Disclaimer: Hey I hope you three won't mind, I'm gonna do the disclaimer cuz I'm new. We don't own anything besides the characters that were created by the three original writers. (P.s I'm Ashstillburning, I'm gonna be helping with this fanfiction and will most likely make an appearance as a character.)

Chapter 19

Italy sighed. History homework was hard, especially since he had lived during the times they were currently taking about. The time that Holy Rome left him….. It was during this lesson that he had flinched when Germany tapped his shoulder in class. He had made the mistake of showing his unhappiness and Ludwig had picked up on it. Now his friend was suspicious and was trying to get him to talk about it.

Feliciano had assured him several times that it was nothing, even faking a smile in history, but he knew that Germany didn't believe him. Now Italy was hiding from him in the library, the only place Germany wouldn't think he would be.

Italy picked up his quill and began writing his assignment. Someone plopped in the seat in front of him and he looked up. Lujza was sitting there, concentrating on a book titled, Hogwarts, A History. He sighed inwardly and put on his smile.

"Ve~ How are you Lujza," he asked

She looked up at him sadly. "I'm sorry, this must be so hard for you," she replied.

He cocked his head, looking confused, but panicking on the inside. Her eyes flicked back to the book, her face still sad, but she didn't speak for the rest of the time she was there. After about ten minutes of her silence, Italy went back to writing his paper. When the clock struck 10, Lujza picked up her book and left for her common room, giving Feliciano one last sad glance.

After she left, the Italian country gave a shaky sigh.

He looked down at his paper, half finished, and half heartedly written. He put his quill down and, after looking around to see if anyone else was around, buried his head in his hands. Shaking sobs left his body, tears silently dripping from his eyes and onto his sleeves.

"Italy….."

Said country jerked up and turned to see Germany standing a few feet away, worry etched on his face. Italy gasped and wiped the tears from his eyes, putting on the forced smile.

"A-ahh, Ludwig, uhh, how did you find me? I thought for sure I had hidden well..."

He trailed off, his mask breaking as his friend took a cautionary step towards him.

"Italy, are you doing alright? You haven't looked well for a week now," he said, "Lujza told me that you were in the place I would least expect you to be, so I tried in here."

Italy blinked, "Oh, well, I'm doing fine, see, I even did part of our history paper!" He showed Germany his parchment. After looking over it for a few minutes, the worry not leaving his face, Germany raised his eyes to Italy's.

"Open your eyes, Italy," he said quietly, placing his hand on the others shoulder.

Wincing slightly at his tone, he complied, his amber orbs pleading Ludwig to let it go and walk away. The others eyes looked exactly like the country Italy was mourning and the resemblance took his breath away. Tears threatened to spill, despite his best efforts to hold then back. Finally, Italy broke. He let his head fall on his friend's shoulder, letting the stress of the week out, weeping as Germany rubbed small circles on his back. Slowly, the hiccuping sobs calmed down and Italy raised his head.

"Ve~ Grazie, Ludwig," he said, hugging the country in front of him. Germany let him stay like this for a few seconds before beginning to shift uncomfortably.

"Italy, could you please let go now," he muttered, a small pink tinge on his cheeks.

"Ve, but Ge-Ludwig, you're so warm," the Italian said sleepily, unconsciously snuggling deeper into the Germans neck.

Germany blushed bright red and began to stutter, trying push Italy off. Eventually he gave up and moved the now sleeping Italian onto his back and carried him back to the common room. Shaking his head with a slight smile Germany sighed. "Vhat am I going to do with you," he asked quietly.

The next morning, Germany felt someone snuggle closer and opened his eyes to see the Italian's face but inches from his own. He sighed and got out of the bed, picking up the other and depositing him in his own bed before heading to the baths. It was always early enough when the Germanic country woke that he was able to return the stowaway before anyone else saw.

After his bath, he made way back to the common room to wake his companion, who was probably still sleeping. They would go to breakfast together, and then they needed to get to their first class, Germany with Hufflepuff in Care of Magical Creatures, and Italy with Ravenclaw in Herbology.

Suddenly he heard a scream. He ran around the corner, only to see a familiar sight that chilled his blood. The Virus was back.

(With Russia and China)

"Aiyah, you expect me to run through THIS."

"Yes, I do." Urahara replied with his usual sly grin.

What china was staring at was an obstacle course from hell. With crocodile pits, lava filled rock climbing walls and other deadly things, any human would be dead from just looking at it, let alone running it.

