Japan had no idea what Germany and Italy wanted to do but since they woke so early (it was early in their time zone, though it was already mid morning in Japan when they called him) to invite him to Germany's house, he couldn't decline.
"Japan, you're completely free today, aren't you?" Germany had asked over the phone.
"Why yes, I have a clear schedule today. Why?"
"Italy and I are going to go somewhere and we want you with us. Please wear comfortable clothes that you wouldn't mind getting a little dusty or dirty."
"Ah...yes, I see," Japan had said slowly. What are they planning this time? "I will be there in an hour."
Japan wondered about what the day would bring as he passed by China's house. Caught up in his thoughts, he failed to realize that China was running towards him, dodging pedestrians as he gradually caught up with Japan.
"Japan, aru!" China called, waving as his long sleeve flopped back and forth.
Japan turned around and nodded at China.
China slowed to a stop and sighed at Japan, nudging him playfully in the arm. "You act as if I'm a stranger. We're brothers so relax, aru!" he panted.
Japan was silent as China started to massage his shoulders in surprise. "Aiya...you're so tense..."
"It would help if you ask for permission to touch me beforehand," Japan said slowly.
China threw his hands up and shrugged. "I forgot," he said, "that you don't like people touching you. Oh well. Where are you going?"
"I'm going to Germany's house."
"On foot?"
Japan nodded.
China frowned. "That's a long walk, even for us. I'll give you a ride, aru."
Japan smiled at China. "Ah, thank you, but it's fine. I can wa-"
"Méiyǒu, I'll drive you, aru. Although from now on you should surely drive on your own," China said seriously.
"The streets in my house are so crowded," Japan said, "and it's a hassle to get out of my house on car. Also, I'm an island country."
And yet somehow, Italy was able to drive him back home once.
Japan would prefer not remember that experience.
China laughed and patted Japan on the back. "Nonsense. It's crowded here too but I can still make it out. And besides, I haven't paid Germany a visit in a while, so I might as well strengthen relations with him, aru."
"We're going to go somewhere," Japan said uncertainly. "I'm not sure where though."
China cocked his head thoughtfully. "Can I come along? If you and Germany, and I'm sure Italy'll be there, are sneaking out to go on a vacation, I want in, aru!"
Japan frowned and glanced down at his own clothes. They were normal street clothes, unlike the dress shirt or kimono he usually wore, but if they got dirty, he wouldn't mind them. However if they were going on vacation, shouldn't he have packed extra clothes? Germany would have told him too, but still...
China grabbed Japan's wrist and pulled him away, saying how that he had a car waiting somewhere ("I was just going to go test it out, but I can use it to drive you to Germany, aru," China said.).
They maneuvered around people and motorbikes to get to a slightly less compacted street. China pointed ahead of them at a gleaming white BMW Brilliance Automotive, a car that had been created on a joint project between Germany and China.
"Convenient, isn't it, aru?" China laughed, patting the hood of the car tenderly. "It'll take us to Germany and Germany was the one who helped me make this,"
Japan silently admired the car before China opened the car door for him, ushering him in. When he closed the door, he jumped and yelped, "Aiya!"
Japan hurriedly glanced out the window and immediately adverted his eyes uncomfortably.
"Russia, aru!" China exclaimed, his face contorting into a mixture of fear and annoyance. "What are you doing here?"
Japan stared at the back of the front seat as Russia explained he was interested in what China was doing. Through the car door, Japan could still make out the sour expression China was using and then the somewhat defensive tone as he said, "I have to take Japan to Germany's so I don't have time to...do whatever I do, aru."
Was Russia planning something again? Japan had always felt suspicious and uncomfortable around Russia, even though recently his suspicions had died down.
"A-alright, you can come, aru." China was saying, defeated.
Japan turned his head to stare at the back of China's head from his seat. China was letting Russia come along?
"Ah, on second thought, China," Japan said when China climbed into the car. Japan's hand rested on the door handle and twitched as Russia climbed in on the other side, right next to him. "I can walk."
"Nonsense," China said stiffly. He glanced at the rear-view mirror and caught Japan's distressed visage. "You're better off in the car than walking alone," China added weakly, adding in a few nervous laughs.
Japan peeked at Russia, who was smiling pleasantly back at him. Suppressing a shudder, Japan leaned against the car door and stared intently outside at the street. Even so, he cold still feel the coldness of Russia's eyes piercing into his skin from behind.
The new-found castle took hours to get to. Surrounded by lush, towering trees, the terrain proved a challenge to Germany and Italy as they trekked through the forest. The path that had led up to the castle grounds were long gone and they had to forge their own path. Whatever road the investigators had taken was nowhere to be found, but Germany dismissed that fact and reasoned that they could have arrived in helicopters.
