❝They say that the most dangerous place in the world to be in is…

A few lazy white clouds rolled across the sky, mere wisps compared to what the workers were wishing for. The hot sun beat down on their back mercilessly, causing sweat to run down their bodies and their mouths to quickly become parched. Short sips were taken from the canteens that they were granted as they worked; all wanting to conserve each drop of water for as long as possible in the case that they would need it more now than later. They wiped the sweat off their brows and used another burst of energy to pick up their pitchfork, stabbing it in the earth and dragging it back.

One worker in particular, a Ukrainian woman, looked up at the sun with a hopeless expression on her face. She groaned lightly under her breath when she felt the heat on her chest, another button coming off from her shirt. Her large bosom never failed to break yet another button off her shirt; which would need mending later since she couldn't afford another shirt.

Her teal orbs were squinted against the harsh light as she scanned the ground for the lost button. She sighed, in relief, when she saw it lying face up a couple feet away. Keeping her pitchfork clutched in one hand, she walked the couple feet over until her feet were right next to the button and bent down to grab it. She winced and held her back as a sharp pain shot through her spine; her bosom wasn't only good for helping pop buttons off, was it? Gritting her teeth, she fumbled with the button for a couple of seconds before fully grasping it in her palm. Standing up, she massaged her back with her closed fist and trudged back to her working area. Soon as she picked the pitchfork back up, the siren rang for a break.

They all dropped their tools gratefully and walked to various spots in order to eat their lunch. Some took refuge under the shade of a tall oak tree away from the field; others took a seat on the short gray wall with only a branch from another tree to provide them with shade. Katyusha clutched the metal pail in her hands and desperately looked around for a free spot. She smiled and wiped away the tears that were starting to form in her eyes when she spotted a shady grassy area. Setting down her metal bucket first, she kneeled down on the ground, starting to take food out of her bucket. She bit into the dry sandwich with a small sigh; only that and an apple was all she could afford.

A depressing frown crossed her face but then she brightened again when she thought about how Ivan, her little brother, was able to have an extra treat at school. A wide smile spread across her face, her eyes closing softly, at the thought of her sweet younger brother. She only hoped that he was having a better time in school. Dashing those thoughts away, she went back to her sandwich to finish it before time was called.

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Ivan sighed and shifted his weight around on his two feet, where he was leaning on the wall. From his vantage point, he could see all of the children, like him, playing on the playground. They seemed like blurs from the distance that he saw them. If he squinted, he could almost make out some of them.

There was Arthur, up on top of the jungle gym and yelling at his older brother, who merely snickered at him from down below He seemed to be clutching something in his hands but Ivan couldn't make it out, but he could make out little Alfred trying to grab it from him. Then, there was that strange German kid with the bowl cut [1] who was warily watching his self-proclaimed 'awesome' brother as he climbed up the long pole. Feliciano was whining to the playground attendant about being hungry while his brother was getting into a one-sided fight with Antonio; the teacher attendant too distracted with Feliciano to notice. Francis was next to Victoria [2] chatting with her about something it seemed.

Ivan's gaze fell on each of them in turn, even the ones who he didn't know by name. He sighed and turned his head away from them, slowly sliding down the wall until he was sitting and tucked his knees to his chest, his arms wrapped around his knees. Even though it was a relatively warm spring day, he shivered, even with the large coat he wore on. He felt more than alone with his younger sister, Natalya, home with a cold. Katyusha had her stay home since they couldn't afford her getting worse than she was already; medicine was a luxury unknown to them.

This was probably the reason why a young bully, who shared his name, had decided to wreak some havoc on the young boy's life. He stopped right in front of him, casting a shadow over the young boy's body. Ivan looked up with slight fear in his eyes [3].

Of course he knew who this boy was and of his reputation. After all, they didn't call him 'Ivan the Terrible' for nothing, right? He was known for going around and beating up anybody of a noble class. After he had finished with all of them, he had flipped out one day and attacked someone from a poor status. Now, all the kids tried their best to stay on his good side; nobody was safe.

The boy's wicked grin made Ivan shiver just in the slightest. His very sneer on his face as he scanned the poor boy's tattered clothes made his blood boil in the slightest, though. It wasn't his fault that Katyusha was unable to find a good paying job. But still, he felt insignificant next to the rich boy.

"What your mommy couldn't afford any clothes?" He asked, mocking his older sister by calling her his mom; their own parents being long gone. He didn't stop there, continuing his spiel; "Not that I'm surprised, your slut of a mother keeps having to fix her shirt with that honking chest of hers. They say that its those huge tits of hers that make them come off but I think-"

He was cut off by a hard fist to his cheek, blood spurting from his mouth as something white fell out. Ivan stood above him with his hands curled into fists; a hard and angry expression apparent on his face as he looked down at the quivering boy.

