Hungary, Japan, and Prussia sat around in Hungary's living room quietly. They all were on couches and chairs facing each other like it was a meeting, but no one spoke a word. A whiteboard was discarded in the corner and a cork board covered in thumb tacks and red string was pinned to the wall in front of them.

They were all feeling hopeless. They had hit a wall in their investigation months ago and hadn't made an inch of progress since. And with their most recent attempt at gaining information going up in smoke the Detective Trio weren't exactly in a good mood.

There was both a murder and secret lover mystery to work on and somehow both were at a roadblock, only because they had the inconvenience of having something to do with Alfred, who has continued to be surprisingly elusive without even knowing it himself.

Prussia tapped his foot against the floor, trying to break up the silence that filled the room. Hungary aggressively hit her pointer finger against her upper arm, her arms being crossed while she glared at Prussia. Japan sat on a couch between them staring at the floor, picking at his nails.

They had all been silent since Prussia and Japan had arrived, and it's been nearly twenty minutes now. Prussia's eyes glanced up at Hungary, her glare beating his view back down immediately. His mouth went into a line and he scratched the side of his head, then he started pursing his lips and exhaling while looking at his feet.

"Sooo. . ." He drawled, gaining the courage to speak up. "Vhat do ve do now?" Hungary bolted to her feet and threw her arms up in frustration, her anger exploding out of her the moment he opened his mouth. "Now!? Vhat do ve do now!? Nein, it's vhat you vill do now. You're zhe one zhat screwed everysing up!"

Prussia rolled his eyes and rested his chin on a closed fist. "I didn't screw up "everysing", it's all a minor setback." Hungary collapsed back onto her chair and sighed, rubbing her forehead. "You had vone job. Hang up zhe cameras, zhat vas it. But instead you let zhat idiot Denmark talk you into drinking again."

"Yeah, vell, it vas supposed to be part of zhe plan. Denmark vanted to drink, I figured I could get him drunk, and vhen he blacks out America vill see zhe night is over and go to bed." Prussia chewed on the inside of his cheek and nodded his head to the side. "Of course zhe issue vith zhat is Denmark didn't stop drinking, and I obviously couldn't let him beat me so ve kept going, and next sing I know it's morning."

Hungary and Japan both stared at him, letting Prussia sit in silence. He tapped both hands against the arms of his chair a few times and puckered his lips, rolling his head around to avoid his friend's gazes. "Regardless. Even vithout Denmark totally messing up my plan, I don't sink zhe cameras vould vork. After zhe Cold Var, America is like a freak vhen it comes to finding bugs in his house."

"On that I unfortunatery have to agree with Prussia," Japan spoke up, speaking for the first time since arriving. "When the two of us would have meetings he'd sometimes spend hours beforehand searching for bugs. And if he couldn't find them arr he'd arready have a secret second rocation set up."

"It vorked vhen ve bugged Sealand," Hungary pointed out. Prussia nodded, recalling that as well. "Ja, but it's not like he's going to frisk the kid. Plus he babysits Sealand all zhe time so he vouldn't have any reason to expect anysing. I knew ve should've just hacked zhe cameras he already has."

"Vhich you can only do if you know zhe code to zhe panic room, as you and Japan had already explained to me and zhen ruled out," Hungary reminded him, Prussia groaning and laying his head back. "I know vhat I said. But it vould sure make sings a lot easier."

Japan leaned forward slightly and covered his mouth with the length of his thumb and index finger, striking a thinking pose.

"So he vould know even if ve put zhe cameras in zhe same spots as zhe cameras he has? Zhey're pretty small, ve could probably hide zhem right next to zhe original vone," Hungary reasoned, Prussia shaking his head with a frown. "I sought of zhat too, but zhe cameras he has are vhite and round. Zhere isn't really anyvhere ve can hide a small black spy camera near zhem zhat isn't obvious."

"Thinking in the same vein as Searand, what if one of us went to hang out with him wearing a wire?" Japan suggested after a couple minutes, the other two turning to him in surprise. "A vire? Vhat are ve undercover cops now?" Prussia joked, though he was truly intrigued by the idea.

Japan nodded and continued with his explanation. "We've already established that he never searched Searand for the tracker, since he never had any reason to suspect he'd have one. One of us could go and spend a day or two with him, which he wirr most rikery agree to, and would keep any suspicion off of us."