"We probably should have done that too, huh?" Italy asked as he scrambled under a fallen tree that seemed to have collapsed long before. Italy had to push away overgrown vines and weeds out of his face in order to see in front of him.
Germany merely stepped up on a few logs beside the enormous obstacle and jumped over, landing with a concise grunt as so to not make too much noise. He still had a nagging suspicion in the forest; the reports seemed accurate so far because Germany did feel a looming presence.
Then again, it could be an illusion he created for himself based off of reports. Over the years, he knew he had a tendency to believe things written on paper than things spread by word. Could it be just because it seemed more official that way? There were things written on paper Germany obviously didn't believe in, like when a cake recipe called for two teaspoons of vanilla when he knew for a fact that he was supposed to use only one.
But a report was a report; things like that made Germany feel like it was true.
"We're almost there, Italy," Germany said, shielding his eyes from the brightness above. The sun was behind the gray clouds but the light clouds illuminated the outside world, causing a whiteness to wash over them rather than a sunny, controlled light.
"How much further?" Italy asked, brushing dirt from his pants.
"Another few miles."
"Ehhh?" Italy stared at Germany in disbelief. "But the castle looks so close!"
"That's because it's big," Germany explained.
"It must be super big if it looks closer than a few miles," Italy commented.
"Yeah, I guess so," Germany murmured, staring through the gathering fog near the castle.
It seemed like a lifetime when they finally came across the castle grounds, free from the thickets. Taking a few moments to admire the fine architectural details that still remained despite the prominent weathering.
Germany ran his eyes over the Gothic styled archs above the high windows, the intimidating stone gargoyles that glared down at him with added grotesqueness from their already cracked appearances, the stone pillars that seemed ready to give way if anything bothered them, and the intricately decorated walls that were indented in all the right places between the pillars. Long ago, the castle must have been beautifully colored with a pleasant white or a strong, bold gray. The stones were faded and wan, the flora of the environment had taken over and creeped into the cracks and stretched up towards the tallest of the towers, wrapping itself around the pillars and piers and whatever it could find.
It occurred to Germany that it wasn't a castle made to defend anything. There were no protective walls or any signs of them. There were no ramparts surrounding the area, there were no loopholes found in the magnificent walls of the castle, nor were there galleries where soldiers could walk upon up above.
It must have been built for someone incredibly wealthy. Perhaps Italy was right; maybe they could find things worth selling and the things they could find would bring in quite a bit of money. Maybe with that money, their economy could look forward to a brighter future.
"Let's go in," Germany said, briskly walking ahead to find the main gate.
Italy hastily took a few steps toward Germany to catch up with him and started skipping alongside him. "What about Japan?" Italy asked.
Germany forgot about Japan for a moment. Sheepishly, Germany said, "We'll find the gate first and then wait for him. I hope we can get a signal here in case if something happens."
Italy laughed. "Nothing will happen. Everything will be okay."
Japan arrived an hour later.
Germany, who had dutifully stood in front of the castle entrance all that time, waved to him when Japan had stepped foot out of the forest. Italy, who had been sleeping by his feet, stirred at his voice. "There you are," Germany called. "We've been waiting for you!"
Japan, slightly panting, called back, "I'm sorry. Things...came up."
"What do you mean by that?"
As if on cue, Japan glanced back behind him as China and Russia emphatically whacked branches away from their faces, stepping out into the clearing.
"That was a long walk," China sighed. "Too bad the car couldn't take us an further, aru. Germany, next time we have to build a car that can drive through anything!"
"What are they doing here?" Germany asked irritably. Through logical thinking, Germany concluded that, by the exasperated look Japan had, bringing China and Russia along was unplanned and by some coincidental means, had came with Japan to the castle. Germany hadn't planned on more people arriving and he didn't have enough supplies for them all.
"I'm sorry," Japan said to Germany, still flushed. "But I couldn't dissuade them. I'll make it up somehow."
Germany waved it away. "Don't worry about it. I just hope things won't get out of hand."
Italy's stirring increased and after a few tentative seconds, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. Squinting in Japan's direction, Italy brightened and called out shamelessly, "Japan!"
His voice echoed eerily.
"Be quiet!" Germany snapped.
"Why?"
"Who knows what might be around here,"
"There's no one around but us,"
"You can't be too sure," Russia piped up.
Germany, Italy, Japan, and China couldn't help but notice a small gleam in his eyes. Italy, Japan, and China adverted their eyes as Germany warily looked him over. "May I ask why you two are here?" he asked China and Russia.
"I have to accompany my little brother, aru." China said, taking hold of Japan's arm.
