A.N. Hello again! I'm having a hard time not spoiling the story for my friends and family. I'm debating whether or not I should write a companion story or a sequel talking about what the Kings and Queens (Arthur, Alfred, Francis, Ivan…etc.) are doing, so let me know what you think! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and, as always, I appreciate reviews. And now, ONWARDS!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Yao led Matthew through the trees as they followed the trio of hunters. The trio seemed rather unorganized and didn't seem to care about how loud they were being, making it easy for Yao to come up with a plan of attack. Matthew's idea had been to wait until the trio was asleep and then raid their camp. The brunette bit his lip in thought. The concept of Matthew's idea was fantastic, but there was no telling how long the trio would be walking, or if they had a watch system.

Yao looked up at Matthew who had tapped his arm trying to get the Jack's attention. Pointing towards the trio, Matthew made a motion for Yao to listen. The trio had become much quieter and Yao had to strain his ears to hear what they were saying.

"-ey suck at covering their presence."

"I think there's only two."

"Let's get 'em 'fore they run."

Yao's eyes widened. The trio had known they were being followed. Yao thought fast. He and Matthew had no weapons, no strategy, no way to fight back, and no escape. Matthew grabbed Yao's arm and pulled the brunette away from the now approaching hunters.

The three hunters crashed through the trees, grins wide on their scarred faces. Yao shook Matthew off and the two broke into a run. Matthew was faster than Yao thought and weaved between trees with ease, leaving Yao a good bit behind the blond. Yao ducked behind a tree and panted, hearing the hunters approaching rapidly. Yao glanced around. He needed something, anything, to disarm them.

Think Yao think! Don't let them catch you. Yao thought, and an idea formed in the teens mind. It was risky, very risky, if it failed not only would Yao but possibly Matthew would get caught.

"Matthew! Get in the trees!" Yao yelled, hoping Matthew could understand what he wanted. Yao moved from behind the tree into a small clearing where the trio crashed in daggers drawn. Yao glanced around, fear overtaking him when a rock flew from a tree and knocked the dagger from the man's hand. Another two stones came and disarmed the men, leaving them scrambling to retrieve their blades.

Yao jumped forward, slamming his fist into the first man's nose, and spun kicking the next hunter in the stomach. Blood poured from the taller man's nose and the other clutched his gut, a groan escaping him. The third man charged at Yao, who quickly brought his elbow up in the man's face. Blood streamed from the man's nose and Yao moved behind the hunter and locked his arms around his neck.

"Make another move and he's dead." Yao said, adrenaline still running through him.

The first two men looked at each other and at their comrade who was close to crying in Yao's grip. The taller man who Yao had kicked in the gut raised his hands, the man with the bleeding nose followed suit.

Matthew dropped from a tree and walked over to the two men who stood stiffly.

"Drop your packs." Yao said, firmly tightening his grip on the third man when they hesitated. The two shrugged off their bags, and Matthew set to rummaging around in them, setting aside what was important. Standing, Matthew tossed a pack at Yao's feet and the brunette released the man he had been holding.

Matthew had a bow and a quiver of arrows slung over his right shoulder while his pack rested on his left. Yao grabbed one of the sword-like daggers from the ground and strapped it to his waist, turning to walk away.

The three men didn't move from the clearing, still in shock that they had been beaten by two kids.

As they walked, Yao turned to Matthew and asked, "How did you know what I meant back there?"

Matthew shrugged, replying, "I'm not sure. I heard someone tell me to throw rocks to disarm them, but I might've imagined that. Either way, you were awesome back there! How did you know to do that?"

Yao smiled wistfully. "My brothers and I used to get into major fights. I learned how to block them and deal them some nice blows when they challenged me."

The two walked quietly for a while until they were sure of one thing. They had made it into the kingdom of Diamonds.

-LINEBREAK-

Vash drew the bowstring back again and aimed before letting the arrow fly. It hit the tree with a sound 'thunk', and Vash nodded in approval. The blond had started practicing archery with the hunter's bow and wasn't bad at it. Eight times out of ten Vash could hit what he was aiming at. The blond rubbed his right arm where the bowstring had nicked him when he had released the arrow.

Vash started pulling the arrows from the tree when the sound of leaves behind him alerted the blond to an intruder. Spinning, Vash nocked an arrow and aimed. The blond relaxed when he saw it was only a rabbit. Sighing, Vash started to lower his bow when he remembered how low he was on food supplies. Drawing the bow back, he aimed. It can still get away, or I'll miss. There's no guarantee I'll hit it. Vash thought as he breathed in and released. The arrow lodged itself in the rabbit's skull, killing it instantly. Vash walked over, pulled the arrow out, and apologized before he set to skinning and gutting the animal.

The blond had finished his small meal and had doused the fire before lying down to sleep for a while. Dreams escaped Vash, leaving only nightmares to plague him. Nightmares from his friends being killed in the streets of his town, to the sight of the dark-skinned hunter's corpse lying on the forest floor, caused Vash to wake with a start.

The blond looked around and grabbed his things before setting off. Daylight was breaking through the trees when Vash stopped and focused on listening to the sounds. Usually it was quiet, peaceful, the only disturbance being Vash. But there was a crashing noise. Vash slid an arrow into place, and he was close to drawing back when he was grabbed from behind and pulled behind a tree.

Vash struggled but didn't let go of his bow. The stranger had his hand over Vash's mouth, keeping him from crying out.

"Shh!" the stranger hissed. Vash swallowed and spotted an Ace mark on the stranger's hand. They were in the same predicament. A moment later another person, much larger, crashed through the trees and passed the spot where Vash and the stranger were hiding.

After a few minutes, the stranger sighed and let go of Vash before sliding to the ground. Vash put his weapon away and turned to get a better look at the Ace. He was about Vash's height with brown hair. He had a jacket tied around his waist, showing his dirt-covered shirt. His boots were worn and looked like they were stolen, as they didn't quite fit the boy. In the boy's jacket was tucked a sheath in which could only be a dagger.

The stranger looked up at Vash and breathed, his eyes showing no fear, only determination. Vash held his hand out to the boy and pulled him up.

"My name is Vash. Who're you?"

The boy looked straight into Vash's eyes and said firmly, "Lovino."

A.N. BOOM! I hope yuns enjoyed this chappie! Until next time! - Neko