit. I didn't get to think much on the matter as the monster finally decided to strike.

The thing launched itself at us, causing us to scatter in different directions. I darted back behind it, and let out a huff at the exertion. I frowned, noticing that Prussia and I were at opposite ends of the hallway. That did not bode well...especially when the creature turned on...whatever was it's heel and came after me. I heard Prussia give a curse as it side-swiped me, sending me crashing into the hallway wall.

"I-Itai..." I slurred, trying to gain my bearings and inch away. There was a yell, and I looked up to find Prussia on the other side of the monster, the emblem on his sword giving off a dim glow as he snarled.

"Bear the damned cross you fucking alien!" he snarled, slicing once horizontally and then vertically upwards. The attack gave off enough energy to get the monster to stumble, slightly distracted. I shifted to get to my feet, and felt paper brush my skin. Quickly I dug in my kimono and pulled out a few exorcism slips that always carried with me. I gave a small, quick smile and pulled one from the pack and placed it in between my fore-finger and ring finger, muttering an incantation under my breath and waited for it to take effect. After a second, the kanji began to glow a muted red and I drew my hand back, then threw it with percision towards the creature. It hit dead on, seeming to hover just over it's shoulder before exploding with one of my more powerful curses. The monster stumbled backwards from the force. The attack left me open, however, standing there huffing slightly to catch my breath.

"You okay over there, Japan?" Prussia called out, and I blinked over at him, moving towards him and nodding.

"Hai..." I replied, running a hand over my brow, slightly concerned when it came away wet. "Using too many curses is dangerous."

"Then don't use anymore~" he said, giving me a grin despite how serious the situation was.

"Hai...hai..." I muttered, readying my blade as the monster once again came at us

"YoU...WOn't...EsCAPe..." the monster's raspy voice seemed to bounce off the walls, and I paled slightly.

"Dodge!" I called out, but it was too late, the vine-like energy had already been deployed. Prussia luckily avoided the attack, but I was not so lucky, and it wrapped around me, cutting into my kimono and shredding my skin...adding fresh wounds to the collection of ones I had gained before.

"Japan!" Prussia called out, but it sounded far off. "Hang on...I'll get you out!...Mein Gott! Let him go!" I wasn't focused on anything but the pain that I was feeling...that white, hot...flaming pain that was caused by this...this creature. Please...someone make it stop...I was pinned, I couldn't move...

Suddenly, the pain was gone, the vine like energy was gone, and I found myself stumbling to support myself. With blurry vision, I looked up to see that Prussia had distracted the monster enough to stop the attack. I let out a growl, picking myself up and grasping Tachi from where it had fallen. My anger forced its way into the blade, causing it to tremble. Vaguely I wondered if Tachi could handle much more, but it wasn't the first thing on my mind. No, the first thing on my mind was revenge, and I snarled as the monster used the same vine attack on Prussia, effectively trapping the nation. He called out in pain and I decided that was it. By this time, Tachi had taken a soft glow, and I took a few steps forward and released the the dismissal. Once again I left myself open, and ended up getting myself snagged instead of Prussia, the hot energy cutting into my leg.

"Kuso..." I cursed, tugging at my leg, and blinked up at Prussia, noticing that he had given up using whatever type of attack he had and was just slashing at the monster blindly, managing to push it back enough to reach over and grab my arm.

"Ve can't beat it, ve gotta run!" he exclaimed, dragging me until i wrenched my arm away and limped after him. That thing would not give up though, chasing us through the hallway and even into one of the bedrooms. For a moment I feared we were cornered, but we split up and went around it, confusing it and darting back down the hallway after slamming the door closed on the monster.

It was silent after a moment, and finally I allowed myself to relax a bit.

"Is...it gone?" I muttered, still a bit stunned.

"I think so..." Prussia muttered back. "If it's not, then it's not following us..."

"I..wonder why..." I asked, then put a hand to my head. I felt dizzy, faint, and I vaugely heard Prussia speak.

"Hm?" I turned my head upward, trying to focus on Prussia's face.

"I said, 'vhat the hell man, you're injured' and you are!" Prussia repeated, a look of concern on his face. He reached forward and fingered one of the cuts on my arm, causing pain to shoot up said arm. I let out a hiss and he quickly retracted his hand.

"Yes...I am quite...aware of this fact." I snapped, my voice full of annoyance. "A-ah...gomen. I didn't mean to sound...so annoyed." Prussia shook his head.

"kessesse...it's fine." he grinned, then helped me to my feet. For a moment, I wondered when I had fallen, but I shook it off. "Vhich room is Vest in?"

"Th-the one at the far end..." I stuttered, frowning. "Opposite of the one we just came out of." I shook my head after a moment. "I'm...I'm all right now."

"You better be. This place gives me the creeps." Prussia said, leading me by the arm. "I vant out of here as soon as possible."

"N-ne, I can walk on my own..." I muttered, tugging at my arm. He turned to look at me in mild surprise.

"Oh. Sorry. Didn't realize I vas pulling you." Prussia gave me a sheepish look, and I frowned.

