Otaku Central {Japan x Reader}

“I’m not staying without you. I want to… be close to you. Is that okay?”

You glanced around the living room. America was running around so fast that he looked straight-up like a frantic blur. No, a tornado. Or maybe even Taz the Tasmanian Devil. Yeah—that was it.

“Shitshitshit, I am so late, like for reals dude!” He panicked, bolting back up the stairs to grab some more superhero t-shirts.

You watched him scurry around the mansion in amusement. Giggling as he tripped back down the stairs, hands full of Marvel shirts, you suggested, “Don’t forget to pack boxers again.”

…Emphasis on the ‘again’.

He stopped midway through shoving the shirts into a random suitcase, “Oh yeah! Those too! Man, I’m just bouta boycott those things…” He grumbled before sprinting back to his bedroom.

As you sat on the couch leafing through your newest Shonen Jump magazine, you heard America continue to pack more random stuff for Europe. With a sigh, you thought, He’ll never learn to be on-time, will he?

“…I swear, I totally forgot about this meeting! So don’t gimme that look…” He whined as he noticed your slightly irritated expression.

You dropped the thought and smiled. “It’s fine. Just hurry up—your plane leaves soon doesn’t it?”

He glanced at his Superman watch.

“…CRAP, IT DOES!” And thus he continued his mad-packing; quietly muttering out stuff that sounded like ‘they’re always bugging me lately’ and “Why can’t they run a continent without me?!”.

You chuckled at that last part—you knew you heard it loud and clear. Putting down your magazine, you cheerfully responded, “Oh, because you’re allied with basically all of Europe. And, of course, there’s the fact that you’re the top world super power.” Grinning cheekily, you added, “Europe simply can’t function without you~!”

He momentarily stopped cramping hamburgers into the side of his suitcase and glanced towards you, “Oh? …You’ve been researching me again, haven’t you?” He grinned at the idea.

You nodded gleefully. Earlier you’d Googled ‘strongest countries in the world’ and all of the sites on the first page said America was number one.

—Of course, the words extremely patriotic couldn’t begin to describe your love for him.

He laughed and set down his overflowing suitcase. Walking over to you, he giddily patted your head. “Ahahaha, good!”

Needless to say, he was happy to know that you looked up to him. Much more than he let on. Ever since he became your big brother, he loved and cared for you more than anything else in the world.

In fact, maybe he loved you a little too much. His mansion was enormous, and yet he insisted you share a room with him anyway. He even made you sleep in the same bed as him, since he claimed he’d protect you (and ‘be your hero’, of course) in case something bad happened.  Since you’d recently found out you two were blood-related, you didn’t mind. And apparently, neither did he—if you know what I mean.

“So, you gonna be bored while I’m gone?” He asked as he bent down to finish closing his suitcase.

You scoffed, “No way. I can have fun without you while you’re on business.”

Since you represented the American state of the famous Florida, you did not think you’d be lonely. After all, you knew how to party better than anyone else on the continent—and that was just one of the many reasons why you were America’s favorite person ever.

Although, he clearly thought otherwise about your response. He didn’t want you to think that being an American state was boring; even if you assured him that you’d have fun without him. He was always very protective of you and wanted nothing but your happiness. “But…” He mumbled, unsure of how to explain his different plans for you.

Close friends or other allies often teased him for his overprotectiveness, but he didn’t think much of it. You didn’t either—you loved him too.  Your adorable brother-sister relationship with him was far stronger than anyone’s; even Switzerland and Liechtenstein’s. Although, even Switzerland teased America from time to time whenever he gave you ‘brotherly’ kisses.

“Hey, since everyone says I act like you’re my girlfriend, why don’t you just be my girlfriend?” America had once asked you—rather bluntly—with an innocent grin on his handsome face.

To which you’d scoffed with an embarrassed pout, “You’re my BROTHER!” You’d said, lightly punching him on the shoulder; unable to keep back the grin on your face.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, suddenly noticing his hesitance.

He smiled sheepishly, “Well, a hero has to keep his girl safe, right? So, I kind of…” He trailed off slightly, avoiding eye contact while rubbing the back of his head.

You groaned, and facepalmed. “You did not hire me a babysitter again, did you?”

He immediately looked at you again and nodded rapidly. “Oh, you’ll love him! I just know you will! His name’s Japan—you should go visit him today!” He grinned again and flashed you a thumbs-up, cheeks blushing some.