"It vould also give us an opportunity to search his home, see if ve can find anysing," Hungary added on. "Ve should also go vhen he isn't expecting us. Ve could possibly catch him in zhe act vith zhis lover of his."

Japan wiped a trickle of blood from his nose and nodded. "Hai. I berieve it's the best chance we have at obtaining some new information." Hungary turned and scowled at Prussia, crossing her arms. "Vhy couldn't you do zhat vhen you vere zhere?"

Prussia grumbled and hung his head. "Ok zhat's not my fault. It's incredibly hard to focus on anysing vhen zhe sree of us are togezher. Not to mention it's basically impossible to get avay from zhem long enough to investigate."

"Just say you're going to zhe basroom," Hungary said, Prussia throwing his hands up in the air. "I did! Denmark followed me thinking I vas going to go srow up and cheat during our drinking challenge."

"Idiots..." Hungary grumbled under her breath while rolling her eyes. Japan opened his phone and began searching for tickets to Virginia. "I wirr be going. The first fright is tomorrow so we should get everything prepared today."

"Vhere do you even buy a vire? Is zhat legal?" Prussia wondered, opening his own phone. Sure enough there were websites that sold them. If it weren't for being in a situation where they needed it he'd probably be more concerned about why they're able to be sold in the first place.

"Zhis better work," Hungary stated, rubbing her hands together. "Ve seriously need somesing to vork, I really don't vant to have to ask America directly."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Prussia reassured, shrugging to himself. "To be honest zhere's a good chance America vould be completely fine telling us if he's in a relationship or not. He does love to talk, he'd probably tell you every detail if he felt like it."

Hungary put her hands out at her sides, feeling stumped with that reasoning. "Zhen vhy hasn't he said anysing about it yet? Surely ve vould've heard somesing by now. It's been months and still no vone has gotten zhe lingerie as a prank, so I'm starting to increasingly believe he bought it to genuinely use it."

"Because no vone asked?" Prussia responded, Hungary frowning at him. "I'm not wrong. Nobody's asked him. Maybe he just doesn't feel a need to talk about it if no vone's curious about it." Seeing Hungary frowning deeper he shrugged again. "Eizher zhat or ve're not very good detectives."

Hungary hummed to herself and looked at her feet. "It's probably zhat one. . . Maybe ve should just get France involved. He has a vay of getting information." Prussia gasped in offense. "Hell no! Half zhe reason ve're doing zhis is to get a vone up on France. You just vant to give up?"

"Of course not," Hungary denied. "At zhis point I simply vant to know if anysing is going on at all. But it feels like zhese mysteries vith America have just barely avoided us at every turn. Ve're getting novhere and it's incredibly frustrating."

"We'rr discover what America is hiding, I know it," Japan stated while focusing on Hungary. Prussia smiled and leaned over, slapping his hand down on Japan's shoulder. "Japan's got zhis all handled, he's gonna bring us back somesing awesome. Right?"

Japan looked to Prussia and nodded determinedly, turning back to Hungary as she spoke while nodding back at him. "You better."

"I wirr do my best," Japan responded firmly.

Standing on Alfred's front porch Japan shifted with his shirt a little bit. Making sure the wire was secure and in a comfortable spot. Once he was happy with it he reached forward and rang the doorbell. After a few seconds he heard what sounded like crashing coming from inside, cringing at the loud noises and standing up straight as footsteps ran toward the door at great speed.

As the door swung open Alfred's eyes widened in surprise once seeing Japan. His head was tilted to the side and squeezing his phone between his shoulder and cheek, one hand on the doorknob and the other half in his pocket and holding his wallet. He paused in whatever he was saying on the phone and eyed Japan for a moment, putting the wallet back in his pocket.

Looking behind Alfred Japan noticed a knocked over plant and plant stand, with a dirt trail leading over from the ground to the pair of socks Alfred was wearing.

"Yeah could I get back to you in second..? Yeah, ok thanks," Alfred spoke into the phone, removing it from his ear and holding it down at his side. "Sorry dude I thought you were the pizza man, what's up how've you been?"

"I've been good. How are you? You seem... distracted," Japan said while leaning to the side, bringing his and Alfred's attention to the knocked over plant. "Oh, yeah I'm just busy. New presidency and stuff like that."

