hey guys! Just thought I'd update since it's been almost a week and I finally have a few minutes of free time. I'm spending a few weeks with some family that I haven't seen in a few years and I'm having a great time :) I'm still trying to write, but I've been really busy. I really think you guys will love this chapter :)

Disclaimer : I do not own VA or any of the recognizable characters

Please review!

Enjoy!

DPOV ( Written by Bethismyname )

I rolled over in bed and looked at the time, 6am. For some reason, I still couldn't shake out of the army way of life. It takes control of you and you can do nothing but accept it.

I climbed out of bed and made my way downstairs, giving up on the hope of getting any more sleep. Ivan's parents had given me more of his belongings yesterday, including a photo.

I stared down at it.

It was from kindergarten, and Ivan's smiling face beamed out at me. I stood beside him, my face holding the same smile.

I'd forgotten all about that.

When I was 5, I went to kindergarten in Russia. I had just moved to Baia and Ivan was my first friend. He moved to the US when we were 7.

We hadn't kept in touch for very long, and over time I forgot all about him. My memories had slowly faded, but with a rush they all came back.

"Dimka, it'll be fine," Mama assured me, "I'm sure everyone will be very welcoming."

I nodded, but my worry still shone through. I liked my old school, I didn't want to move away.

I felt Mama leave, and clutched onto her skirt.

"Dimka, I have to go." She said, "I'll be back at 3, like we agreed. Okay?"

"Please don't go." I whispered.

"Just because I'm not here in person, doesn't mean I'm not with you." She said, "I'm always here." She touched my chest where my heart would be. "I love you." She said, before standing and walking out the door.

I watched her, and tears made their way to my eyes.

"Hello!"

I jumped, startled at the sudden noise.

"My name is Ivan!" a blonde haired boy smiled brightly at me, holding out his hand.

"Dimitri."

I stared back at the photo, smiling at the memory.

"Now, now class! Line up, in order of height!" the teacher announced.

The class shuffled around, eventually making their way into a line. We trooped out behind the teacher to the assembly hall, where we were placed in rows. Tallest at the back, smallest at the front.

Ivan and I stood at the front; at the time, we were the smallest in the class.

"Say cheese!" the man behind the camera called out.

"CHEESE!" the class yelled with a laugh.

I picked the picture up, and made a mental note to frame it later on.

I went upstairs and got dressed in comfortable, yet professional attire. Then I headed to the next part of my interview with Mr. Mazur.

"Belikov!"

"Mr Mazur." I replied, shaking his awaiting hand.

"Today we're going to test your abilities." He said, rubbing his hands together. I'm not sure if it was the gleam in his eye, or his overall demeanour, but something about this made me incredibly nervous.

I found myself topless, with bandages wrapped around my fists and placed into a circular arena.

"Okay Belikov, the rules are as follows: to win you have to either pin your opponent to the ground for 5 seconds, your opponent surrenders, or your opponent steps out of the circle. There is 5 minutes overall, if neither of you win during that time the result is a tie."

I nodded. This should be easy, considering we used to do training like this in the army.

A guy, about my height, maybe shorter, stepped into the light of the circle. He was extremely muscly and suddenly, I didn't feel so confident anymore. He raised his fists to his face, and I did the same.

"3… 2… 1… GO!" Mr Mazur shouted, and the other man charged at me.

I dodged out of the way, and he narrowly missed running outside the circle. He turned back towards me, and flexed his arms. He stepped forwards, and went for a punch. I ducked underneath his arm and sent my fist into his stomach, effectively winding him.

I dodged back immediately and raised my fists in front of me again, bouncing around on my feet as I did so.

He swung another punch and I only just dipped backwards before he flew his other fist into my cheek. My head was swung to the side and I knew that a bruise would form there within the day.

He swung for me again and I dodged underneath, using my shoulder in rammed into his stomach and pushed him forwards. He was forced backwards a few steps, and closer to the edge of the circle behind him.

Another punch came towards my face, and I caught it in my fist. Pushing his fist backwards, I threw him off balance. I whipped my foot round, and sent a kick square into his chest. He tumbled backwards and landed. On the other side of the line.

I walked over and held my hand out to him. he accepted it and I helped him to his feet.

"Dimitri Belikov." I introduced myself.

"Pavel." He replied. He didn't provide any other name, so I just left it at that. He didn't seem like the chatty type anyway.

"You beat one of my best, Belikov." I turned to see Abe Mazur with a grin on his face. "But you need more practice with guarding. The army way of life is very different to one of a guardian."

"Guardian?" I asked, confused.

"One of the elite." He replied.

I nodded, still slightly confused.

I was given my shirt back, which I gratefully put on, and was led down a hallway into an office.

"Belikov, my daughter's tour starts in about three months, and I'm relying on you to be as good as you can be before then."

"Yes Sir." I said.

"Training starts tomorrow, be ready."

"Thank you Mr Mazur." I said, standing up from my seat.

"Call me Abe." He said

"Thank you… Abe."

The drive home was short, and I stopped on my way to pick up a photo frame.

I placed the photo carefully into the frame and put it on a table in my living room.

I pulled up my email and read through the new ones. Rose hadn't replied yet.

Of course, I only sent it yesterday so it was understandable, but it disappointed me nonetheless.

My first 'official' day of the job was chaotic.

I was taken to a gym, where I met some of Abe's other body guards and some 'guardians'.

"It's a hard workout." A guy admitted to me. After seeing my bewildered expression, he supplied his name, "Mason Ashford."

"Dimitri Belikov." I replied. "Is it really that hard?" I asked, surveying the equipment set out in the room and the various people working out on it.

"You'd be surprised." He replied with a wry grin. "The standard's pretty high."