You nearly gasped. An Asian country?! You’d never been there. “…You mean the anime place?!”

He nodded, and whipped out a plane ticket from basically out of nowhere.  “Here, this is first-class all the way to Tokyo! You’ll have fun—they have gourmet airline food ~”

But his sweet-talk didn’t get you at that moment. Inhaling sharply, you asked, “You already planned this?!”

He blushed again, “Uhm… well, I can’t let my beautiful little sister be alone and bored without me for three whole weeks-!”

Your face felt red and hot, and just as you were about to say he didn’t have to treat you like a kid, he happened to glance at the clock.

“HOLY CRAP-OLA! NOW I’M LIKE SUPERMEGATOTALLY LATE! I SWEAAAR MAN, ENGLAND’S GONNA CHOP OFF MY BALLS FOR SURE THIS TIME!” He instantly grabbed ahold of his poorly-packed suitcase and threw open the nearby front door.

Glancing at you, he hurriedly announced he had to go. He leaned down and planted a huge, wet kiss on your forehead in farewell. “I gotta run. Have fun with Japan!” He stepped out the door, but stopped to turn one last time.

“I love you, little sis! See ya in a few weeks!”

As the door slammed shut, you instinctively wiped off the sloppy smooch from your forehead. Needless to say, you were very excited to see Japan. And to ride in a first-class plane trip the entire way there. So much that you didn’t even mind that your brother had basically hired you a babysitter; since you’d recently gotten into anime, manga, and RPGs anyway.

Well… that didn’t exactly cut it. Within a few months, you had become a full-fledged otaku.

I wonder if we can go to Akihabara?... you thought as you set off to pack your stuff for Asia.

-O-T-A-K-U-C-E-N-T-R-A-L-

“Wow, I’m stuffed…” You groaned to yourself as you stepped out of your taxi. Ever since you got off your first-class plane a couple hours ago, you were still full from eating a ton of gourmet airline food. Hmm, what can I say? I’m an American!... you defended yourself.

…It didn’t matter what the flight attendants thought of you ordering literally everything on the menu, anyways.

After you paid the taxi driver and closed the passenger door, you turned on your heels to face the modern-styled Japanese house in front of you. Whoa, how pretty… you couldn’t help but think.

…I CAN’T FREAKING BELIEVE I’M IN TOKYO! you instantly thought. Earlier you’d only been able to focus on your stomachache and not the fact that you were 7,297 miles from home.

I wonder if this Japan guy will be nice?... you thought as you held tighter to your suitcase and began walking up to the sliding front door. He has to be. After all, he practically invented anime!

The sliding door almost looked like paper, so you decided against knocking and used the doorbell instead. Suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious, you hoped America hadn’t bothered Japan too much for asking him to watch over you.

After you rang the doorbell, you stood awkwardly and glanced around the house. It had a huge wooden porch with a swinging bench off to the side. You noticed a small white Shiba Inu dog sleeping on top of it, the name ‘Pochi-kun’ engraved onto its visible collar.

Just as you were admiring the cute little dog, the front door slid open.

You gasped a little and looked forward, only to come face-to-face with a kind-looking Japanese.

“Oh, hello. I’ve been expecting you. Please do come in.” He smiled politely, and gestured for you to come inside.

You smiled back and proceeded to step in. He glanced towards your suitcase, “May I take that for you?”

Blushing a little at his painfully-extreme politeness, you nodded. “Oh, sure.”

As he gently grabbed ahold of your luggage, he began walking towards a hallway. “Your room will be over here. Is that okay?”

…Of course it’s okay, silly! you thought giddily. This guy was too polite for his own good. How is he supposed to loosen up around people? It’s like you could barely even see his true personality through that polite-barrier! But of course, you representing the American state of Florida and all, you weren’t exactly used to Japanese cultural politeness.

“Sure, of course it’s okay.” You chuckled as you followed him through the house. Glancing around a bit, you noted, “This is a nice place. It’s really cool and modern!”

He nodded, stopping at a door near the end of the hall. “Thank you, Florida-chan. Now, this’ll be your room. It’s not anything special, but I do hope you enjoy your stay.” He gently opened the guest bedroom door.