"Oh. I aporigize if I've arrived at a bad time," Japan said with a deep bow, startling Alfred. "Yo man don't worry about it it's fine. You wanna come in?" Stepping out of the way he gestured for Japan to enter, Japan following along and walking into the house. The first thing he did was remove his winter boots and hang up his coat in its usual spot. Then he looked off toward the way to the living room.

As Japan walked off toward the living room Alfred trailed behind, first putting the plant back on its stand and pushing the fallen dirt into a corner to clean up later. He then put the phone back to his ear and skipped behind Japan. "Ok I'm back. Anyway as I was saying I got my work done for this week, and I'll have them in when I meet up with the big man tomorrow. . . Yes I have them in the correct folders this time."

Japan turned his head and raised a brow at Alfred, the other man rolling his eyes and grinning humorously. The two made it to the living room and Alfred crashed down onto the couch with a thud, Japan slowly sitting down next to him. "So is that all dude..? Yes, it's all done. . . Yeah. . . You'll know I have it when you get it tomorrow ok..? Ok good. Thanks. . . Alright bye."

Shutting off his phone he dropped his arm limply to the side, his head flopping down on the couch cushion near Japan's leg as he let out a long and tired groan. "Finally! There goes like an hour and a half of my life."

"You're immortal," Japan noted, Alfred waving his hand and raising himself up into a sitting position. "You know what I mean. Anyway I didn't ask before but what are you doing here? You don't typically pop in unannounced like this."

Japan ignored the sudden urge to itch at his chest. "I am aware and aporogize again for not retting you know beforehand. But it has been a few months since we had rast hung out." Alfred's smile spread across his entire face, looking eternally grateful. "Aww, duuuude! You can come by anytime you want if you miss me."

Japan could feel guilt rip its way inside his heart. Yes it had been a while since they hung out and he did miss it, but it had not been on his mind nearly as much as Alfred thinks it is. His mission had been his first priority.

"I don't have any video games this time so I thought we could catch up on anime. We have missed a few episodes since we were rast together."

"Sounds like a plan," Alfred replied with an enthusiastic thumbs up, before frowning to himself. "Well I'd love to but I have some crappy errands to run first. And I'd just put 'em off for a day if I could, but you know how it is." Japan nodded in understanding. "May I ask what it is you have to do?"

Alfred pursed his lips as he thought to himself, then extended his fingers to begin counting on them. "Ok let's see. You already saw the end of that long phone call with my government. Then I have to go out shopping because I don't have anything for snacks or dinner. Then I need to make another call for an upcoming meeting. Luckily I already got the brunt of my work done but I still need to help my boss with appointing judges and filling other job positions. So who knows how long that'll take."

"The beginning of a new presidency is always hard," Japan sympathized. Alfred leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling with a smile. "Well good thing I've got more experience than any country alive."

Japan offered a small smile in return, Alfred turning his head slightly to look back at him. "Which do you think I should do first? Get the long stuff out of the way first or the easy stuff?" Japan took a moment to think before replying that he should go to the store to unwind from the phone call.

Alfred thought that was a good plan and got up to go get ready. Before he left the room he turned and faced Japan. "You wanna hop along? We could use the time to catch with each other." Japan's eyes widened in surprise. He was hoping when Alfred left he could use the time to search around the house. But being directly requested to tag along his heart won't let him refuse."

"That would be nice," he ended up saying, Alfred grinning happily as they left the room. Feeling a buzz in his pocket he pulled out his phone, seeing he got a text from Hungary.

H: Zhe vire is vorking as

planned. If you're

going to catch up vith

each ozher zhen see if

you can get him to tell

you any secrets.

J: Arright

After some time the two of them got ready and hopped in Alfred's car, driving off toward town.

"So what have you been up to?" Alfred asked between bites, one hand on the wheel and the other holding a half-eaten piece of pizza. "Mostry worked on getting the Orympics set up," Japan responded, Alfred humming out loud. "Yeah? And when will they be held this time?"

"Sometime in rate July," Japan answered, Alfred clicking his tongue. "Dang, it got delayed that much huh? Guess that means I just get more time to train to win." Japan crossed his arms and eyed the other man. "Don't get too cocky, your win streak won't rast forever."

