Rumor spoke of a deserted house, roughly three hours away from where the nations met. The nations had never given much thought to it; it was situated high up in the mountains, rumored to be haunted and abandoned, the original owners long forgotten.

Rumor said that you cannot easily find it, that mysterious mansion in your town. And that if you anger its former occupant, you will not get away lightly…especially when you are alone.

"It's really here!" Yao shouted, taking long steps to look up at the building. It was like some Western churches he had seen, white walls and golden roof and so many windows you couldn't tell if you were outside or in. He smiled and turned back to his companions, smug at being proven right. The mark of time on the house only made him happier. New haunted houses weren't interesting in the slightest.

"I thought it was just a rumor," Arthur admitted, sighing. "But it's really here." And it was beautiful, it a rather haunting way, with bars over the windows and peeling paint. The courtyard was made of dirt, as if plants could not bear to be near the house.

"This desolate feel gives it a rather nice touch, hmm?" asked Francis, locking eyes with Arthur and grinning slowly, like molasses in July. Arthur scowled at him.

"I don't think it's very interesting, though," someone said. Standing away from the others, arms wrapped around him, was Matthew. He expected no reply and received none.

"Did you hear a voice just now?" asked his brother. Matthew sighed.

"Oh, America, you jest," Ivan said, looking at Matthew and smiling slightly. "We didn't hear anything, did we?"

Matthew kept quiet.

"Still," Alfred continued, completely missing the tension. "It doesn't really look like a fun place."

All of the men examined the house in quiet contemplation, a feeling passing through them. This was like nothing they had seen before. And they had seen many things, in their time.

"Well, why don't we take a little look, and then go back? I think we can leave before nightfall," Ivan said, his voice neutral. His blue eyes were like ice, a fierce light burning in them.

"Yeah, I don't want to stay here for long, either!" Yao said, looking around. The thought of being here come darkness sent a flash of fear through him, and he could see the same feeling pass over the others.

It wasn't that they were scared, no, it was simply that they had better things to do than explore abandoned houses at night.

Yes, that was it.

"Fine, then, shall we go in?" Francis rapped on the door and it opened, swinging easily on silent hinges. The six of them stared at the looming doorway for a moment, and then entered.

"The rumors say that there are ghosts here, right?" Ivan asked, looking around. The inside was bigger than the outside, it seemed, and it was clean. "That's why nobody comes near the place…"

"No wonder. It's such an eerie place." Alfred looked around, wondering.

Although the outside was run down and failing, the inside was fine. The floors shone a pale golden color in the afternoon sun, and the walls were a crisp white. The house was large, too—a wing to the right and the left, as well as to the back, and stairs leading up flanking the entrance hallway.

Matthew glanced at his brother and sighed. "How unusual of you, America. Are you scared?" There was no mocking in his tone, just a quiet acceptance.

"No! But it's a little—where is everyone?" Alfred asked, wildly looking around. Everyone was gone, except for Ivan and Matthew, and the American didn't even have a memory of them leaving.

"They said they would leave the first floor to us," Ivan told him. "Then they went right up to the second floor."

"Hmmm….then we'll—"

Something was here.

"It's cleaner than one would expect, isn't it?" Francis observed, running a hand along the banister. Not a single speck of dust dared showed itself to him.

"Y-yeah, but…can we go now?" Arthur asked, looking around. This place gave him the willies, he had to admit.

"What's the matter, England? Scared?" Francis asked, his tone unkind.

"Of course not, you idiot! That's not it. It's just…." He searched for the right words, frowning. "This place is sort of—"

"This is totally silly," Yao interrupted, sighing dramatically. "There are no ghosts here. You can go back." He turned and walked down the hallway, leaving Francis and Arthur to stare after him.

"Hey, are you going to look around on your own?" Francis called after him.

"I'll just peek in this room here," Yao assured the man. "It smells a little bad." The handle turned, thankfully. Yao would have been embarrassed if the room was locked.

"What? Isn't that, well, a bit risky? Wait!" Arthur called, moving to follow the Asian into the room. Francis followed, as if in a game of follow-the-leader.

Arthur's Notes:

Thank you guys so much for all of your comments and favs! I'm sorry I haven't been the most consistent of uploaders, but I don't think that it's gonna get any better. I just wanted to take the time to thank everyone who bothers to read this, I've gotten much more feedback than I thought I would. Thank you!