Your eyes widened as soon as you saw the place. It was a huge room, with a black low-down bed, white paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, thin lightly-colored wooden squares lining the walls, and vases of Japanese cherry blossoms on the black modern nightstands.  “…This room is awesome!” You shouted in excitement, throwing your arms up and diving onto the bed.

He looked surprised for a moment, but then shook it off. “Oh— you’re a lot like your brother, aren’t you…?”

You couldn’t help but blush a little bit. People were always mistaking America for your boyfriend, rather than your brother. Those people were often the ones who said you acted in the same way as him too.

“Ahahaha, sure.” You responded with a grin.

He smiled back. But something about that smile was off. You could tell it wasn’t genuine. “Well, I’ll leave you to unpack your things. Feel free to take a bath after you are finished. I’ll be in the kitchen making soba noodles if you need me.” He bowled lightly before turning and walking out of the room.

Soba noodles? They sound delicious!... you instantly thought. Just as Japan was leaving the doorway, he added, “I trust you can find your way around here?”

You nodded. The place was nice, but a bit small compared to the mansion you lived in with America. You knew you could navigate through Japan’s house quite easily.

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He gently shut your new bedroom’s door.

Once he was gone, you helped yourself to the room’s Sony iPod dock. Plugging in your device, the speakers instantly began blasting your American music. “Now, time for some unpackin’.” You said aloud as you dropped the luggage onto your temporary bed and unzipped it.

This Japan dude… I think I’ma have to break him one of these days… You knew you wouldn’t be able to handle his routine-politeness for the next three weeks. Sooner or later, you were bound to see the real him.

Whether he wanted you to or not.

Unbeknownst to you, the said man was just outside your bedroom door. Cringing at the overly loud music, he thought with a sigh,

The American is here.

-O-T-A-K-U-C-E-N-T-R-A-L-

“These are amazing, I swear!” You managed to sputter out between mouthfuls of Soba noodles. “You needa teach me how to make these, seriously!”

Currently, you were sitting at Japan’s kotatsu, stuffing your face with his freshly-made cuisine. He smiled a bit out of courtesy, “Thank you very much. I appreciate your endorsement.”

You had already unpacked your stuff and taken a bath in Japan’s outdoor hot springs. I love this country already, you found yourself thinking as you’d soaked in the luscious, steaming mineral water.

Once you were done, he’d offered you some of his cooking. At the moment, he was sitting at the kotatsu having (read: attempting) a conversation with you.

As you slurped more of the noodles, Japan sipped elegantly on his green tea. You almost cringed at the night-and-day differences between you two.

Suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious, you tried to sit up a little straighter. But it was slightly difficult due to the fact that your legs were getting cramped from sitting over them. Goddammit—why don’t the Japanese use chairs? Hello, the pillow isn’t helping. The short table’s blanket didn’t do much either except make your knees feel sweaty.

“So…” You glanced around the room. The silence was starting to get awkward.

Japan looked up slightly, “Nani? Did you say something?”

You felt your cheeks warm up. Glancing around more frantically, you happened to notice a bookcase. Hmm, maybe there’s something to talk about over there…?!

All of a sudden, you noticed the spine of a very familiar-looking magazine.

…No way!

That comforting logo just about saved your life. You had no idea what else you could have said in that moment. “Hey… you read Shonen Jump?”

You noticed Japan’s eyes widen just the slightest. But it was so brief that you weren’t sure if it really happened or not. “Oh… hai. I do, very often.”

You felt your face light up. Another one of your people!

…It should have been expected. He is a personified version of Japan, anyways.

“Seriously? I love Shonen Jump! Which is your favorite manga?” You asked excitedly. Knowing he liked anime gave you both a lot more things to talk about. Pretty big difference to a few seconds ago when there were none.

His response was quick and spoken without a doubt, “One Piece.”

For the next few minutes, you talked animatedly with him about several other Shonen Jump manga. Which ones you liked, didn’t like, what you liked about them, what you didn’t like, and so on. It was probably the most words you heard him speak since you met him. And the first sentences he spoke to you that weren’t mannerisms.

“And yeah, so that’s what I thought of the ending. What did you think?” You were currently on the topic of the latest anime.

“I think-” He began, just as you suddenly remembered an idea from earlier.

