A.N. Good day! *shoves chapter at readers* Now you get to find out what happened to Lovino before he met Vash! And now, ONWARDS!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.

Roderich had been traveling with Lovino and Feli for three days, and Lovino's opinion of the nobleman hadn't changed. Lovino pushed some low hanging branches away for Feli to pass. The younger brother still hadn't talked to Lovino much after he had yelled at him. Guilt filled Lovino and he knew he should apologize, just not yet, not with Roderich here.

The small group stopped for a while and Lovino pointed back where they had come from saying, "I wanna check something out. Wait here okay?"

Feliciano simply nodded while Roderich smiled. Lovino padded off covering the tracks they had left, and started glancing around for signs of hunters. The brunette stopped remembering Roderich's smile. It was too malicious, almost as if the Jack had something planned. Spinning, Lovino dashed back to where he had left Feli and Roderich.

Please be okay, please be okay! Lovino thought, branches scraping his face as he pushed past the low hanging branches in a rush. Lovino scanned the area where he had last seen his brother and Roderich, but there was no one there.

The space where the two had been sitting was empty. Panic gripped Lovino as he hurriedly started checking around for any sign of his brother. The only things Lovino could find were a small dagger that must have been Roderich's and a scrap of paper.

Hands shaking, Lovino unfolded the note and bit his lip trying to read the handwriting. The brunette's reading skills were far behind his age level, but nonetheless he was able to decipher what it said. Hatred, guilt, sadness, and fear burst in Lovino as he reread the paper.

'Feliciano has told me he hates you and he'd rather travel with me. Survival should be easier for both you and me now that we have split. If you still wish to see your brother, meet me in Clubs in the city of Zaka in 2 years – Roderich'

Lovino screamed, throwing the paper on the ground. He had screwed up. If he had apologized to Feliciano, maybe he would still have his brother with him. Lovino grabbed the paper and crumpled it up. Zaka. Two years. Too long, that was too long for Lovino to wait.

Lovino stood and grabbed the dagger Roderich had left him. It was sharp, well taken care of, and sturdy. Shoving it in the waist of his jacket, Lovino kicked a tree in frustration before starting out again. If the two had left right after Lovino had gone to cover their tracks, there was no way he'd be able to catch up with them, even if he knew which way they had gone.

Lovino traveled alone for a couple of days until he had run into a group of sleeping campers in the night. He had stolen a pair of boots from the campers, tucking his pants into them so they would fit better.

Then there was the hunter. Lovino had spotted him and had started to hide until he saw a blond boy. The brunette made a risky move by pulling the blond behind a tree and covering his mouth. The hunter passed and Lovino sank to the ground in relief.

Vash had been quiet for the first few minutes of having Lovino around, but the archer seemed to enjoy the brunette's company as they started walking with each other.

The two boys had walked and chatted quietly for a bit until they came across a dirt road in the forest.

"Traveling performers go through here as a short cut." Vash explained and Lovino pointed down the road.

"Someone's coming." Lovino said and Vash stiffened. Lovino turned to the Jack asking, "Wanna hitch a ride?"

"But we'll get found out. Your mark is too obvious." Vash said pointing to Lovino's hand.

Lovino nodded "Good point." Fishing around in his bag, Lovino pulled out some bandages and quickly set to wrapping his hand. After he finished, he showed Vash the bandage covered hand.

"Better?" Lovino asked, and Vash nodded sighing in exasperation.

The people coming were a group of twos and threes from Hearts on their way to Diamonds for a small festival. They were traveling in an open cart pulled by two horses. Lovino and Vash were welcomed, and the two boys spent the ride quietly exchanging ideas of what they should do.

The two boys got off as the performers said they were going to leave the forest soon. Vash paid the performers a small sum of money, and the two boys started walking.

-LINEBREAK-

Matthew winced, grabbing his head. He had been getting headaches for a little while now and Yao was getting worried.

"Maybe we should take a break." The brunette suggested. Matthew shook his head closing his eyes and muttered, "It'll pass. I hope."

Yao gave Matthew a concerned glance but kept walking. Matthew blinked as thoughts that weren't his entered his head. They were concerned, worried, and brotherly. They sounded like Yao.

Glancing up, Matthew saw the path they were taking. They were going to pass through Diamonds and stay near the edge of the forest, but Matthew didn't think it was right.

Another shot of pain went thought Matthew's head, and he doubled over, dropping his bow and quiver. Yao was next to him, rubbing his back and trying to calm both Matthew and himself when Matthew heard it.

"We need to go right." Matthew said quietly, the pain receding. Yao gave Matthew a look of concern and disbelief.

"Why right? I thought we were go-"

"I heard someone say to go right. I think I should listen." Matthew interrupted.

Yao's mouth dropped open. "I'm traveling with a crazy person! Aiyaa!"

Matthew stood, grabbing his bow while Yao reluctantly followed the blond. The two walked for a while and Matthew noticed that they seemed to be covering more ground than before. The blond nudged Yao who nodded. "Time is moving slower here."

A time zone. They were in a time zone. Time moved slower or faster in those areas of the kingdoms, but it was impossible to track where the zones were. It was almost as if they changed their locations on their own.

After a while, Matthew and Yao noticed that they had either stepped out of the zone or the zone had moved on, as time had returned to normal. Matthew watched Yao as he fiddled with the hilt of his dagger as they walked. The two boys had become used to each other's company and could recognize when something was wrong.

"You okay? You seem, I dunno, nervous." Matthew commented as they walked, and Yao made a sound of acknowledgment. "I'm worried that if we run into more hunters, we won't be able to fight them off. There's only so much the two of us can do."

Matthew nodded, understanding Yao's concerns. Even though Yao had a knife and Matthew a bow, they didn't know how to use them. Matthew thought that archery seemed easy enough, but he hadn't found time to try it out. Yao's dagger looked deadly, but he too had no time to practice with his weapon. If attacked they might injure a few of their attackers but nothing more.

A rustling from their left made Matthew freeze and Yao stiffen. The brunette drew his blade and Matthew nocked an arrow. From the bushes a blond boy pushed his way into Matthew and Yao's line of sight, his hands raised.

Another boy followed the blond, a glare set firmly on his face. The two lowered their hands as Yao and Matthew lowered their weapons. The blond's eyes flicked back and forth between Matthew and Yao. Matthew stepped forward and pulled his sleeve up showing his Ace marking to the two. The brunette boy pulled the bandages off his left hand and showed his Ace mark to Matthew.

Both pairs relaxed. Matthew smiled softly and motioned for the others to join them.

"I'm Matthew and this is Yao," Matthew said motioning to Yao, "What are your names?"

The brunette scowled and crossed his arms defensively as the blond spoke, "I'm Vash. He's Lovino."

A.N. Another chapter finished! As always I love reviews and hearing what you guys think! Until next time! - Retso