A/N: Okay, so apparently there was a bit of a problem with the last chapter. Terribly sorry about that! Also, a bit of a head's up, but I won't be posting as much because my national exams are in a couple of weeks time, and those last until mid-November. ;-;

Chapter Five

A cold wind wrenched itself through the large camp that had been set up along the Sino-Russian border, forcing chills up the spines of the patrolling soldiers, many of whom were unused to such a hostile climate. This was a human camp, a short distance away from where the nations had settled. Hastily constructed shelters offered some protection from the bitter winter, but many still felt the cold in their bones. A white building, made by tacked metal sheets tacked together, bore a bright red cross and provided sanctuary to some hundred odd soldiers. Though the war had only been going on for a week, the fighting was intense and both sides suffered losses.

"Capello, I need more bandages here!" A man called out from the side of the medics' station, holding down a pack of cloth on a bullet wound. A large patch of dark red marred the white surface of the cloth, and it was spreading rapidly.

"Si, si!" A brown haired man quickly hurried over from the other side, a roll of bandages in hand. The uniform he wore was too big on him and hung limply off his slender shoulders, and a white armband denoted him as one of the volunteer medics on hand. No one really knew the story behind Angelo Capello, but he was an excellent at handling the wounds, despite his clumsiness, and that was more than enough for them. "Don't worry signore," He said cheerfully as he began to wind the bandage around the bullet wound, packing it heavily with gauze as well, "we'll give you some painkillers so that it won't hurt as much."

"Thank you," The soldier gasped, his English heavy with a Chinese accent, "I do not know how you can smile even in a time like this."

Feliciano tilted his head and flashed him a grin, "Ve, I figured that I'd smile while I still can. You should try it too! It does wonders for your mood." Hesitantly, the man forced his lips into a crooked smile, but the Italian could see it growing slightly more natural as the seconds ticked by. "So, do you feel better now?"

The man blinked, "Yes, I do. What is your name?"

"Angelo Capello at your service," He saluted with a wink, drawing a slight chuckle from his patient.

"I am Shi Xin, but my friends call me Xin."

Perhaps Feliciano might have continued on chatting with the young man, but a shout from another section drew his attention, and the Italian found himself rushing off to sew up another wound. You are too young to be on the battlefield, Xin, Feliciano thought sadly, go home to your family, I'm sure they'd be really happy to see you. He could only imagine what Ludwig would say if he overheard his thoughts. A soldiers' duty was to his country. That was what the German always believed, first and foremost, even before family and friends. How was Ludwig doing right now? Feliciano hadn't let himself go near the nations' camp, fearing that he would be recognised and forced to go home. All he knew that his best gauge of his friends' states were from the soldiers around him, and going by that, they weren't doing too well. I wish I could do more, Feliciano thought longingly, I wish I could be with you guys.

Just a few hundred meters away, Ludwig sat at a table with his phone in hand, wordlessly watching the screen. One word blinked frustratingly at him for a few more seconds before the line disconnected itself. "Gottverdammt, Veneziano!" The German swore under his breath, "Why won't you pick up?" He shut the device and shoved it back into his uniforms' pocket before rubbing his face with his hands. For the past week, he'd been trying to check up on Feliciano, but after the fourth day, the Italian simply stopped picking up. Was he mad at Ludwig? No, it wasn't like him to stay mad for so long. Ludwig couldn't help but feel worried for his friend back home. Was he doing okay? Had he hurt himself? Could he tie his own bootlaces?

His thoughts were interrupted by frantic shouting coming from the encampment, and he ran outside to see what was going on. His eyes widened as he saw Yi Ling stumbling back into camp, bloodied and bruised. Yao was the first one at her side, supporting her and helping her over to the nearest chair where she could rest. "What happened, aru? Are you alright?"

"It was a surprise attack," Yi Ling gasped, clutching Yao's arm to stay upright, "Belarus and Russia, both of them."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Yao demanded.

"I… I tried to." The younger nation lowered her head, and from where he stood, Ludwig could see the faint glimmer of a tear slip down her dirtied cheek. "It was all so fast, I was so scared. I didn't- I couldn't-"

Something crossed Yao's face, and his expression softened as he drew her in for a hug, whispering something soothing in Chinese as he stroked her hair. They stayed like this for a while, and though all the activity had drawn the attention of the other nations, none of them could bring themselves to intrude. It was all too clear on Yao's face that he was beating himself up for not knowing that Yi Ling was in danger, that he wasn't there to stop her from getting hurt. "It's okay," Murmuring softly in Chinese, Yao drew back, "We'll have you fixed up, and this won't happen again."

"I've brought a medic from the other side," Alfred called, running back. He was closely followed by a small man who had an oversized cap on his head and a first aid kit tucked under his arms. He kept his head bowed low, possibly out of fear or respect. "They said that he was the best."

"I'll need to give her stitches," He spoke up, with a voice surprisingly gruff from someone his size. "In private, no?" Ludwig watched as they were led towards her tent, and he turned back around to face the other countries.