Alfred gave a smug grin and chuckled to himself. "Yeah yeah in your dreams." Spinning the steering wheel he turned the car down a road going off to the left. "I'm feeling extra confident this year. The hero will come out on top once again."

Japan let Alfred hype himself up, wanting to argue but remembering that he had to stay on track. "So how've you been America? Did you do anything fun?" He thought he could see Alfred grinning in a mischievous way, but it vanished under a light chuckle. "Oh yeah, I did something alright."

Japan gave him a weird look, and Alfred must've realized the confusion on his friend's face because he faced them fully and smiled properly. "I had the last few months mostly free from work so I took a road trip around my entire country. It was pretty sweet. If I remember correctly I notified Germany about it during the last G8 meeting."

"I remember," Japan replied. Of course he already knew very well that's what Alfred did. Though at least he knew Alfred wasn't lying about his whereabouts. "So what kind of things did you do? Your country is very big, you must have prenty of stories to terr."

"Huh? Oh yeah sure," Alfred said as he slowed the car down, stopping behind a short line of cars at a stop sign. "Where to begin. . . So first I went down to Florida, to the Everglades, and I got one of those really big, nice RVs you know? Because if I'm gonna be going across the entire country I'm gonna have to ride in style."

"There were so many animals there. The whole place is really pretty. And spooky. I saw this huge croc in the water, like it was real massive, had to have been like twenty feet right? And come nighttime the damn thing..."

He caught himself as he remembered that Natalya had told the story of fighting Ivan the crocodile. And while she only told it to the women, and drunk ones at that, he doesn't want to risk it. "The thing tried to knock over my boat." Japan looked pretty surprised when he said that, so he continued. "Yeah and it even tried to bite me at one point, you should've seen how big its mouth was. I should have Australia tag along next time I'm down there."

For the rest of the car ride Alfred listed through everywhere he went, though of course leaving out some key details. Once they arrived at the store Alfred pulled into the parking lot and the two exited the car, Alfred sliding over the hood onto Japan's side.

"So what did you do after you got back? Didn't you have to go to a meeting with Russia?" Japan questioned, seeing if saying anything about Russia could steer the conversation in a more favorable direction.

He has noticed that Alfred had failed to mention anything about Natalya. Given the time frame, the vacation would start right after the murder took place, and if Molossia and Sealand were both with Alfred then that would mean there's only two possible explanations for Natalya's location. Either she was at Alfred's house alone, or she was with the other three in the RV. Could she have possibly snuck into Alfred's house while he was gone? And then simply refused to leave after the other three came back? Or did Alfred think it was safest to keep her near him?

"Yo, Japan?! You there dude?" Alfred called out, Japan realizing he had gotten lost in his thoughts. He now noticed they were both in the store and Alfred had already grabbed a shopping cart. "Uh, hai." Alfred laughed at Japan's shock and crossed his arms on the cart's handle, pushing it forward with his body. "Good, I thought I was losing you there. Something on your mind?"

"No I just rost my train of thought for a moment," Japan said a little too quickly, growing worried that Alfred had somehow read his thoughts. Alfred silently stared Japan in the face for a couple seconds before looking forward and starting to talk.

"Ok cool as I was saying yeah I did go to a meeting in Russia, just for the bastard to not show up. Sure he was probably intimidated by my badassery but I would've just stayed home if I knew beforehand."

"That is frustrating," Japan agreed, sighing inwardly. So that didn't work. Now Alfred is just going to rant about Russia for who knows how long. "Speaking of Russia, have you heard about any updates between him and China?" Alfred looked to his left and grabbed a few bags of chips, debating very hard between choosing the purple Doritos and the flamin' hot ones. "I wish, but I don't have a good source of info on that kinda stuff... not yet anyway." He decided to just take both flavors.

"By the way you can get yourself something if you want," he offered, Japan shaking his head. "I couldn't." Alfred tilted his head toward Japan and gave him a knowing look. It isn't too common but this isn't the first time they've gone shopping together. He knows Japan will be too polite to ever just go and grab something, so he'll just stay silent. If his friend truly wants something then he'll get it.

"You keeping up with your manga?" He asked after minute, looking off toward boxes of cheese it'z and bags of Cheetos. Japan stared seriously at the back of Alfred's head. "I was thinking of working together with Hungary on a new one. It is going to be about a man getting caught up in a secret rove. She is very passionate about it."

