Japan had wandered off from the group. A terrible breach of etiquette, he knew, but he heard something coming from the east and felt compelled to investigate. The next thing he knew, he was walking toward a garden filled with all sorts of flowers and fruits and Western-style furniture, with the centerpiece being a large greenhouse that appeared more green than glass to him. It was a lovely garden, he had to admit, even if he preferred the style invented in his home.
Anyways, the sound grew louder with every step towards the greenhouse until Japan could make it out. It was...singing? But who could be singing right now? Well, he supposed it had to be a state, but which one? The singing continued. It was beautiful and soulful but so sad and so familiar at the same time.
Japan continued walking towards the greenhouse when he caught sight of a girl with dark chocolate-colored skin and ebony-black hair with her back to him. Wait, was that...
A flash returned to him of that girl in the music room with Tennessee-san and how she had run out without another glance after they had caught her singing with her brother. Mississippi-san, right? She must've been shy. That was a trait he knew all too well.
He probably should leave her alone.
Japan turned on his heel to walk away from the young state when the clattering of pots and clanging of metals rang out from inside the greenhouse. This shocked Japan to turn around, where he saw the dark-skinned girl picking up various objects. The polite thing in his country would probably be to turn around and leave her be. It wasn't polite to violate other people's privacy, after all. However...Japan looked back at the girl, still on her hands and knees, trying to clean up the mess, and he sighed. As quietly as he could, he gave a slight cough to alert the girl to his attention. It worked, and the Mississippi-san jumped before giving a startled look up.
"You are Mississippi-san?" Japan, despite knowing the answer, asked for politeness's sake.
Mississippi-san fiercely blush before averting her attention away from him. "Oh...um...y-yes," the girl said in response as she returned to throwing shards of glass into a nearby trash can. "You're Mr. Japan, right?" she asked, and Japan nodded. "Did you get lost from the others?"
"No. I heard you singing," Japan honestly replied.
"O-oh...I'm sorry," she quickly and quietly apologized. "I didn't mean to bother you."
"You weren't a bother," the Asian nation replied as he saw the Southern state fidget in place. "I actually thought your singing was quite good."
Mississippi looked up at him before looking down, this time with softer eyes, and whispered, "Thank you, sir."
"Do you need some help cleaning up?" Japan continued, pointing towards the mess on the greenhouse floor.
Mississippi looked up at him with an unreadable expression before sweetly saying, "Oh no, sir. You're one of our guests, and guests shouldn't have to clean up."
"I really would like to help, Mississippi-san," Japan said as he bent down next to the state, who looked over at him for a moment before sighing.
"Alright. Thank you, sir," Mississippi muttered as she returned to picking up pieces of glass. The two cleaned in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by glass scratching the tile floor and the clattering of broken ceramics against each other.
It was also in the awkward silence Japan saw it. Scars. A web of pulsing scars that resembled rope burns that disappeared under the sleeve of Mississippi's leather jacket. Mississippi noticed where his gaze fell before she quickly pulled down her sleeve and averted her gaze. "So do you like to sing?" Japan asked, catching the hint that Mississippi's scars were not to be a topic of discussion. Fair enough. Most nations never spoke about theirs, and especially not him.
"...Y-yes," Mississippi slowly said as she finished grabbing the last few pieces and tossing them into the little trash can before putting the object back under a nearby table covered in fauna. "My mother taught me when she was still alive."
"Your mother?" Japan asked, genuinely curious. He never had a mother or a father, after all. The closest he had to any guardian was China, and well...the less said on that subject, the better.
"Yes. Her name was Tabitha..." Mississippi said as she looked down with an obvious grief in her eyes. "She died a long time ago."
"I see," Japan continued. "Do you-" Miss her? Want to continue? Want to stop? Japan didn't know how to finish the following sentence. He had never been good with emotions or feelings. He had always been taught to suppress those for the good and betterment of his country and that they were a hindrance in the long run.
"Now that everything's clean...uh...do you-? Would you-? Would you like me to show you back to the others?" Mississippi said, again fidgeting in place as she tried to find the right words to say.
However, before Japan could answer, the loud sound of someone having emesis made up his mind. "I'd prefer not to die," Japan finally said, and Mississippi gave a small smile that seemed natural this time.
"Maybe you just don't have the stomach for our food," Mississippi stated with a twinkle in her eye that was quickly dashed. "Sorry..."
"Don't be," Japan said. "Besides, I'd rather have a look around the greenhouse anyway. What's your favorite flower?"
Instead of answering, Mississippi turned away from the country and walked over to another part of the greenhouse and brought back a small pot with a little tree inside with white and pink blossoms growing from its branches. "I know it might be a little stereotypical, but my favorite is my state flower, a magnolia."
"The magnolia, huh? In my country, it represents the love of nature, dignity, and perseverance," Japan replied.
Mississippi smiled again before looking up at the Asian country. "And what about you? What's your favorite flower?"
"Mine? I will be stereotypical too and say the sakura," Japan replied, and it was true.
"That's cherry blossoms, right?" Mississippi asked, though a bit hesitantly.
"Hai," Japan replied.
"Oh. You know Lani likes cherry blossoms too," Mississippi said hesitantly, and Japan felt a twinge of sadness.
"I don't think that Lani-san likes me very much," Japan replied as he remembered the anger in her eyes and ache of his body.
"Oh, right. Pearl Harbor," Mississippi replied.
"Yeah," Japan said, watching Mississippi place the Magnolia pot on the nearby table. "She possesses much anger about it."
"Yeah. Lani is a very kind and gentle girl, but she is the type to hold a grudge. That's why Pa hasn't told her the truth about her mama. He thinks she'll hate him, which is probably true," Mississippi said with a sad smile.
"Lots of states here seem to hold a grudge here," Japan muttered before realizing she heard him. "I apologize for my rude words."
"It's alright. Ya didn't say anything that wasn't the truth," Mississippi said. "Lots of my brothers and sisters hold grudges, but I try not to."
"Really?" Japan asked.
"Yeah. Mama taught me that grudges are the devil's poison that makes us hate our fellow man, and if we allow those to control us, then we'll never see good in the world. That's why I try not to, even if it's hard. People have done bad things to me, but I've also had to do bad things, too. Things my mama wouldn't be proud of me for," Mississippi said before tugging at her jacket with tears starting to pool from her chocolate-colored eyes.
"I've had to do bad things as well," Japan hesitantly said as memories of WW2 flashed through his mind. As much as he would like to deny those things had ever happened, they did. And they were wrong in the need.
"Yeah..." Mississippi then looked away. "So do you want me to help ya back to the others now?"
Japan looked back at the nervous state who sadly smiled at him and nodded. "Yes, thank you, Mississippi-san. I would like that."
"Damn Redcoat!" yelled a female voice from outside.
"Or maybe you'd like to stay here and help me with the plants?" Mississippi asked as her sad smile transformed into an awkward one.
"I'd prefer that."
Author's Note: Sorry about the short chapter, but I wanted to do a proper introduction to Mississippi and to my Mississippian readers, how did I do represent your state?