Jumping up—and nearly knocking over the kotatsu in the process—you nearly screamed, “DUDE, I TOTALLY FORGOT! WE’RE IN FREAKING TOKYO RIGHT NOW! WHY HAVEN’T I GONE SIGHTSEEING YET?!”

Japan flinched at your yelling, “Oh… because, I believe we have been speaking of anime for the past two hours.”

You felt a prickly heat spread over your body. The kind of feeling you got from being over-excited. The words ‘two hours’ echoed in your mind as you proceeded to shout, “It’s already been two hours?!”

He nodded quietly. “But, I suppose we ca-”

“-Hey, how far are we from Akihabara?” You interrupted.

He appeared flustered as he sputtered out, “A-Akihabara? Oh… a-about twenty minutes…-”

“-THEN WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?! TAKE ME TO THE LEGENDARY OTAKU CENTRAL!” You shouted out giddily, performing a little happy-dance around the kotatsu.

He blushed just the slightest. He had never been there with another person. Only by himself. And, needless to say, he didn’t like to stand out. “Or-or we can go to the PokéPark instead. It’s back in Tokyo this year…”

You paused—that idea sounded good too.  For a moment, Japan got his hopes up; until… “Let’s go there afterwards!”

He groaned internally. You didn’t notice. You were much too distracted by thoughts of the ‘Otaku Central’; otherwise known as the Akihabara District in Tokyo.

It was world-famous for its enormous amount of anime, manga, and video game shops; plus its maid cafes, cosplay contests, and various conventions. Due to its major popularity among the otaku culture, it had become known as the ‘Anime Capital of the World’—and lived up to its title better than any other place on the planet.

You knew for sure that it did. You had done countless research on it. But before, you were over 7,000 miles away in America. Right now, you were in the middle of Tokyo, standing only about twenty minutes away from the sacred district. This could easily explain your utmost excitement. But you could barely keep yourself from hyperventilating long enough to tell that to Japan.

“Well…” You noticed him hesitate.

Frowning a bit, you remembered how Japanese were always polite out of respect. You respected him—you just weren’t used to expressing that sort of feeling in that kind of way. Deciding to try it out on him, you stopped jumping around.

Facing him, you calmly held out your hand. “Japan…” You spoke as politely as possible. “Care to visit the Anime Capital of the World with me?”

He blushed at your sudden mannerisms. Flustered, he looked into your silently pleading eyes. He could see how excited you were. And it would pain him to tell ‘no’ to that pretty face.

He sighed. “…Okay. It would be my honor to take you…Florida-chan.”

-O-T-A-K-U-C-E-N-T-R-A-L-

“Dammit Japan, move your feet already. I’m not gonna have to drag you the whole way there, am I?” You groaned as you continued on pulling his arm.

You had just stepped off the train to the outskirts of the famous Akihabara. You couldn’t see much yet, but you could tell you were getting close.

Japan, however, had barely been moving since getting off the train. If you weren’t (read: harshly) tugging on his sleeve, he’d still be standing on the train. But even with your pulling, he was still walking slowly and lagging behind you.

“B-But Florida-chan, why must you have made me wear this…” His cheeks were still tinted pink from when you’d left the house.

You glanced back at him and giggled. You’d forced him to wear your Amazon-ordered Iwatobi Swim Club cosplay jacket. It was the white one with light and dark blue trim, the club’s name ‘Iwatobi’ printed across the back.

“So you’ll fit in! And besides, you kind of do look like Haru. You know, if your eyes were blue and all. Plus with those black swim pants, the cosplay’s complete!”

He sighed again. He didn’t bother to ask why you hadn’t dressed up. He was much too embarrassed to think about anything else other than how ridiculous he thought he looked. Oh, and the fact that everyone who passed by was staring at him.

Even without him saying, you could tell he was really shy about all of this. Before leaving his place, he’d pleaded that he didn’t want to go. He claimed he could buy all of his anime merch online. But you had argued how stupid that was—why buy it online when you can sample it in-person at the biggest anime-store area in the world? Plus, he shouldn’t be embarrassed; especially when it was such a popular part of his country.

Soon, you both reached the large gates to Akihabara.

Words could barely describe your immediate infatuation with the place. There were countless tall buildings; the district appearing as though it could be a city itself. But, all of the buildings were either anime shops, manga shops, or video game shops. Many had posters on their windows, displaying the latest shows and series. Billboards were on nearly every building, advertising either maid cafes or conventions. There was an enormous screen on top of a particularly tall building in the middle of the district, which showed Hatsune Miku addressing the crowd for any song requests.