"Oh yeah?" Alfred wondered with an intrigued laugh, picking up a few family sized boxes and bags with one hand and dropping it in the cart. "Just keep the NTR and tentacles out of it and maybe I'll have to check it out."

Japan raised an eyebrow at Alfred, already feeling the notification on his phone from Hungary wondering the same thought as him. "Rearry? Is that something that... interests you?" Alfred shrugged and turned the cart down another aisle, now in the dairy section. "Yeah why not? It could be cute. You could make them get into all sorts of hijinks together. I like lighthearted stuff like that. For manga anyway."

"I... wirr take note of that," Japan said slowly, pulling out his phone. Sure enough Hungary told him to say what he already said. She also told him to continue that line of questioning. So putting his phone back in his pocket he followed after Alfred, who had quickly sped through to the candy aisle.

"Are you arso running out of candy?" He asked, wondering how Alfred could be so out of everything at his house. "Uh... Yes," Alfred responded strangely. Japan observed as Alfred methodically searched through the bags of candy, rather than his usual method of dragging his arm through the whole shelf. That was certainly new. He also wasn't grabbing many types of candies he usually eats.

There were plenty of dark chocolates and a lot of things that either included marshmallows or that of a similar texture. Not many gummies or hard candies, which he typically enjoys. "Strange," Japan thought out loud, Alfred looking at him in shock. "What do you mean?"

"I don't mean any offense, it's simpry that you do not usually buy these kinds of candy. I find it pecuriar," Japan stated as politely as he could, not wanting to offend the man for what he ate. Alfred stared down at the bag of candy in his hand, his eyes full of fondness as he went into his thoughts. "Yeah... I guess I don't eat this." Blinking a couple times he smiled and tossed the bag into the shopping cart. "Figure I might as well try them. I see them here all the time."

Japan waited for Alfred to be done picking out candy before asking his next question. "So what kind of rerationships do you rike? If you enjoy things that are righthearted." Alfred was perplexed with that question. "Well... what does that mean? I like good relationships, I guess? Definitely not like most of the kind of stuff that goes on in manga. Anyway I thought we had this conversation before," he dismissed with a flick of his wrist. Japan and France have asked him far too often about relationships.

"I don't really think about stuff like that. A hero doesn't have time for relationships. Have you read a comic book? A hero's loved ones get put in danger like, once a week. I can't do that to someone. Plus that would be a big hassle on my part."

"Even if that roved one was more than capable on their own?" Japan fired back, Alfred rolling his eyes. "The nations aren't so easily under threat. Especially not now. If there was a time where you could settre down and be safe it would be now."

"Settle down? Alfred F. Jones doesn't... settle down. And dude, the nations? Ignoring the fact that so many of them are a bajillion years too old, they're all basically coworkers at this point." Alfred reached over and began grabbing multiple packages of meat.

"Didn't stop Superman and Rois Rane," Japan pointed out, Alfred leaning one arm on the cart handle and frowning at his friend. "Ok first of all, Superman and Lois aren't immortal. Well Superman might be, it's kinda confusing. But Lois definitely isn't and so they need as much time together as they can get. And second, Superman doesn't need to worry about Jimmy Olsen or his other coworkers using his relationship in some screwed up scheme or way to get leverage. So yeah I think I'll pass on that."

Japan nodded and turned sharply as Alfred nearly missed the bread isle. "I understand that. But hypotheticarry speaking, if you did want to get into dating, what would you be rooking for?" Alfred paid him little attention and grabbed a few loaves of bread with a grin. "A never-ending burger."

"I'm sorry?" Japan wondered while blinking a few times, not quite understanding. Alfred gave a toothy grin in return. "Totally serious. If I could be with anyone I'd be with something I truly love. And what could be better than an infinity burger?"

Japan didn't even know what to say. Could they have gotten it wrong? Japan knows from experience that Alfred can be cunning when he wants to be, but would they really go so far to act like this just to hide a relationship? This is how Alfred has viewed relationships for as long as Japan has known him, maybe he really just doesn't care to have one. But then what about the lingerie? Was it a prank? Maybe for a human? Or maybe Alfred was the one that was pranked. What if Alfred bought it on a whim just because he felt like it, it wouldn't be too far fetched for someone like him.