"A surprise attack," He muttered, frowning, "Scheiße, they're moving faster than we thought they were." And together, as well? They would have to step up patrol, and possibly do it in doubles as well. Maybe triples? But everyone was already spread thin from doing daily patrols on top of the planning and the actual fighting. To add more burden onto their shoulders was asking too much. However, Ludwig reminded himself that he wasn't dealing with his human subordinates here, that they were all countries. And as countries they had the physical capability to withstand more than an average human. "We'll have to increase the patrol size and frequency then. China, you know this land the best. Where should we increase patrols?"

"The Northern side of the camp, aru." Yao replied without hesitation, his attention snapping away from his sister and towards the matter at hand. "That's the only place that we've yet to barricade."

"I'll send orders to the armies as well, then." Ludwig nodded and backed away, barking rapid fire directions in German into the walkie talkie that he had clipped on his belt. Yao watched his retreating back for a while before hurrying to the tent that Yi Ling was in, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"- Veneziano?" Yi Ling had his cap in one hand, blatantly disregarding the blood that was dripping from the nasty cut running diagonally down his arm. She stared at him in some surprise and disbelief, whilst Feliciano could only be described as frozen. Yao sighed, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before the countries started uncovering the nations' presence. The question was, who would be the first ones to know? He was already aware of the younger Italians' deception, since he was the one that had counselled him into this.

That day, after the world meeting, Feliciano found him in the vacated room. "Veneziano?" Yao asked, "Take a seat and tell me what you need, aru."

Feliciano wrung his hands fretfully as he shut the door behind him, sliding into one of the shiny leather chairs that surrounded the table. "I don't want this war to happen!" He burst out, looking at Yao as if the elder nation could simply fix everything with a wave of his hand. Looking at the childlike man, the Chinese could only feel what seemed to be pity.

"It's not like I can do anything about this, aru." Yao sighed, leaning against the table, "I don't want to fight either, but Russia leaves us all with no choice."

"But everyone's leaving! Mio fratellone, Germany, and Japan! I don't want to be away from them." Feliciano admitted, staring at his lap. "I want to go too. I- I know that I won't be much of a help, but I can cook meals! I can help with the injuries! Only, Germany won't let me go."

"I understand why, aru." Yao said, "I didn't want to let Taiwan get involved, but she insisted. Sometimes you just have to let them grow up the hard way, aru." He shook himself, as if remembering that he was no longer in the past, but rather here. "Germany just can't see that you've had your share, can he, aru?" At his words, Feliciano perked up hopefully, holding his breath. "We're stationing ourselves at the Northern borders. I didn't tell you that, aru."

"Ve, thank you China!"

And that was how Feliciano had the bright idea to sneak into the camp, although Yao hadn't counted on him to actually hide away at the humans' side. The elder nation had assumed that Veneziano simply gave up when he didn't see him around their camp, and left it at that, but he should have known the younger Italian to be much more persistent than that.

"—I'm sorry," Yi Ling was saying as Feliciano stitched up her cut. It wasn't that bad, but a precaution such as this would ensure that it didn't get infected.

"Sorry for what, aru?" Yao asked.

"I lost." The girl had her face turned away, like she was ashamed of having been defeated, of being weak. "I should've fought harder, maybe if I did-"

Yao's voice was surprisingly firm, yet gentle, "You'd still have lost. Taiwan, there were two of them, and both of them are strong." He had moved over to sit in front of the younger nation, and used a hand to tilt her chin upwards so that she would meet his gaze. Yao's unwavering brown eyes held hers, but they weren't angry nor disappointed. They were proud. Understanding dawned in hers, and she managed a shaky smile. "You're strong too, but you couldn't have won. Not alone. You may have lost the battle but you can-"

"-still win the war." She finished, "You've taught me that so many times, laoshi."

"You haven't called me that for at least a century," Yao shook his head, slightly amused, "so it takes a war for you children to finally respect me again, aru." Yi Ling laughed and rolled her eyes, and eventually the Chinese gave in and started laughing as well. They seemed to have forgotten about Feliciano, who stood by the side watching them. His eyes were slightly damp; they looked so happy and intimate, sharing that kind of close bond that only siblings could have. Why couldn't he and Lovino be like this as well? Yao trusted Yi Ling after all her failures, but with Lovino it was always, "Stupid Veneziano, can't you get anything right?" No, but Lovino didn't really mean it, did he? They fought the Unification Wars together, and through it all they still held each other's backs.

"Uh- China, I'll be going now if you don't need me anymore." Feliciano said, inching away. He didn't want to disturb them, but it looked like they were ready to go as well.

"Thank you, Veneziano." Yi Ling said, smiling.

"Take care, and don't let Germany see you on the way out."

The russet haired nation slipped his cap on and waved to them before slipping outside back into the freezing cold. He turned around-

And came face to face with Kiku.

Also, Lao Shi, or 老师, is the Chinese term for Teacher.