He didn't make a move expect for his chest rising and falling before snapping his head up, violet eyes growing wide as he heard the shriek from the playground attendant, running to see what had just occurred. What was worse to the Russian boy was the looks, of fear, that he was getting from the kids…All directed at him.

"Ivan Braginski! To the principal's office now!"

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Katyusha had gotten back to work, thankful that the day was almost over so that she could go home and relax a tiny bit. She had thought briefly of getting Natalya some medicine, then the memory of the little remaining food they had left had crossed her mind and she willed the imagine of medicine away.

She shook her head to clear her mind of the thoughts that were fogging it up, bending over her pitchfork to better drag it through the hard dirt when she heard one of her coworkers yelling for her. Picking her head up, her short silvery blonde hair fell in front of her, still bent over the pitchfork. When they called for her again, she raised one arm and answered back to their call.

"Da, over here!" She answered, waving to let them see. A man nodded when he saw her and ran over, a folded up paper in his hands. He handed it to her with no expression on his face, struggling to get his eyes on her own.

When she saw that he wasn't going to say anything, she carefully opened the paper, unrolling it, and fixed it so that she could clearly see the words printed on it. Her heart pounded in fear that something had happened to Natalya-maybe her cold was worse than she had first thought, or Ivan-something horrible may have happened to him at school. Terrible thoughts raced through her mind as her teal orbs scanned the sheet.

Her whole expression fell when she read about Ivan getting into trouble, her Ivan, he got into a fight? How did that happen? He was such a gentle soul-someone must have provoked him. She thought, coming to that conclusion with a small grin; which was swiftly wiped away when she looked back up at the man, who was gesturing for her to follow him.

She was about to protest, they needed each scrap of money that she could managed from her job and having to leave wouldn't help their situation in the slightest, when the man voiced her concern "You'll be paid normally."

She nodded and sighed, digging her pitchfork out of the ground and walking briskly behind him; dreading what was awaiting her at Ivan's school.

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"Ten days?"

Katyusha asked, staring at the principal of the school in disbelief. He was a Germanic man with long blond hair, one thin braid amongst the strands, and a serious expression on his face.[4] He didn't seem like he was joking about the punishment and Katyusha could sense that.

Still, she couldn't believe that they were suspending her Ivan for hitting a boy! He had confessed that he had been provoked, but when questioned farther he had refused to admit what the other boy had said, clamming up even more when Katyusha came into the room.

"Yes, I shall not tolerate violence in my school whatsoever." His slightly German accent seemed to become more pronounced, his blue orbs narrowing slightly at Ivan, sitting shamefully next to his older sister.

"…Understood." Katyushafinally spoke up, barely containing her anger. It was a side of her that few people witnessed and only came out when she felt an injustice was being brought upon someone close to her. [5]

She stood up and took Ivan's hand in her own, pulling him up. He walked side by side with her as they exited out of the building. As they were walking out, the other Ivan, holding a tissue to his bloody nose scoffed at Ivan's back, saying quite loudly, "Good riddance, freak."

Before anyone could move or react Katyusha gripped the tool harder in her hands and focused a death glare on the boy that would have had grown men shaking in their boots. They all stood stock still as she grabbed her pitchfork and hit him square in the side of the head, knocking him off his seat.

"Say like that again and you were surely regret it." Katyusha said, standing over him with the glare still on her face. She stayed like that for a few more seconds before turning back on her heel and grabbing her brother's hand as she walked out of the school.

And nobody dared to stop her.

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Katyusha sighed, her anger ebbing away as she and her younger brother finished their walk to their house. She slowly opened the wooden door and stepped inside, pulling Ivan in with her.

She took a deep breath to relax herself. Before Ivan could do or say anything, she knelt down on her knees in front of him and wrapped her arms around him, bringing him tightly into her body. She buried her nose in his hair and rubbed his back, humming a soothing tune under her breath.

Ivan froze before melting into her touch, snuggling his face into her breasts and letting out a slow smile. He heard a creak from the bed above and soft footsteps padding over to them. Katyusha felt two small arms wrap around her waist and a face being buried in her back.

"I'll always be here for you two." Katyusha finally spoke, now bringing Natalya into her arms. The two younger siblings nodded and smiled, snuggling into her loving embrace.

"Always."

….Between a mother bear and her cubs. ❞

[A/N]

[1]—In pictures that I've seen, when Germany was younger, he had a type of bowl cut.

[2]—Seychelles (Fan name)

[3] –It may seem OOC of Russia to be fearful, but this is when he was a kid, also this 'kid' is supposed to be Ivan the Terrible, so he would be afraid of him.

[4] –Germania makes a better principal in my opinion

[5]—Its been said that Ukraine was a lot like Russia when she was younger; I can see her 'scary' side coming out when something such as that happens.