“This is so cool! Do you know how hard it is to find a person who likes anime in America? While here, it’s like—it’s totally normal to love it!” You gushed cheerfully.

Japan nodded, “Hai. It is not unusual for anime characters to be on pizza boxes, soda cans, or billboards anywhere in my country…”

You looked around some more. There were several other cosplayers walking down the streets, some of them handing out flyers. “Hey Japan, wanna go see what they’re handing out?” You didn’t wait for a response. You skipped right over to a professional-looking Kingdom Hearts cosplayer.

“Hey, what are those for?” You asked him, just as Japan caught up with you.

The cosplayer grinned and handed you a flyer to an on-going anime convention. “Here. This con’s happening down the street from where we’re standing. It’s kind of a big deal—one of the district’s biggest conventions. Check it out maybe?” You nearly squealed. His voice sounded just like Riku’s. By the looks of it, you had just met the real-live version of him right here in the Anime Capital.

“Awesome! A convention? Japan, let’s go!” And thus you began dragging him again.

As you got closer to the convention center, the crowds got bigger. It was much more packed in this area. But you didn’t care—you pushed straight through. And with the human symbol of Japan trailing slowly behind you, they didn’t mind being cut in line by you two.

Soon, you made it into the convention. Even without buying a ticket or getting a wristband. You guessed Japan got an all-expenses-paid benefit for simply being Japan.

“Hey—I think that’s the vendor hall! Wanna go in?” You asked him, excitement clearly in your voice.

He eyed it carefully, “I suppose…”

The line to get into the vendor hall was pretty long, and nearly everyone in it was in-costume. You had practically seen cosplays for every show you’d ever watched.

“Okay. Come on~!”

As soon as you walked in, you instantly gasped in shock. You were expecting to see a lot of anime merchandise, and a lot of anime merchandise you saw.

The vendor hall was absolutely gigantic. The size would put Cinderella’s ballroom to shame. There were rows and rows of booths, each selling different items. Posters for sale lined the walls, mostly for popular shonens such as One Piece, Bleach, Fairy Tail, Naruto, and classics such as Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Inuyasha, and—of course, Pokémon.

The closest booth to you was full of plushies. You nearly fangasm’d as you saw adorable plushies for characters from Soul Eater, Black Butler, D.Gray-man, Sword Art Online, Full Metal Alchemist, Blue Exorcist, and many, many more.

“Wow! We need to keep looking around. It’ll probably take forever to see everything that’s being sold.” You commented as you started walking through the vendors.

Japan nodded and quietly followed behind you.  A girl dressed as Misa from Death Note noticed him and even asked to take a picture of his cosplay. You almost wanted to sing ‘I told you that you’d fit in’ to him.

As he was being swarmed by Free fangirls, you checked out the huge library of manga, long racks of anime t-shirts, many tables of trinkets such as anime key chains, phone charms, and wallets; plus the several different Ouran, Vampire Knight, and Durarara body pillows. Wow, these pillows are as tall as me! And the character on this one looks like he’s getting ready to-

The hand on your shoulder interrupted your thoughts. “Oh, are you still looking, Florida-chan?” Apparently Japan was finished with his photo shoot.

“Oh! N-No, I wasn’t looking at this, what gave you that idea…?!” You quickly shoved away the body pillow.

He eyed you curiously. “Okay. Was there anything else you wanted to see?” You noticed he had the latest Attack on Titan and Hitman Reborn manga volumes in his left hand.

You glanced down at the stuff you’d already bought. “Not in here. But we don’t exactly have to leave yet…” There were still a few things you wanted to look at. You hadn’t even gotten to the otome video games yet.

“Alright.”

You continued on walking through the rows, this time with Japan by your side. I wonder if he still feels shy about being here?... you thought.

He was still quiet as ever, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, and blushing any time someone said they liked his cosplay.

…Yep, he was still uncomfortable.

“Hey… what are you being so shy for?” You blurted out curiously.

His cheeks were a bit pink as he looked at you, “I-I’m sorry…”

You smiled. “No need to apologize. I want you to have fun too, you know.”

He looked down, “I understand.”