"Well you've accompanied him this far so you're free to go home now," Germany said sternly.
China's face fell. "You're not letting me stay? That castle looks dangerous. I can't go home knowing he's going to be here."
"Japan's big enough to be on his own, you know," Germany said.
China sniffed. "Yes, but a big brother's got to do what a big brother's got to do, right Japan?"
Pause.
"Japan?"
"Yes,"
"What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That pause!"
Pause. "What pause?"
"That pause!"
"I did not pause."
China stared at Japan's emotionless face as Germany sent an inquisitive glance at Russia. However, Russia merely smiled.
"The more the merrier, right?" Italy asked Germany, tugging on his sleeve.
Germany struggled to find the words to tell Italy what it might mean for them but decided not to. "Right. Okay," Germany said when he realized he let too much time pass. "Let's just go in, shall we?"
Since the castle was just a castle for the wealthy to reside in, there were no heavy iron gates to get by or any traps to look out for. The entrance was no big challenge; the huge doors that stood twenty feet top to bottom were heavily dented on the outside and were stuck to place for a while but after a good jostle the doors opened wide.
At once, a zephyr of dusty air whooshed towards them. The doors groaned and moaned and their worn hinges squeaked wretchedly. The darkness of the foyer overwhelmed them at first but the light they let in helped their eyes adjust quickly.
The foyer was colossal, about the size of half a football field. The cobblestone floor was filthy with wispy, white webs strewn across and in the crevices, considerable chunks and slabs of the stone ceiling that had fallen and shattered, and several pieces of furniture that laid pitifully as if the castle had been ransacked vigorously.
Even the statues and full sets of armor lined up at the walls showed their antiquity. The cracks and wear on the statues seemed so frail that they might crumble upon slight contact and the armored knights had several dents and rust flawing the overall appearance.
The darkness was broken in some places where the foggy tall windows just beyond the staircases allowed some of the brightness from the outside world in. It gave the small light patches on the ground a light blue-white hue on the stone floor but gave the dull red carpet a brighter red and its pale gold accents an even paler gold.
"It feels so empty," China whispered, yet his whisper was loud enough to disturb the chilling tranquility in the air.
"It's horribly messy," Germany said to himself, straying from the group to look at an overturned armchair. He reached out to feel along the polished wood before he took it and set it upright again. The emerald green fabric of the chair was ripped in the middle of the seat and there was an odd red stain on the back.
"Filthy," Germany sighed. "Yet it could still be worth a bit. In the condition it's in, it might not sell for as much as it could have if it was in perfect shape. Maybe a museum would like it,"
"Germany, in a castle this big, there's bound to be hundreds, maybe thousands of things that you can sell," Italy said excitedly, his voice echoing off the walls.
"You're planning on selling the things you find here?" Japan asked concerned. "Shouldn't you leave a few things be to preserve its history?"
"Yes, of course," Germany answered. He took a look around, frowning. Although something tells me that we shouldn't take anything at all. Ah, maybe those strange reports are getting to me after all...
"Hey, let's go up the stairs and see what's up there!" Italy said, tugging at Japan's sleeve, pointing up the right staircase.
"We haven't even explored the first floor," Germany pointed out. "We must be thorough with our search. I must find the investigators anyway."
Aware of the questioning looks from Japan, China, and Russia, Germany explained how they had gone missing soon after the discovery of the castle. The fact that the castle was newly found and that there were already people missing caused China to grab a hold of Japan's arm, dragging him towards the entrance.
"Alright, well we're going to go home now," China grunted, attempting to pull Japan back outside. "Tell us if you made it out alive, aru."
"Ch-China, we mustn't leave them with a job this big," Japan stated, tugging his arm back. "It probably isn't even that dangerous. As long as we're on our guard, I think we'll be fine."
"Yeah, China!" Italy piped up. He pranced between the two and threw his arms around their shoulders. "This is a big adventure! Who knows what will happen and who knows what we'll find."
Germany half-listened to the conversation going on behind him as he worked to clear the rubble from one of the passageways. At first, it was simple to remove the fallen wood beams from the entrance to another wing but it became harder when boulders showed up.
"Alright, let's go the other way," Germany said decisively when the rocks showed no sign of being moved.
"Which way do we go now?" China asked, scanning the foyer. "There are three other ways we can go from here that doesn't lead up the stairs, aru."
Germany analyzed the three other halls that were, to his relief, clear of rubble and destruction. Peering down the dark hall, he and the others suppressed a small chill that even Russia had felt. And as if their ears had enhanced drastically compared to a mere few minutes ago, it seemed as if they were able to hear chairs scraping across the floor on the other side of the long hall.
