A/N: Based on the books "Garden of Stones" by Sophie Littlefield, "The Outsiders" by S.E Hinton, "The Boy In the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne, and "Kinda Sort Of" by Rachel Rozet.
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It was early 1943, _____ had joined the Allies after a long talk with her boss. Her country had set up their first official camp in England, next to the only Canadian army at the time.
Her troops had set up camp, but all of the hard labor had passed the time and it was finally dinner. They had all gathered under the mail tent where they all received their parcels from their family members. Those who didn't receive parcels, were forced to eat the rations provided to them by the government. This is how _____'s country saved money and supplies.
Being the representation of a country came with major responsibilities. _____ was lieutenant general of the first army and had to watch over all of the soldiers. She waited until everyone else got food and received a parcel from her family. She was delighted to know that they were thinking of her.
_____ sat down on a rock nearby the camp on a hill and sat to eat. This was her favorite spot to relax, you could see the whole camp and even beyond it. There were beautiful fields of flowers on the other side of the woods and she hoped that one day, she would be able to go see them. She loved watching a nearby creek and looking for minnows and other small fish. She clutched her parcel close to her chest and put it down on the ground in front of her. She started untying the thin rope and brown paper surrounding her lunch, when she heard a faint rustling in the bushes. _____ flinched a bit and turned around and pulled out her pocket knife, readying it for attack, just in case.
She crept slowly towards the short bush, then a rather large animal popped out. _____ couldn't figure out how it fit in a bush as small as her waist. She jumped back and watched as the furry, white animal hid behind her legs. It gripped onto her uniform and dug it's claws into her skin, leaving small scratches and cuts behind.
It seemed to be running or hiding from something. The poor thing was trembling like a chihuahua. _____ held her knife firmly in her hand and headed towards the bush once more. She pushed the leaves around, yet she came out with nothing. She sighed and loosened her grip, then she tensed as she heard a faint yell in the distance. She couldn't quite make it out, but she knew it was human, male in fact.
"A surprise attack?" She muttered to herself, thinking of the Axis Powers and clentching her teeth together tightly.
The yell sounded off again, but she noticed that it seemed to be repeating the same phrase. Standing her ground, _____ picked the animal up and placed it on the ground beside her. Now that it wasn't stuck to her leg, she could move easier. She took note of it's features. A white bear with big, black, round eyes.
'It couldn't be a polar bear.' she thought, 'We're in the middle of a forest in England.'
She trudged through the leaves, the chilly air made goosebumps form on her arms and made the leaves frosty and louder under her feet. She headed towards a larger cluster of trees that surrounded the opening on the hill. The yelling seemed to be louder _____ knew she was getting closer.
As _____ neared her target, she listened closely to the yelling, "Mr. Kumakichi? This isn't funny!"
"Kumakichi?" She whispered under her breath and looked back at the bear who was now following her close behind, "Is that you?"
"Who're you?" The bear asked.
_____ jumped, "A talking bear!" She yelled a little too loud. She heard footsteps echoing in the air behind her as she tripped and fell to the ground.
"You should be more careful." The bear said.
_____ rubbed the back of her head, wincing in pain as she felt a bump. She nodded.
The footsteps drew closer and stopped a few few away. _____ knew she had been caught.
"Mr. Kumakara! You're here!" The man whispered behind her.
"Who're you?" The bear asked once more.
The man sulked, "I'm Canada..."
_____ sat up and turned around. Now in front of her was a blonde with round glasses, wearing a uniform similar to hers, but not comepletely the same.
"I'm so sorry." The man whispered, "Did he frighten you?"
"Who? The bear?" She stood up, wobbling on her feet a little until she regained her balance, "Nah."
The man gasped a little, "Can you see me?"
_____ raised an eyebrow, "Of course I can see you. Why? Are you a ghost?" She joked.
"N-no. But it sure feels like it." The man's face went red and he stared at the ground.
There was a long period of silence. _____ looked at the bear -Mr. Kumakichi? Mr. Kumakara?- and smiled as he latched onto the man's leg.
"I'm sorry." He said again, "My name's Matthew. Matthew Williams."
"_____ _____." She replied, "I'm from the troop over there." She pointed down the hill where most of the soldiers were finishing up dinner and heading back to their own tents.
"It's nice to meet you, _____." Matthew replied, "I'm from the Canadian troop near the opening over there." _____'s eyes followed his finger that pointed over the nearby creek and to a group of trees where she could almost make out small, brown tents on the other side.
_____ smiled, "It's good to know that we're on the same side." A loud whistle blew from her side of the hill, _____ sighed, "I have to head back, but I can see you tomorrow, right?"
Matthew nodded, "Definitely." He picked up the bear and walked back towards his camp.
_____ grabbed her stuff from the rock and headed back to her camp. Many people asked why she was so late, she just replied with, "My family was over generous. They gave me a lot of food." She hid her uneaten parcel behind her back.