“You should feel a bit more at home with your people—especially these people! But… you know… with the people of your country in general…” You didn’t exactly know what to say. But anything to make him feel better would be nice. Except, you weren’t precisely sure about how a personified country should feel around his nation’s citizens.

Japan nodded again. “I shall try.”

Right at that moment, someone bumped into your shoulder. Taken by surprise, you quickly whipped around.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! Did I hurt you?”

Grinning at the girl’s cuteness, you responded, “Nope. Not at all.”

She smiled in relief. “That’s good…”

You noticed she was in a perfect Haruhi Suzimiya cosplay. It was so perfect that she looked like the legit 3D-version of Haruhi herself. “Anyway, I was just in a hurry to host the Cosplay Contest. If you have time, care to check it out? It’ll take place in Panel Room C~!” And with that, she ran off again, microphone already in hand.

As she left, you slowly turned to face Japan. “We. Must. Attend. The. Cosplay. Contest.” You deadpanned through clenched teeth.

Flustered, he quickly nodded. “Oh, of-of course-!”

Hmm, Panel Room C? I think that’s nearby… you remembered seeing the sign for it when coming in. As you made your way there, you noticed all the other events happening in the neighboring panel rooms.

There was a Question-and-Answer—otherwise known as a Q&A—going on in Panel Room B for popular Japanese voice actors. As you passed by, you noticed they were re-voicing some of the fans’ favorite lines from shows and video games. That looks like fun too.

In Panel Room D, there was an ongoing AMV (or Anime Music Video) contest. From the open door, you could see the lights were off, and an audience was viewing the videos from a large screen.  “This is War” by Thirty Seconds to Mars was heard through the speakers, while a high-quality action/drama AMV was playing. That also looks freakin’ fun!

Right next to Panel Room D, there were Panel Rooms E and F. One had a ‘Video Game Room’ banner across it. A sign below it also said ‘Super Smash Bros. Brawl Tournament on Saturday 12pm-3pm’. The banner for Panel Room F said ‘Card Room’, where you could hear the shuffling of Yu-gi-oh and Pokémon decks. This convention is like never-ending epicness…!

“Okay, even though there are tons of other awesome things to do, we have to watch the Cosplay Contest. Doesn’t it seem fun?” You asked Japan as you walked into Panel Room C.

“I-I guess…” He mumbled, just as you emerged into the room.

Like the vendor hall, the panel room was enormous. There were at least fifty rows of chairs with around one hundred chairs in each. Most were already taken, since the contest was about to start. The stage was about as long as the chairs stretched, a few lights already shining down on its platform.

“We gotta hurry! Come on!” You whisper-yelled as the ceiling lights dimmed and stage-lights brightened. You quickly pulled Japan to sit in a chair near the very back corner—the only non-occupied row left.

As soon as you both sat down, a popular J-pop song began playing through the speakers. The very same Haruhi Suzimiya cosplayer you bumped into earlier appeared on the stage, waving as people clapped for her. “Hello everyone—and welcome to the 2014 Tokyo International Anime Convention!” She paused as the crowds of people woo’d and clapped excitedly.

Once they quieted down, she smiled and added, “This year, I’ll be hosting the Cosplay Contest. We already have our contestants lined up backstage, so be ready! I like to keep things short, so without further ado, let’s all give a nice applause for YOKO from GURREN LAGANN!” And with that, she stepped off to the side, allowing room for the cosplayer to come out and perform a short skit.

Soon after, more and more amazing cosplayers went up and displayed their costumes. Some were in groups, some were in doubles, and some were solo. But, the groups got the most applause, since they performed the best skits. You almost felt a bit jealous—they all looked exactly like the character they were portraying. It was as though they made them come to life.

Near the end of the show, you glanced over towards Japan. He’d been quiet, never applauded once, but you could sense that he was enjoying the contest. As the second-to-last cosplayer went back behind the curtain, you nudged your host quietly. “Y’know, your cosplay is really good too. You should’ve signed up to be in this.”

He gasped a little, to your amusement. Blushing again, he sputtered, “I-I could never do such a thing. I am a bit too shy for these things…”

The final cosplayer went up. Paying no attention to her, you asked Japan quietly, “Why is that?”

He looked down in mortification of just thinking about the idea. “I would get terrible stage-fright.”