"I do not trust this place," Germany murmured, waving the beam of his flashlight to and from the sides of the hall.
Italy glanced down at the darkness of the hall and then back up at Germany. "It's very dark, Germany," he said in a weak voice.
Germany found himself rather annoyed by the fact that Italy was feeling scared already since he was the one who suggested they go and venture through the castle. "Be quiet, Italy," Germany said. "Just use your flashlight if it's too dark for you."
Throwing another look down the hall, Germany heard Japan say, "The other halls are pitch black as well."
"Did you go check it out?" Germany asked. "I didn't hear you leave the group."
"It's an observation I made from standing here. I never left,"
After a small moment of consideration, Germany shook off his uneasiness and took a step forward. "Right, well we're not doing anything productive at all by just idling around. Come on. Let's go."
Tentatively, Italy clung onto Japan's arm and Japan led him calmly down the hall, following Germany's light. China quickly followed Japan's footsteps so that he would not have to linger too long in the back with Russia, who was smiling pleasantly as always.
The doors were locked as Germany tried them. He examined the doorknobs and wondered if there were keys for them. If that was the case, then they'd have to find the keys if they wanted to have any lucky finding anything useful or finding Germany's missing investigation team.
However, the further they ventured, the more prone they were to hear whispers in their ears... as if someone was right beside them.
At times, they picked at their ears in attempt to drive the annoying mystery noise away but it dawned on them that getting rid of the whispers was not possible. Not at the moment.
"Do you all hear that as well?" Russia asked softly.
"I hear nothing," Germany said in denial.
"Ve..." Italy looked at Japan, who returned his gaze with uncertainty.
"Whoa, this place is bigger than I thought. Awesome!"
Canada's stomach dropped when he saw what an overwhelming aura the castle had. Gloomy and dark, he started to wonder if it was too late to change America's mind. Could he scare him away?
"A-America? What if there are ghosts in there? Wouldn't that be horrible?"
America didn't seem to hear him. He was busying himself with his belongings, digging around for his flashlight and whatever else he had packed into his bulging backpack.
There was a small sense of relief that did Canada justice, however. He was glad he left Kumujira back home. Though the polar bear had protested and pawed at Canada's face for several minutes, Komujiro finally agreed to stay back.
"Are we really going to go in there?" England asked under his breath, slipping his own backpack on. "I can't believe you talked me into this, America, you-"
An erotic laugh punctured England's sentence. "But this would be a great adventure, non? And there might be all sorts of beautiful furniture and paintings waiting to be discovered," France said.
England pointed an accusing finger at France and demanded, "And why did you have to bring this frog along?"
America held a hand out to silence him. Gazing up to the top of the castle, America narrowed his eyes and murmured, "If the doors don't open in the front, we can scale to the top."
"Shouldn't we at least go see if the front doors are open before planning to climb?" Canada asked America.
America noticed him and glanced behind his shoulder. "Oh, well I was kinda thinking we'd make an epic entrance, you know?"
"What nonsense," England scowled. "Let's get going if we want to make it back for dinner," he added, leading the way.
America opened his mouth to say something but France and Canada were already following England to the other side so there was no use saying anything at all. He hurried to catch up with them because the moment they were several strides away, leaving America alone to his thoughts, he felt an unusual cloak of uneasiness. Perhaps that was an understatement, the uneasiness.
However, when he approached them, falling into their pace, he felt the feeling go away and he was normal again.
Frowning, America peeked behind him to see if it was just his surroundings that made him so nervous. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
America stopped abruptly as a demonic roar echoed in the distance. His vision deteriorated slightly, the colors snapping into a blue hue for a split second before things suddenly reverted back when the roar died away into the wind.
Canada noticed America's stricken expression and stopped. "America? What's wrong?"
Silence. America's eyes were wide, jaw slightly agape. His skin had paled considerably but he gave a small laugh. "You didn't hear that, did you?"
"Hear what?"
England slowed down and turned towards them as he walked. "Oi! Don't stop you two! We're on a tight schedule!"
"We have a schedule?" France asked.
"Well we should," England murmured.
But Canada's eyes were fixed on America, whose heartbeat pounded in his ribcage. It thundered in his ears as he gazed around, bewildered. What was that? What an awful sound. It was the kind of sound one would cower under something because of its intensity.
America looked down at his hands, which were shaking slightly. Wiggling his fingers, he started to walk again, giving Canada a smile. "It was nothing, bro. I totally tricked you, haha! You should have seen your face!"
"America, we don't have the time to joke around," England called from the front.
"Aw, England, but where's the fun if you don't?" France asked.
America laughed again, but his mind was in a turmoil. And out of the corner of his eyes, he realized that Canada's expression was rather solemn.