Sakura School Days (Countryhumans Neko Japan)

Chapter 3

things are about to get cranked up so buckle your seatbelt teehee

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After eating her dinner, Japan went up to her room to start on homework. She had been unusually quiet and hadn't answered some of Taiwan and Mongolia's questions about her day. She was still upset about what she had seen and heard earlier. Japan sighed, pulling out her worksheets. She sat down in her swivel chair and put in earbuds in, selecting her lo-fi instrumental playlist on her phone. 

Ukraine had no business flirting with Canada like that. Canada said he didn't like her, so she should've backed off,  Japan thought as she moodily scribbled answers down to some math problems. Canada was only trying to help her with her homework, but what if  he had other intentions? Japan shook her head as to shake the thought away. He wouldn't do that. He's not that kind of person. Japan had finished her first worksheet and was halfway through the second one when her phone buzzed. Thinking it was a text from Canada, she ignored it. It buzzed a second, third, and even fourth time, and she sighed in annoyance as she picked it up to read it.

>Hey Japan! it's America. Canada gave me your number, and I was wondering if you'd like to come over to our house for a party

>Please?

>My parents are out of town

>Canada wants you to come, he said there's someone he wants you to meet

Japan raised an eyebrow. House party? She looked at her half-finished worksheet. It was Friday, and she could get it done over the weekend. 

>sure! sounds fun. what time does it start?

She regretted sending the message as soon as she hit send. What if Ukraine was there? She probably would be, since Canada was her friend...or maybe something more. America responded not even a millisecond later.

>8:00 PM. See ya there!🤙

Japan sat back in her chair. Who was this "mystery person" Canada wanted her to meet? She checked the time. 7:00. She would have time to finish up her worksheet and get ready. She completed her worksheet in record time, stuffing it into her bag without bothering to check her answers like she usually did. She changed her music, selecting a J-Pop playlist, and walked over to her closet. Japan chose a beige off-shoulder sweater, ripped jeans, and white sneakers, changing quickly. she also did her makeup, adding sparkly accents for the "party" aspect. 

She walked downstairs, feeling confident. "Tai? Mon? I'm heading out for my first official party this school year!" She beamed. "Congrats!" Mongolia said, typing something on his laptop. "Just be careful, okay? Make sure you don't get drunk." Taiwan said, a look of worry crossing his face Japan laughed and nodded. Taiwan was the oldest of the three, and acted like the mom of the group. Japan grabbed her purse and car keys, yelled her goodbyes, then got into her car and drove away.

She turned up the radio, typed in the address to Canada and America's house into her GPS, and drove away.

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Japan arrived a few minutes early. The house was much bigger than she expected, with window boxes and even a balcony of all things on the second floor. She parked her car to the side, where there were already three other cars. She texted America to let him know of her arrival, and knocked on the door. America himself answered. "Hi, Japan! Come on in." Japan followed him inside. The house was huge, and she could see Canada, Russia, and a few other countries she had never seen before in the living room. 

"Hey Canada," She said softly. "Oh, hey!" he replied. He had a package of paper plates and his hand, and his was busy trying to unstick them from each other. Russia was on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table, chugging alcohol from a glass bottle. Japan got closer to Canada. "Who is this person you wanted me to meet?" she whispered to him. Canada's eyes widened. "Oh, Ame told you? Hey, South Korea!" He yelled over his shoulder. A country with a red-and-blue circle flag lifted his head in attention. He had been setting up a speaker and laptop to play music, and he put his headphones down to come over to them. 

"What's up, Nada?" he asked. "South? This is Japan." Canada said, gesturing towards her. "Hey! I'm South Korea." Japan's ears flattened. She was shocked at how...good-looking this country was. "H-hey," She mumbled. "Do you have any song requests for tonight?" He asked, making eye contact with her. "I-I'm not sure yet. Let me think about it." "Okay. Just let me know!" South went back to his laptop, putting his headphones back on and plugging in a speaker. 

"You okay?" Canada asked her. "Y-yeah." Japan stuttered. There was another knock at the door. "Hey-yo! brought the snacks!" This came from Australia, who came bursting in with lots of grocery bags, with New Zealand following behind. "Nice!" America yelled, helping load them onto a card table. "The drinks are on me," Russia said, clumsily getting up from his seat. "I forgot to get them out of my car." "I'll help you unload," Canada said, leaving Japan with South Korea.

Japan inhaled deeply, working up the nerve to go and talk to him again. "You sit at the Music Table in the cafeteria right?" she asked. "Yeah," South said, flipping a switch. "I sometimes sit with the Fun Group though. They don't seem to mind." Worried that she was making him a little uncomfortable, Japan switched topics. "I love music too. What's your favorite genre?" South broke into a huge grin. "You do? I prefer K-Pop of course." Japan smiled. "I like J-Pop, lo-fi, and sometimes electro swing." "That's cool! I really like electro swing." He tapped a few keys on his laptop. "One of the main reasons why I like music is because I can hear colors." he said, a small smile pulling at his lips. Japan's tail twitched. "That's really cool." She commented. "You think so? Most people don't believe me." South Korea dug around in his hoodie pocket for a minute, then pulled out a pair of wired earbuds. He took off his headphones and plugged the earbuds into his laptop.

"Put this in," He instructed Japan, handing her one of the earbuds. He put the other in his own ear and selected an electro swing song on his laptop. As the music began to play, he closed his eyes, listening. Japan studied his face. It was lovely. South opened his eyes, which Japan noticed were caramel brown. "I hear gold in that song, and as the beat kicks in, swirls of dark blue." He nodded, then continued playing the song for them to finish listening. Japan smiled at him, and he returned it. Japan's heart fluttered. 

"What are you up to?" A voice asked. South Korea hurriedly unplugged the earbuds and Japan handed her end over. "Just listening." South said, shoving the earbuds away and pulling up a new tab on his laptop. The voice belonged to America, who was now looking at the pair smugly.

"Can you help us with the drinks, Japan?" He asked. Japan nodded slowly, not wanting to leave South. "Thanks for listening." He said as Japan walked off with America. "Next thing you know, you'll be calling him South Korea-chan." America smirked as they were arranging the drinks on the counter. Japan elbowed him in the ribs. "Not funny." She said, glaring at him. "Even Russia could tell. You two are over the moon for each other." Japan felt her face warm. "Shut up," She muttered, filling up plastic cups with ice. Soon, countries began arriving, pouring in through the front door like a colorful tidal wave. America and Canada went around high-fiving countries, exchanging greetings, and laughing happily. Japan decided to stay as close to South as she could that night.

Ukraine was there, just like Japan knew she would be, and she remained awfully close to Canada, making sneaky grabs at his waist. Japan looked away, checking the time on her phone. 7:55. The party was about to begin. 

At 8:00 PM sharp, the lights were turned off, multi-colored lights were activated, and South Korea started the night off with a bang with a good pop song that even the most music-loathing country couldn't bop along to.