I nodded, before going to find my training partner. His name was Eddie Castile.

For the first day, it was quite simple. We started off with basic stretches, then moved on to sparring. It wasn't competitive, the tone was calm and orderly. He would throw a punch, I would block or deflect and then we would continue.

We finished off with lifting weights, and it reminded me, painfully, of the times I'd spent with Ivan in the gym.

I pushed the memories back and decided to call it a day.

The next day past in a similar way, and I found myself warming up to Eddie. He knew the person I was being employed for and spoke of her fondly and often, as did Mason.

The day came to a close, just like it had done the day before and I tiredly sent to my car, determined to go to sleep as soon as I got home.

I stared into the mirror. I almost didn't recognise myself. I was wearing all black. Camo pants, and a fitted shirt. A black earpiece wound its way from my collar to my ear. My hair was tied to the nape of my neck and I had a weird look in my eyes. I held my hands stiffly behind my back. I looked… dangerous.

A girl… she had long brown hair and the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen stepped out of the shadows. She was wearing a skin tight silver dress that accentuated her curves… but it wasn't her type of dress. I knew in an instant, without really knowing who she was, that she would never chose to wear that herself.

She shot me a smile, and walked towards a dresser I hadn't noticed before.

"So Dimitri…" she began. Her voice was so beautiful, and I got lost in the sound of it. My eyes widened as she popped emerald green contacts into her eyes. She began to pull a ginger wig on, grumbling about how long her hair was as she did so, and asking for my opinion on whether or not she should get it cut.

"Never cut your hair." I commanded her, suddenly finding myself standing behind where she was sitting. "Your hair is so beautiful…"

With nimble hands, as if I'd done it before, I wrapped her hair and tucked it neatly underneath the wig.

"Dimitri… I don't know what I'd do without you." she whispered, twisting so she faced me, and grabbing my collar. "Please don't leave me. Ever." She pleaded, pulling me down towards her lips.

I woke with a start, scanning my surroundings for danger.

I felt my thumping heart pounding against my chest, and clutched my shirt where I felt it with my hand.

The dream was so vivid… so real.

I was just left wondering who that girl was.

I attempted sleep, but I couldn't shake off the dream, and the girl's eyes. Yeva had always told me that dreams were powerful things, and how much she had seen in them. The 'sight' was an ability she claimed to have had from birth, and I'd seen it in action myself. She knew things; when something was going to happen, and what.

For the first time, I wondered if I had it too.

I knocked Eddie to the ground and 'killed' him. I rolled off and helped him up off the mat.

"That's 5-3 to you." He said with a grin. I smiled back and handed him a water bottle, taking one for myself as I did so.

"How long do we train until we are ready?" I asked him as we sat down on the benches at the side of the room.

"We're put into partners that we usually end up working with for a few weeks as we train, and then there's a final 'tournament,' so to speak, where we slowly get narrowed down throughout a week or so."

"And then the 'guardians' are chosen." I said sarcastically, using air quotes.

"I guess." He said, unsure, "But you have to be the best of the best. The name is treated highly. To be become a guardian is rare and impressive."

I nodded thoughtfully. I wondered what Roza would think if I became one. Would she be proud? Happy for me? Worried?

Why did I even care what she thought?

A ding came from my Duster that lay beside me. I pulled my phone out from the inside pocket to see that I had an email.

I opened it up and excused myself when I saw that it was from Roza.

She had sent it about an hour before hand but I'd only just received it. I quickly started on my reply.

September 12

Dear Roza, I'm so proud of you.

Well done for continuing the guitar, I'm sure that you sound amazing!

I wanted to tell her that I was glad she wasn't interested in Adrian, that I had strong feelings for her but resisted. She probably didn't feel the same way.

I'm sorry you had to end up with Adrian. Maybe you could try telling him that you don't feel for him the same way?

I can't wait for your show, and I know my sister can't either. She's never been to a concert before and I know how much she wold love to go backstage. It's strange to think that we've been talking for so long, and to finally meet you face to face makes me happy.

You said that you wanted to hear about Baia, I'm going to attach a photo of my old house to this email. It's so beautiful in Russia, no matter what the stereotype may be. Sometimes having a barren wasteland as a backyard isn't as bad as it would seem. It's so natural, the houses hold memories, and look like they've grown out of the forest nearby. If we ever meet, and if you ever have time off, that's where we'll go.

-Your Comrade

P.S. I would love to exchange phone numbers, but if your dad really is as bad as you say, I feel slightly wary about being so open when he might be able to see.

P.P.S. I can't wait to hear your song. I'm honoured you wrote it about me

I attached the photo and clicked send.

I put my phone back in my duster pocket, and resumed sparring with Eddie.

I heard a door open behind me, and Mason's voice picked up.

"Hey! Haven't seen you in forever!" he said jovially.

"I've missed you, too, Mase. It's been what… a day?" a beautiful voice replied. I felt like I'd heard that voice before, but I tried to concentrate on the sparring match.

"More like a week." He replied, but I could tell he was smiling.

"How've you been Rosie Poo?"

I heard and 'oof' and a whine.

"Never call me that again."

Distracted by the voice, Eddie had me pinned while I was turning to see her face.

"Eddie!" the voice called and he looked up.

"Rosie!" he replied with just as much enthusiasm.

"What is it with you guys and calling me Rosie?" she grumbled good naturedly.

I turned to see the back to Eddie and Mason, but they blocked me from her view.

A ring echoed through the room.

"Is it your boyfriend?" Eddie teased.

"Maybe, and he's not my boyfriend!" she defended. "Besides, my dad will be looking for me. I'm not meant to be here."

I heard her hurry out the room and just saw long brown hair disappearing out the door.