~~~~Time Skip~~~~

Matthew and _____ had been meeting on the hill for a little over four months now. They shared their food and played with the bear. _____ eventually found out his name was Kumajiro after a long discussion with him. Matthew had a hard time remembering Kuma's name and Kumajiro had a hard time remembering Matthew's name. Overall it balanced out.
Today, _____ headed to the hill and set her food down to share with Matthew later. When Matthew arrived a few minutes later, he had a proposal.
"Hey, ____? What if we head down to the creek? It's really pretty and a lot cooler down there."
_____ thought for a minute. They had limited time for dinner, but she wasn't as hungry as she usually was anyway. Since it was farther away from the camp, they'd have the creek to themselves. Something about being in a place as pretty and quiet as that, alone with Mathew made _____'s stomach fluttery. "Alright."
Matthew grabbed her hand and lead the way to the creek. _____ forgot all about dinnertime and forgot that they were both at war with the Axis. Right now, the only thing on her mind was Matthew and the creek.
When they reached the creek, _____ stopped and admired the scenery. The creek's water was so blue it almost looked fake. There were patches of grass that came up to her knees that were infested with flowers. Matthew dragged her closer to the water and the rocks crunched under their feet. The sound of a waterfall nearby rung through her ears and lifted her spirits.
Matthew let go of her hand and _____ felt a sudden emptiness. She closed her hand into a fist and rubbed her thumb over where Matthew's hand had once been.
"Hold on." Matthew whispered.
"What's wron-"
"Shh. Someone else is here." He put a finger to her lips, causing her face to turn pink.
_____ listened closely and found out that Matthew was right. She heard faint laughter to her left.
Matthew tiptoed down the creek bank, making sure not to let the rocks shift under his weight and neared the sound. He pulled back a few leaves and looked through the trees. _____ peered over his shoulder.
There were about five men sitting in a small circle in the grass. They all had blonde hair that was slicked back and smooth. _____ opened her mouth to say something but Matthew put a hand over her mouth. He shook his head, telling her not to say anything. She nodded.
Upon closer inspection, _____ noticed the red Nazi symbol stitched onto their uniform sleeves.
They were all holding a large glass almost as big as their heads that was filled with a yellowish-gold liquid that sloshed and bubbled every time they moved. They had been drinking. It was obvious that they were drunk. Their loud laughter and glass clinking echoed throughout the woods.
Matthew grabbed _____'s hand again and pulled her behind a tree.
"Don't let them hear or see you." He whispered, quieter than usual.
_____ nodded, "How long have they been here? They must know that we have camps here, otherwise they wouldn't be anywhere near us."
Matthew didn't reply. He peered around the tree trunk and looked at the drunken soldiers.
"_____" Matthew started, "I'm going to try something, but if I get caught, run. Run as far away from here as you can."
"Matthew, what are you doing?!" _____ yell/whispered and grabbed onto Matthew's pant leg. He smiled and leaned down towards her.
_____ opened her mouth again to protest but was cut off by Matthew's lips pressing against hers. The kiss was only for a few seconds, but it was loving. Only a peck, but passionate.
_____ let go of Matthew's pants and Matthew whipped around in the other direction, starting for the clearing with the soldiers.
He stopped and whisper-shouted, "Hey! What are you doing? You know this is Allied territory, right?"
"Matthew..." _____ whispered from behind the tree.
Matthew turned to meet his gaze with hers. He gave her a faint smile and her face turned a slight shade of pink.
"Who do you think you are?" One of the drunken soldiers stood up from his spot. His loose shirt was wrinkled where he used to have it tucked into his belt.The blonde hair that was recently slicked back was falling around his ears in a sloppy manner. His face was bright red and his eyes were nearly bloodshot.
"I came to say that you're on the wrong turf!" Matthew replied.
Despite his usual quiet behavior, Matthew was easily angered.
"And what are you going to about it?" The German bent down close to Matthew's face, their noses almost touching.
Matthew pulled a short switchblade from his pocket, "I'm afraid that I'm going to have to use this."
The German backed away a little. He grabbed his beer keg and used his other arm to latch onto one of his buddies.
"You're some oddball." The German said, "I'll leave you be for now." He took his things and left the area, heading towards _____.
_____ hid behind the tree, circling around it whenever they came near to make sure they didn't see her. They all smelled of alcohol and vomit. It wasn't completely pleasant.
Once they all left Matthew let out a long sigh and dropped his blade to the ground. _____ ran up to him as he fell to the ground, tears in his eyes.
"Matthew! Is everything alright?" _____ asked.
"I could never kill someone, _____. I'm the medic at the camp, I can't bear to see someone hurt, that's why I help them."
"You were very brave, Matthew." She pecked him on the cheek.
He smiled and wiped the tears from his eyes, "Thanks."

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