Japan was so stumped he stayed quiet for the rest of the shopping trip, and before he knew it the both of them were back in the car going to Alfred's home. Luckily Alfred was talkative enough to speak for both of them.

Though as a ringing filled the car Alfred stopped talking and Japan looked down at the armrest between the two seats, Alfred's phone vibrating from the noise and slowly sliding toward him. He tried reaching down to grab it but before he could touch it Alfred quickly snatched it up and put it to his ear. One hand on the phone and the other on the steering wheel.

"Yo! Uh, what happened to me calling?" Alfred asked with a laugh. Japan could hear what sounded like a woman's voice through the phone. He couldn't figure out what they were talking about but their voice was very familiar. From the tone of Alfred's voice he seemed to also be familiar with this person, but that could also just be his usual friendliness.

"Anyway what I was thinking we could do is— huh? Yeah. Ok. Yeah, yup. That's what I was gonna say. We're on the same page then cool, that makes things way easier," Alfred said, visibly relaxing a bit. "So we go to Ukraine, right? We meet up with her, maybe hang out at her place for a little bit just to relax, then we brief her about our plan. I think with her we could have a quick in and out."

After the voice said something into the phone Alfred let out a loud laugh, starling Japan a little. "It's not gonna be that awkward. Just let me do that talking." After a moment his face morphed into a subtle and pleasant smile. "I know, me too. We'll meet up soon don't you worry about that."

Turning his head a little bit he noticed Japan watching him, so he crossed his eyes and making a yapping gesture with his hand. It made Japan smile a bit and turn his attention back at the road. And hopefully off of Alfred's back for a second.

Once they arrived at the house they both got out and popped the trunk, Japan grabbing a couple bags to carry in while Alfred looped the rest on one arm, the other arm still holding the phone. "Hopefully Russia shouldn't really be an issue. That's the whole point of this after all. Or that's the idea anyway."

The two entered the house and walked to the kitchen, putting the bags on the floor. As Alfred put the cold items away he told Japan to just leave everything else out for now, he would get the rest of it once he was done with his call.

As he walked toward one the exits to the kitchen he looked back at Japan, covering the phone's mic. "I don't know how long this'll take, so just hang out for a bit and get the tv ready. Hopefully this shouldn't take too long."

Japan simply nodded and watched Alfred leave, waiting for a few moments before also leaving to start his investigating. Unfortunately he could hear that Alfred was walking upstairs, meaning he was likely going to his room and preventing Japan from snooping there.

Starting from the living room he looked around while simultaneously turning on the tv and selecting the anime the two of them would watch later. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary here. During his inspection Alfred's cat jumped onto the couch, startling Japan. "Hi there Hero," he greeted while scratching the cat under the chin.

The cat purred in delight and decided to follow Japan as they went through the hallway to the next room, doing a quick scan of the right side bathroom and music room, also finding nothing. Afterwords he entered the foyer and stopped, Hero rubbing their face against his leg.

Now he had to choose if he wanted to finish checking the first floor or move onto the second. The only rooms he hasn't checked yet are the study, the cellar, and the left bathroom, though he was fairly certain he wasn't going to find anything there. Before going to the stairs he took one look around the foyer, his eyes catching the map for choosing rooms.

Walking over to it he thought back to how he never chose a room due to running up Alfred's water bill if he stayed around too long. Out of everything the two have been through together it's the water bill that gets Alfred the most upset. Japan feels bad for it but a part of him does also find it pretty humorous.

Reading over the names he suddenly paused, noticing that Natalya had her name written down in one of the rooms, the one across from Alfred's. It shouldn't be too surprising given she stayed here for a while, but she doesn't need to be given a room. Sealand comes by all the time and he doesn't have a designated room. Plus it's not like she's going to be coming back, right?

Furthermore the handwriting is a lot neater than Alfred's, not the kind of thing that would be seen if Natalya was kept here against her will. It seems increasingly likely that Prussia's theory is correct. Hungary isn't going to like that.

Quickly he took a picture with his phone and moved on to the second floor, deciding to check the room Natalya had stayed in. Double checking that Alfred wasn't about to leave his room Japan quickly slipped into the room and closed the door behind him, Hero following him and jumping up onto the bed. The bed was covered in cat fur. The cat must like sleeping here.