As you were talking to him, the contest ended. Awesome-Haruhi-Suzimiya-cosplayer was giving out first, second, and third place prizes to a Lucy Heartfilia cosplayer, Death the Kid cosplayer, and a Sakura Haruno cosplayer. “Have you ever really spoken to anyone at a convention like this…?” You asked him slowly.

“…Not rea-” Just as he began to respond, the host’s voice boomed through the speakers again.

“Alright everyone, that concludes our annual Cosplay Contest! …BUT, we have added a little surprise for you guys this year. Wanna know what it is~?” She paused again as excited shouts were heard from the crowd again.

Grinning, she continued, “Alright—I’ll tell ya. We’ve been looking around all day at the con, and have decided on a best cosplayer who hadn’t entered for the contest. Now, wanna know who it is?” She sang cheerfully, as the audience erupted with ‘Yeah!’s and ‘Who?!’s.

You inhaled sharply at the sudden news. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you were thinking, No… they wouldn’t choose…

The Haruhi cosplayer smirked. Teasingly, she said, “Winner gets 20,600 yen!”

You could’ve sworn on your life you saw her wink in your general direction. General, meaning…

“The winner is…” The stage-lights were moving rapidly among the crowd, a drumroll playing from the speakers.

You facepalmed. No, not Ja-

“The winner is that totally cute Free cosplayer in the back!” And thus the stage-lights shone down on Japan, the audience immediately clapping and cheering so loudly it almost hurt your ears.

You gasped loudly, and noticed Japan freeze in total humiliation. A few seconds passed, and the cheering only got louder. After about a minute, you finally regained your composure. This is the kind of thing he needs, you realized.

Without waiting for Japan to recover from his shocked-state, you immediately burst out laughing and began pulling him over to the stage.

“Wait Florida-chan, w-what are you doing?” He stuttered as his feet nearly dragged against the floor. People were congratulating him as he passed, some even trying to hug him, but he was completely oblivious at the moment.

“P-Please stop this. I don’t want to go up there in front of hundreds of peo-”

“-Awwh relax, you’ll be fine~!” You encouraged as you brought him up the stage steps. He blushed again as he felt your hand woven tightly over his.

Before he knew it, he was onstage with you, the Haruhi cosplayer, and the top three Contest winners. The spotlight appeared over him just as the Free theme song began playing in the background. From the ceiling dropped a huge load of confetti, and the crowd went crazy over Japan’s Haruka Nanase cosplay.

“Hi there, thanks for coming up! Here’s your 20,600 yen! Feel free to spend it in the vendor hall, yeah?” The Haruhi cosplayer giggled, handing Japan the money. “Congratulations~!”

You grinned big. If it weren’t for you, he wouldn’t have gotten that 200 US dollars-worth of yen.

Japan blushed madly. You almost feared his face would become permanently stained red. “Oh, a-arigatou…”

Just as he was feebly taking the money, you noticed the winning cosplayers begin dancing to the music. They were laughing and cheering with the crowd, who so clearly adored their costumes. The three of them practically took center stage—thereby stealing Japan’s show. Giggling again, the Haruhi cosplayer joined them. The music got louder, and more people stood up to take pictures and dance around themselves.

Soon, chairs were pushed aside by both audience members and convention staff. A DJ began playing popular electronic dance music through the surround-sound, the lights dimmed a bit, and nearly countless neon signs lit up around the convention room. Before you realized it, you were at a rave.

Japan glanced around nervously; the people seemed to be having so much fun. All while he stood awkwardly in the center of the stage, surrounded by the four dancing cosplayers.

“Hey…” You smiled lightly and tugged on his wrist. Instantly alarmed, he jumped almost a foot in the air.

“Oh, Florida-chan…”

You chuckled a bit. “There’s no need to be shy around your country’s citizens. They’d love you no matter what, y’know…?”

A pink streak dusted across his cheeks. “…You think so?”

You mentally facepalmed. “I know so. You’re amazing. And kind and lovely and… so many other things. Really—I mean it.” You didn’t know how else to put it. Everything about him was wonderful. Even his painful politeness and excessive mannerisms—but you were still planning on shattering through those. And it all started here.

He stared at you for a moment… and then completely shocked you.

He smiled.

Really smiled. Not simply out of respect, or to be polite, or just to show acknowledgement. He actually smiled on his own will.