"That look does not fit you, Puroisen-san." I muttered, and he gave me a confused look.

"Vhat look?"

"That one." At this he grinned.

"Keessee~ I dunno vhat you're talkin about."

I let out a sigh and brushed past him, slightly annoyed. Prussia was so hard to work with at times, his nature so contradictory. Silently, I moved to the door of the bedroom Germany had taken residence in, and opened it, ushering Prussia in. I closed the door after him, and then pointed to the iron door in the corner.

"This is the...fortress...where Germany is." I said, moving over to the bed that was in the room and sitting down. I reached down and rubbed my leg where the monster's energy had slashed through the skin. My hand came away red, and I frowned. "Ne, Do you happen to have any spare cloth on you?"

"This is pretty solid...that's a first..." Prussia was muttering, before turning to look at me. "Hn...keessee, I do have my collar, if you wanna use that."

"It will do." I replied and watched as he took the cross clip at his nape off, pulling the white fabric out and tossing it to me. I caught it with ease, using it to wrap the gash on my leg tightly. His face was scrunched up again when I looked back up.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, and I gave a sigh and nodded my head. He didn't push on the subject, shrugging and turning to the iron door, giving it a rather loud bang with his fist. "Oi, Vest! Japan told me you vere hungry! D'you vant some mushrooms?" For a moment there was silence, then there was the sound of something crashing behind the door. After a second more, the door opened a crack, nothing but darkness behind it.

"Iz that you, bruder? Are you alright?" Germany's voice called out, and Prussia scoffed, before letting out a laugh.

"Yeah, I'm fine~" he said cheerfully, then hushed his voice a bit. "Can't say the same for Japan, and I've got worse news. Italy's still missing." I let out a low growl, and he gave me a sheepish smile as Germany's head stuck out of the crack.

"Japan?" he leveled me with his blue eyes, and I moved my foot slightly so it was out of his view. I did not want him to worry about me. "You alright?" I gave him a definite nod, and he frowned before seeming to accept that.

"Oh...and ve have to help that...vhatchamacallit on the fourth floor..." Prussia added, placing a hand on his chin. I let out a sigh, He really just now remembered that?

"hn...All right. I'm done here, so ve can go." Germany muttered, stepping out from behind the iorn door and closing it behind him. Prussia dug in his pocket and pulled out some slightly...squished mushrooms.

"Keessee~ One handful of mushrooms, as ordered." Prussia said happily as Germany took them without complaint, coming to sit next to me as he ate them.

"You sure you're alright, Japan?" he asked softly and I frowned.

"...I've been better..." I chose my words carefully, trying to not let much of my inner thoughts out into my voice. I did not wish to worry him too much.

"...vell, if you're sure..." he muttered, turning his face to look at his brother as he wandered around the room.

"I don't really get vhat ve're supposed to do, but lets go to the fourth floor already!" Prussia exclaimed, turning to us with a grin. Instantly I was on alert.

"Baka!" I quickly said, getting to my feet, my hand going to the hilt of my sword. "Shush, do you not remember what happened?!" Prussia winced a bit, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"right...sorry..." he muttered, and I shifted my weight off my injured leg. Germany looked between us, before leveling me in his gaze.

"Can ve come back here...every once in a vhile?" he asked, and I looked at him in confusion.

"I don't mind..." I replied, slightly confused at his choice of words. Did he expect us to be here much longer? "Demo...do you actually like narrow spaces?"

"Vell...you could say that I'm used to them." he replied casually. I looked at him in almost shock. He was used to narrow spaces? Just what did the nation do in his free time? He must have seen my face. "A-ah, there's a lot of room, though!"

"Oh..." was the only thing I could say to that. Prussia clicked his tongue to get our attention.

"Come on, we need to hurry, help the moki, and find Italy so we can leave already." Prussia reached down and pulled on Germany's arm. "Hurry it up Vest!"

"Ja, Ja..." Germany almost growled, getting to his feet. "I'm coming..."

"Ne...Doitsu-san?" I had noticed that something was different, that he didn't look the same as he had when we had arrived. Ah, yes, that was it. He had taken off his hat. "Where's your hat? Did it fall off somewhere?"

"Eh?" Germany turned to look at me before realizing what i had said. "o-oh, hang on...I put it away..." he dug in one of his pockets, pulling out various tools, a book and finally the hat. He smoothed the wrinkles out and set it on his head. I turned to look at the various things that he had placed on the bed, reaching over to pick up the book.

"May I?" i asked, apparently startling him but he nodded as he picked the other tools up. I picked the book up, smiling slightly at seeing what it was. It was the manual he had always carried around with him. "You still carry this around?" I turned to look at him.

"Ja, Of course!" He said in defense. "You never know vhen you might need it!" I frowned at him, and he turned away, sheepishly. "okay...vell, maybe it's not very helpful this time...but it'll be helpful at some point." The look on his face made me shake my head as I handed it back to him.