The room itself looked pretty barren, and upon checking the drawers and closet he unfortunately found nothing. Though he shouldn't be too surprised given he watched Natalya leave with a bunch of suitcases. At least that shows she isn't expecting to come back. Typically those with rooms leave some clothes and belongings so they don't have to pack so much for the trip.

Leaving the room he left it slightly opened like how he found it, Hero deciding to stay inside and go to sleep. He doubted there was anything on the third floor, and had no way into the panic room to hack the cameras, so that left him with Alfred's room, which was risky but could be the best place to find something. As long as Alfred wasn't in there like Japan believes.

Coming up to the door he couldn't hear anything inside, no talking on the phone or the sound of movement, meaning Alfred might be in his study. So very slowly he cracked open the door, until it was open enough to poke his head in. To his relief Alfred wasn't there, meaning the room wasn't off limits, and now with the door open he could hear muffled speaking from the study.

"I'll just fly my private plane. That way we avoid all the TSA crap and keep as many eyes off us as possible."

Japan wonders what they're talking about and who they're telling this to. It sounds like he's setting up a secret meeting with Ukraine. But also not talking to Ukraine but rather someone that's part of the meeting. It's not his boss since it's a woman's voice, so maybe it's someone from his delegation that will be going with him to Ukraine. He'll ask about it when Alfred's done on the phone.

Searching through Alfred's own dresser he didn't find anything out of the ordinary, though he did learn that Alfred has Superman themed underwear.

Walking over to the closet he opened it up to find the lingerie. From collaborating with Alfred on creating figures for all the nations he has a decent estimate on Natalya's measurements. So if he can get his hands on the lingerie he can see if it's a match.

But as he slid open the door he was struck with the sight of nothing. Alfred's normal pile of clothes was there, but the lingerie was completely gone. Japan's heart sank. 'Where is it? Did Arfred hide it? Was it trury Berarus' and she took it with her?' He frantically searched for it but there was nothing.

Going to the bathroom in Alfred's room he checked the dirty laundry, but there wasn't anything there either. Pulling out his phone he called Hungary and left the room, speeding down the stairs to recheck the other two bathrooms.

"Japan? Vhat's up did somesing happen?" Hungary asked in concern, worried Japan's cover had been blown. "It's gone Hungary," Japan responded as he made it to the first bathroom, practically ripping the washing machine and dryer open.

"Vhat's gone?" Prussia's voice spoke up from somewhere in the background. Hungary must've put him on speaker. "The ringerie. I checked America's croset and it was missing. I'm checking the bathrooms right now," he said while speed walking to the bathroom across the house.

"Did he move it? Or did Belarus take it vhen she left?" Hungary wondered. "That's what I was thinking," Japan responded as he reached the bathroom, checking that washing machine and dryer too but with nothing to show for it. "It's not here."

"Vell zhat's just great. Zhe vone piece of evidence ve have for Alfred's relationship just up and fuck's off somevhere," Prussia spat, crossing his arms with a huff. Japan sighed and made his way back to the stairs. "We don't have an easy way to check Russia's house, if Berarus did indeed take it."

"I could get in srough Ukraine, but zhere's no guarantee I'd be able to get in Belarus' room and snoop around," Hungary stated, feeling disappointed once more. "Ask him about it. Ve don't have much of a choice at zhis point."

"Hai," Japan agreed, feeling defeated as he hung up the phone and went back into Alfred's room. There were still a couple places he could check, though he didn't expect to find much. Poking his head out onto the balcony he looked around, but obviously he found nothing.

"I trust Ukraine, she's kept a secret before. And as you've said she's not exactly on great terms with Russia. I doubt she'd have any reason to tell him anything." Japan could hear Alfred more clearly now that he was standing near the door. And it did seem like Alfred was planning something behind Russia's back, which isn't too unordinary.

Turning back to the rest of the room he had one place to check, that being the nightstand. So Japan trudged over and opened the drawer, surprising himself when he found a piece of paper inside, facing downward. Picking it up he turned it over, finding a lot of writing in the same handwriting as Natalya's name on the house map.

Unfortunately as he only got about a third of the way through reading before the door behind him opened, Alfred's voice now much louder and clearer than before. "We'll talk more about it later. I've got company over at the moment. . . See ya."