"Well, what are you waiting for," cried (Annoying red haired kid), "Are ya chicken or something?"

"I am not a chicken, aru. I'd like to see you run this."

"No way. I'm not running that! That'll kill me! Besides, this is your test, not mine."

With a defeated sigh, Yao returned his attention to THE DEADLY OBSTACLE COURSE OF DOOM. (Cool name, right)

"Might as well get this over with." And then he was off to face his death.

"So you're saying that I'm part 'Hollow' and that I need to learn to control it or else it will take control of me, да?"

Shivering at the creepy smile that was ever present on the foreigner's face, Ichigo replied, "That's basically it, though I won't be the one teaching you."

"Who will be teaching me then?"

"Well, that will have to be Hiyori, and the other Vizards, good luck," Ichigo replied, before disappearing.

A short blonde female replaced his spot, an annoyed expression covering her face. She sighed disgustedly, looking at the coat clad Russian before her.

"Hachi, put up a shield," she shouted.

A large man popped up beside her and pressed his hands together. "Yes ma'am."

A spacious orange box appeared around Russia. He taps the ground with his foot, " Why do you need a shield thingy?"

The blonde smirked and looked to the bigger male beside her. "Let me in, Hachi."

Another "yes ma'am" was uttered, a small doorway appeared, letting her in, and closed behind her.

She walked up to Russia, still smirking, and smacked him in the face with her flip-flop, surprisingly knocking him out. He had hardly touched the ground, when his sinister laughter rang out.

"Huh, faster than most," Hiyori said, pulling on her mask and holding her sword at ready.

Yao looked less tired than expected when he had finished, and actually looked a little bored. He had gone into "war mode"(unknowingly) and completed the obstacle course rather quickly. Urahara then brought out a strange looking doll.

"Before we can use this, you need to connect to your sword and achieve Shikai.

China took out the sword on his back and looked at it. He sat down in a meditative stance and reached out, like he had done for thousands of years. Almost immediately, in the sanctuary of his mind, a small child popped in and giggled.

"Ni Hao," he greeted.

"Ni Hao Ma," she replied," I am called Mada Jikan"

"It is nice to meet you Mada Jikan, how exactly does this work?"

She giggled and explained the fundamentals of being a Soul Reaper. She also explained how to use Bankai and Shikai. They said their farewells, much to his discomfort as she called him "Grandpa China", and said nation opened his eyes. He stood slowly, holding Mada carefully. The girl named Rukia approached, stood at ready.

"Let's start."

Rukia rushed at him, attacking viciously, though China parried easily. After die time of them sparring, she jumped back, and shouted "Dance, Sode no Shirayuki!"

Sensing an extreme cold, China leapt sharply to the right, and called out, "Fly True, Mada Jikan!"

Rukia looked shocked, but quickly moved to avoid the attack, not expecting the man to have mastered it already. They avoided each other's attacks, until, finally, China managed to graze her cheek. Immediately, she froze, blissfully unaware that time had stopped for her.

The old nation sighed and backed up quite a ways, before releasing her from the stopped time. She completed the attack she had been planning, before realizing he wasn't there. She faced him again, on guard. Slow clapping was heard behind her and Urahara walked into sight.

"Impressive, for a newbie," he walked around the two fighters studying China's stance,"You look like you were made to hold a sword."

"Not made necessarily, but it is an art that has been passed down from generation to generation where I'm from." China replied.

"Maybe you should try fighting me," the man suggested with a sly smirk, "Just see if you can knock off my hat."

"Hiyori, it's been ten minutes, pull out,"Shinji shouted, ready to hop in. The blonde backed up and Shinji took her place, battling the dog-like Hollow the Russian had become. The Hollow growled at the opponent change, and tried to follow the girl, only to be attacked by Shinji. It growled again and it's infernal laughter started up, quiet at first, but ending with several of the spectators covering their ears

Russia stood in the silent forest he called home, looking around suspiciously for the man who called himself his Hollow. Suddenly, out of the tree beside him, the creature appeared. It looked exactly like him, but with dark skin and hair, and was wearing his scarf from Ukraine. Russia grasped at the empty space that was once taken by the precious cloth. He snarled at the opposite and stung with his sturdy pipe. He had found a sword earlier, but chose the pipe, as he felt he could trust it. Now the creature had the sword he called, Ippante Ki Na Fuyu. It kept freezing him and and legs with every slash, but Russia ignored the pain, already used to the extreme conditions of his country. Withstanding the frigid sensation that resonated in his bones, the Russian placed his weight on his right foot and lunged forward, throwing himself at the creature.