Prussia poked his head out the door, before motioning for us to follow. I quickly did so, my hand instantly on Tachi's hilt. At seeing both me and Prussia on edge as we moved down the hallway to the stairs, Germany was quick to follow, pulling out his whip and gripping it in his hands. I was hesitant to step on the stairs as I made my way to the fourth floor but I did so, listening to the creaks that issued forth and winced. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Prussia wince as well from the noise, both recalling what even a simple noise had done before. I walked as fast as I could with my injured foot, putting up with the pain so that Germany wouldn't notice, and opened the door on the fourth floor that led to the room where the mochi had been in. I let Germany and Prussia in before I too walked in and closed the door behind me.

"It is behind that bookcase. I managed to move the bookcase out of the way, but I couldn't get it out." I muttered softly as Germany nodded and walked over to the case. I looked over, watching his face scrunch up and raise an eyebrow.

"...this thing has America's face." Germany muttered, and I shook my head, turning my attention to the door just in case the monster returned. Prussia moved to stand next to him, also looking at the mochi.

"Well?" I asked, frowning as I looked back over. I was slightly on edge, I wanted to free the poor thing, find Italy, and get out...preferably in that order.

"It's stuck pretty deep..." Prussia had reached forward, fiddling with the mochi before turning to Germany. "Can you do it, Vest?"

Germany gave a grunt as he sat down on his knees out of sight, and then made a few noises. I could tell just from the sounds that he was making that he was trying his hardest to get it out of that crack. I heard him try again, but to no avail, and watched him stumbled backwards, using a hand to steady himself from falling flat on his back.

"Traurig..." Germany muttered, standing. "I can't do it with my bare hands, maybe if I had some kind of a tool..."

"A tool..." I muttered, making my way over. I glimpsed the sad look on the mochi's face and frowned myself. "Well, it is a big house. Perhaps I should take a look around?"

"Ja, I'd be really thankful if you could find something." Germany replied, bending down to try again.

"Oh vell..." Prussia said, crossing his arms as he watched his blonde brother. "I guess ve'll have to split up again to look for something." My frown deepened at that, for I was not very fond of the idea of splitting up once more. I turned to the door, but a grunt from Germany made me turn back. I could not see his face, but I watched Prussia's face twist in humor.

"...Awesome face." He laughed, and I watched Germany stand again, shaking his head and moving to sit at the desk in the room.

"I suppose I'll stay here and keep an eye on the poor thing." Germany said, and I nodded.

"Very well. I'll be going ahead then. I will come back as soon as I find a tool that can be used to pry the mochi out." I replied, bowing slightly and turning to leave. Suddenly Prussia pushed past me, hitting my injured arm just enough to make me hiss under my breath.

"I think I'll go too." he said as he opened the door. "I mean, I haven't gotten to look around so I might as vell explore" without another word, he was gone, and I frowned at the door before turning back to Germany.

"I'll do my best to find Italia, Doitsu-san." I muttered and I looked up at him, noticing he was watching me with worried eyes. He got up and walked over to me, reaching over to finger my shredded kimono sleeve.

"...Are you that injured?" he asked, as he lifted the sleeve and revealed the reddened bandage underneath.

"I'm fine." I replied, and he frowned even more.

"...this is blood..." he muttered, fingering the bandage and looking at me in confusion.

"Hai. I was attacked, remember?" I pushed him away. "You touching the wound does nothing for pain." He instantly took his hands away.

"You're in pain?"

"I'm fine" I stated, leaving no room for argument. "Stay here, okay? I'll be back as soon as I find something." I did not let him answer me, nor did I let him grab me to keep me behind, like he reached out to do.

Once the door closed behind me, I leaned up against the wall, taking the weight off of my injured foot. I really didn't want to worry Germany. To him, I was a stoic nation where hardly anything phased me. I didn't want that to change...but at the same time, I was suddenly thinking differently. The fear I had seen in Germany's face...something had changed. I felt...more protective of him, of Prussia, of Italy. I couldn't explain it.

I remembered that at one time America had called me something. What was it again? A...friend? When I had asked him what he meant by that, he had said something along the lines of "You're a buddy! A good one at that! Buddies stick together, get along with each other, and help each other out! That's what makes them friends".

I thought this over as I leaned against the wood of the hallway. Friends stick together, they get along with each other, and help each other. Was that what I had wanted earlier? I hadn't wanted to split up again. We all got along with each other, even Germany and Italy though they bickered a lot. We never failed to help one another when the other was in trouble. Did that...make us friends? What about the other nations. Despite all our history, all our tense moments, we never failed to come through for one another...

I moved a bit, then let out a hiss, moving my arm the wrong way and pain shot through it, bringing me back to the present. I needed to stop thinking about this kind of thing. It was something that I could tackle once everyone was safe and out of this hell-hole. I pushed myself off the wall and turned down the hallway.

I was alone.


There we go, revamp number 2 done. I'm rather proud of this~

Original Author Comments:
Gah, there we go. End of chapter two! Only one more chapter in Japan's point of view! I wonder who I wil
l pick to do chapter four as? Any suggestions?