Hanging up the phone he put it in his pocket and looked forward, going stiff upon seeing Japan sitting on his bed and staring back at him, a piece of paper in their hands and his nightstand drawer wide open. He had to fight to keep himself from frowning.

"Why are you snooping around my stuff?" He asked with a laugh while walking over to Japan, but Japan could see that Alfred was offended and threatened by his actions. Before he could begin explaining himself Alfred snatched the paper from his hands and tossed it back into the nightstand.

"America what was that? Why did Berarus write you a retter?" Japan asked, Alfred balling his hands into fists. Why should he answer anything? He's not the one being suspicious and going through other people's shit. He asked his question first.

But taking a moment to calm down he understood that he's been caught, and couldn't get out through a lie. He doesn't even know how much Japan read before he caught him. And the longer he tries to dance around it the more Japan's going to ask questions.

Rubbing his head he looked at the wall and tried not to blush. "So to make a long story short after Belarus had that whole situation with her brother I was the one that took her in, since I lived so close. And so she was just thanking me for doing that."

"She thanked you?" Japan followed up, more surprised by that than finding the note. Alfred laughed and put his hands on his hips. "I know right? That's why I kept the note. That shit's limited edition."

"Oh," was all Japan could say. That was more straightforward than he was expecting. But it still didn't explain what Natalya is to Alfred. And why she chose to go along with him rather than go on her own. But he didn't get to ask more because Alfred crashed onto the bed and stared him down. "But seriously dude. What are you searching through my stuff for?"

Now it was Japan's turn to be honest with Alfred, or as much as he can without revealing his plans. "I am trury sorry for what I did. Rast time I was here you asked me to retrieve your warret from your room, and whire I was there I had noticed you had ringerie in your croset." Based on Alfred's reaction they knew what he was talking about. "I was curious but was not sure how to ask you about it without making you uncomfortable."

After a few seconds Alfred grinned and wrapped his arm around Japan's shoulders. "Dude that's what you were worried about? Yeah an old lady gave me those."

"Ah... wait what?" Japan wondered, his eyes narrowed in thought and bewilderment. Alfred cackled and stood up. "It's pretty funny. So what happened is that I know these two old people in town, right? And the wife wants me to get out more because she thinks I do nothing but work. So she gave me that thing saying it's for when I finally find someone."

"That's... odd," Japan said blankly, Alfred laughing in agreement. "Exactly. You don't expect old people to be like that, and that makes it hilarious. But anyway I eventually returned the thing to the store. It's not really my thing."

"Oh that's... disappointing," Japan said quietly. "Huh?" Alfred wondered loudly, making Japan flinch. "It's nothing. I aporogize again for rooking through your stuff."

"Don't sweat it man, just ask me instead if you get curious about something," Alfred offered, standing up and walking toward the door. "I'm guessing you already have the tv ready if you're up here?"

Japan nodded and followed Alfred out. "One more thing. What were you talking about on the phone? If it's not confidentiar." Alfred looked behind him briefly while continuing to walk. "Oh it's just more military aid talks with Ukraine. There's a lot of drama around them since my last boss got impeached over stuff involving it, so I like to keep it on the down low. Besides, the less Russia knows the better."

"I suppose that makes sense," Japan replied as the two went back to walking quietly, looking down as he pulled out his phone.

J: Did you get arr that?

H: Ja

J: I think we have the

answers we need for

the murder mystery

I wasn't abre to get

a picture of Berarus'

note. Though I did

find out that she

picked a room here

Based on what I

read and her choosing

to be here, I berieve

Prussia's theory for

the murder mystery

was correct

H: I don't know vhezher

to be happy or upset

But sank you anyvay,

now ve can put our

focus on zhe mystery

lover

J: But didn't you hear

about the ringerie?

Without that we don't

even know if there is

a rover

H: Maybe not. But you

and Prussia both

have told me zhat

America can be

cunning vhen he

vants to. Don't take

vhat he says at face

value

He could also be telling

zhe truth, but let's

first confirm if Belarus

has it or not

J: Okay

I don't think there

is anything more for

me to find. Maybe I

could get more out of

America but he may

be too suspicious with

arr my questions

H: Ja, it's probably vise

to leave it alone for

now. Good vork for

today

Thank you, I wirr do

my best to rearn more