Author's Note: We haven't seen Russia all season, have we? Well, here he is with Vozrozhdeniye. It's short this week, but I did add in a major plot point. We actually get to hear Vayla's voice for the first time. I don't know what I am doing for the Hetalia and -Man sections for Halloween just yet. It would have to go with the -Man title since I am going in alphabetical order with the key titles. I will have to see how the fics go this season. Speaking of which, we haven't heard from England in a long time. We might check in on him and Mam next week. For now, enjoy this week's match.

Match Fourteen: Leshy:

Ivan stood in Narita Airport. Well, here they were—again. Was this really going to work this time? The Russian man didn't know. He didn't care. To him, they might as well get this over with. How many times have they done this now?

Ivan pulled out his phone. 10:45. Lin Yi should be up and having lunch now. He left her enough money to go shopping. Katyusha was watching over her. Ivan planned to call his wife when he got to the hotel.

"Hey," Ivan heard next to him. "Hey. Hey!" The Russian man glanced next to him. Karp stared up at him.

"What?" Ivan asked.

"We're here," Karp said.

"Uh-huh," the other man said. It was then he glanced around them.

"Where is everyone?" he asked.

"Bathroom and snacks," the scientist said.

"Ah," Ivan said. He put his phone back into his pocket. They were going to start the experiment in a few hours.

"Are you excited?" Karp asked.

"No," Ivan muttered. He headed to the bathroom.

"Ivan?" the other man asked. The tall Russian man waved him off as he disappeared into the morning crowd.

The plane carrying Valya landed days earlier. They kept her in an underground lab that Vozrozhdeniye was renting. She had to be kept in the darkness. The siren wasn't allowed out of her cage until the group got there. Only paid help would go in and check on her.

While alone in the dark, she started to develop thoughts in her head.

-Valya-

I am me. I am aware of that. I am me and I exist. I have a body and a face. I don't know what I look like. But I do know that I have a body.

I have been sitting in the darkness for days. Yes, I know what that is. I'm not an idiot. Okay, that might be a strong word, but I'm not some dumb animal in the dark. I am just… me. I don't think I can get much clearer than that.

Ivan, Alisa, and Kenya sat in a coffee shop.

"What type is it now?" Alisa asked. Kenya looked at his phone.

"11:29," he said.

"I see," she said. She took a sip of her iced coffee.

"Where do we start?" Ivan asked. The other two looked up at him.

"Ikebukuro, of course," Alisa said. "That's where the tadpoles are." She didn't need to go over the plan. Valya would be the first to test out their counter pet. Alisa finished her coffee.

"1500 hours," she said. The men looked at each other.

"Why so long?" Kenya asked.

"Take a look around you," Alisa whispered. "Don't be obvious about it." The men took small glances around them.

"What do you see?" she asked.

"People in a café," Ivan said.

"And?" Alisa asked.

"Hm?" Kenya asked.

"Really look," she said. "Take a long look around you." The men took another look around. Kenya froze. Wispy shadows followed the people around. Some floated above their heads. The people they were attached to didn't seem to notice a thing. They were drinking their coffee, eating some of the treats on their table, or even looking at the screens on their phones. One girl had bright pink headphones on as a wispy black shadow floated over his head. There then were the whispers. Oh god, the whispers. The whispering was faint. Cold chills ran down Kenya's back. He turned back to his companions staring at him.

"Do you see it now?" Alisa asked. Her colleague nodded. She started to play with her straw.

"They have advanced since the last time we came here," the scientist said. "Something's changed this round."

"You feel it too?" Kenya whispered. Alisa nodded once.

"So you're trying to test the water first?" he asked.

"Affirmative," she said.

"What do we do until then?" Ivan asked.

"Observe everything around us and gather information," she said. "We might walk around the city to see how far they have gotten on this."

"What about Valya?" Kenya asked.

"She will stay where she is," Alisa said. "I have two men coming to feed and check on her."

"Where shall we hit first?" Ivan asked. The female scientist gave him a cold smirk.

"Why not take the challenge to the enemy's door?" she suggested. The men looked at each other as she snickered. Alisa put up her hand to fetch the waitress for the bill.

-Valya-

Something smells good. I closed my eyes and took a sniff. Blood. I had to swallow back my drool. I sat up straight. I haven't been able to ear since I left Russia. I don't know where I am now. This place just feels different.

I trained my ears in the darkness. At first, I heard nothing. Something inside of me told me to keep listening. There are others like me here. No. Not like me. But close enough. How many of them are there? They seem so far away. I reached out in the cold darkness. I have to find them. I want to know who they are.

I froze.

There's someone here. I trained my ears in the darkness. One, no two of them. They smell… They smell like… Like… They smell like meat. I swallowed back more drool. I feel hungry. Footsteps walked closer to the darkness. I could hear my heart pounding against my chest. Closer. Closer. Closer.

I heard a slot open wide. Oh, that smell. I heard the meat land on the ground with a wet plop. I ran forward on all-fours and started tearing into the meat. Oh, this is so good! The more I eat, the more I start to feel happy. The sensation danced on my tongue. My eyes started to wet. I couldn't stop eating. I had to have more. Oh. Oh!

I feel back and I could see nothing but darkness over my head. My eyes slowly slip closed. Those voices are back again. I couldn't help but smile as I sank back into a world of black.

Alisa looked at her phone outside of the café.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes," Kenya said. Ivan nodded once.

"Right," Alisa said, shoving her phone back into her jeans pocket. "We have plenty of time. Let's do a little sightseeing, shall we?" The men didn't argue as they followed behind. The whole time, Alisa smirked to herself. Maybe it was the festering vice flirting with her mind. Maybe it was the potential to get a leg up in this game. Either way, the scientist had a feeling that this was going to be a good expo.