This time, you were the one to blush. His gentle smile was breathtaking. It fit his perfect facial features and personality—he was perfect. No matter what you could have ever thought before.

He didn’t tell you at that moment, but you were the first person to ever make him feel this way. Like he was… wanted. That other people could truly like him as a person—despite the fact that he was shy, quiet, and had very little friends.

It was in that moment that he finally allowed himself to let loose. As the strobe-light centered on him again, he waved at the crowd; the smile still on his lips. The audience—now mostly a large group of dancers—squealed and cheered for him. They went absolutely crazy over their country’s personified symbol. The love was clear in the atmosphere—they adored him. Just for being him.

Not too long after that, you convinced him to talk with some of his people. It was something he’d never done before. He’d only spoken to others when absolutely necessary—not as the personification of Japan to his citizens. You noticed he’d never looked happier.

It was also in that time that you realized he had legitimate fangirls. He just never knew about them. Maybe if he becomes more outgoing, he’ll get a cute cosplayer girlfriend… you thought in the back of your mind.

Just as you were thinking of his future popularity if he kept this attitude up, Japan moved away from the huge group of fans and shuffled over to you.

“Hm? What’s up?” You asked in slight surprise. You had expected him to stay in the crowd’s full attention for a while longer.

But then again, he wasn’t America. He wasn’t like Prussia, he wasn’t like Denmark. He was still polite, caring Japan.

“I’d like to thank you, Florida-chan. For helping me overcome this fear,” He looked down, smiling gently. He stepped a bit closer to you as he added, “Without you, this would’ve just been another night alone at my house reading manga.” He even chuckled a bit at his own thought.

Your cheeks a bit warm, you quickly responded, “N-No problem! Uhm, why don’t you go join the dance or something? I’m gonna go get something to drink; I’m not really in the mood to party right now…” You trailed off, avoiding eye contact. You didn’t wait for a response. This had been what you’d been aiming for since you met him—to get Japan out of his shell and become more outgoing. The best way now would be to leave him to socialize with his fans. That, and… you really weren’t in the mood to party anymore. Something had stabbed you in the heart and you had no idea what it was.

As you turned to leave the rave, you felt a soft hand on your shoulder.

Turning in surprise, you noticed he had stopped you. “I’m not staying without you. I want to… be close to you. Is that okay?” He looked away, cheeks burning red.

Your eyes widened in shock. He was choosing you over his newfound-fangirls? There were tons of them against the stage, trying to reach him, squealing out, “Japan-kun! May we speak with you~?”

But instead he picked you. That was heartwarming enough to heal the stab wound that had somehow been placed there earlier. He still… wanted to be with you.

He knew there was just something special about you. Never had he felt the same for anyone else before. No one could understand him and bring out his bright side better than you.

The electronic-dance party raged on, the music continued its fast beat, and people still danced like there was no tomorrow. No one at the time was aware of what special moment was happening in the center of the stage. A moment that would forever last in your memory.

That night, you didn’t think you’d accomplish much with Japan. But, as the day had went on, you somehow managed to bring out the lively side in him. And nothing made you more proud.

That was the year you got your polite, kind, lovely Japanese boyfriend.

Extended Ending:

“Alright, love you too, talk to you later.” You hung up your phone, and began unpacking from your trip to Tokyo. It was probably the fourth trip you made this year, and it was only July.

At that moment, your brother barged into the room. “FLO-RI-DAAAA! WHAT’S THIS I HEAR ABOUT YOU DATING JAPAN?!”

You stared for a moment, and then facepalmed. “America, I’ve been dating him for over a year now. How did you just barely find out?”

America childishly gritted his teeth and covered his ears with his hands, “No way! Nowaynowaynoway! You’re my little sister-!”

You groaned, “Exactly. I’m your little sister. So why does it matter?”

He removed his hands from his ears and pouted. “You’re mine.”

Scoffing, you turned back to your luggage. “You know, I really didn’t want to believe it, but I think you’re turning into what Japan would call a sis-con…”

He eyed you curiously for a moment, “Sister-complex…?”

You chuckled. Everyone could see his taboo feelings for you—except himself.

Shaking off the thought, he instantly shouted, “BUT NEVER MIND WHATEVER THAT IS—WHY HAS JAPAN BEEN ASKING ME FOR SIZE EXTRA-LARGE CONDOMS?!”