Their weapons met, collided, and scraped against each other when they made contact. Ivan cursed under his breath, since his childhood, he had never had this trouble facing an adversary, not even with Prussia. The creature opposite of him let out a low chuckle of mockery, causing the Russian to quickly gather his thoughts and continue with the fight. Ivan continued to swing his pipe in the direction of his copy, who seemed to dodge every move with ease. With every hit, it had a counterattack ready.

Ivan clashed his pipe once more with the adversary, his ears ringing at the shrill sounds their weapons made. When he couldn't hold up, his feet slipped in the snow, throwing him a few feet back. Shakily, he regained his step and looked up at the hollow. He knew there was a way he could defeat it, he just needed an opening. As he scanned for an opening, he asked, "Is that all you got? Natalia would rip you to shreds."

The creature replied,"Of course not". After the answer, the two stared at each other, minutes each stretching into minute eternities as they waited for one another to commence another attack. A bit impatient, the creature turned to scan his surroundings, Ivan now seeing the opportunity as clear as day. The platinum blonde slid to the counterpart's side with inhuman speed and slid the pipe beneath his feet, sending him straight into the snow. Now pinned to the ground, the Russian gave the creature a sly and triumphant smile. "I win."

The creature gave a knowing smile. A familiar weight surrounded Russia's neck and the pipe was replaced with the sword, which somehow felt right.

"Take care of Ippante Ki Na Fuyu, and if you should slip on his ice, know that i will be there to take your place," it said, slowly fading into the snow covered ground.

Russia looked at the sword and watched an old, but strong man step out of the forest. He didn't feel threatened, but greeted the old friend. "Привет, General Winter."

Yay! This chapter is finished! Let's introduce our new author, AshStillBurning!

Hey everyone! :-) I hope that I can help write a story you all can enjoy.

Thanks Ash, I hope you enjoyed the story so far

The awesome oohlips123 welcomes you.

Well, since it's the end of this chapter, let's wrap this up. This comment section is getting too long. On a side note, nice having another person help out Ash

I am happy that I made Russia's sword General Winter

It was a really good idea. Thank you for the warm welcome oohlips123, and I'm happy to help.

*signs goodbye and thank you for reading in asl*

Ash, I think it's your turn to do the closing remarks. Take it away. Ciao~

OK thank you umm it was really fun working on this and I look forward to helping write more. duces everyone.

Buscú!

~Here's a glimpse at what we talk/write about when writing the story~

What should Russia's hollow look like?

He should look like a buff fish!

Sorry would that even make sense in that world?

Nope! Let's do it!

NO! YOU'RE CRAZY, LEAVE THAT OUT OF THIS STORY AT LEAST!

Thank you! But why?!

Umm can you guys give me an idea what a normal hollow looks like?

Blub Blub, Kolkolkol! Make him a fish you will.

NO! NO NO NO NO NO NO ABSOLUTELY NOT AND IN CASE YOU DIDN'T GET THE MEMO, NO!

C3H5N3O9 = Nitroglycerin, a combustion gas that's odorless and Awesome.

BECAUSE H311 NO

Fine, he won't be a buff fish. He can be a buff hamster instead!

OMG I'M DYING LOL A BUFF HAMSTER!

NO TO THE HAMSTER TOO! NO! NO HAMSTERS, NO FISH, NO ANIMALS, BE SERIOUS!

Can we just copy this and put it in the comments? The viewers need to know how the writing process works.

I was actually thinking we could have bonus chapters like that and we'd give interviews too.

So, can he be a regular hamster?

I don't think he'd be a hamster in any world or universe.

Oh, Oh I know! He can be a Jackalope! I'm being serious and I think making him a Jackalope would make his hollow more unique!

I feel like crying, oohlips123, you are not allowed to come up with the main idea for Russia's Hollow if you keep making such suggestions. I'm going to bed now

Why art thou crying, my lady? And I keep telling you, he should be a Jackalope! Like the one from Pixar's Boundin'. I really loved that character.

This conversation is hilarious how bout he could look like an animal native to Russia?

Translations(courtesy of Google translate)(correct me if I'm wrong):

Russian

Привет- privet- greetings

Japanese

Ippante Ki Na Fuyu- General Winter

Mada Jikan- Still Time