Lament's Echo 🌸 Hetalia//China

🌸Finding Family🌸

"North! North! Get back here," he called out, and then his eyes landed on Yao. They widened a bit. "You found someone!"

He bounced over to Yao, holding out a hand. "Hello! I'm South Korea! This is my sister North Korea!"

Yao blinked. More new nations? Well how could he just say no, especially to those adorable faces?

Looking up, Yao met Panda's eyes. Panda looked disappointed, and Yao just shook his head. "You know I have to," he said, before kneeling down to the twins' eye levels.

"You can come with me. I seem to have been finding quite the family while I've been traveling," he smiled. "I'll take you two back to my own home, and I'll raise you. So what do you say?"

North Korea crossed her arms, looking at the ground and not responding. However, South Korea seemed to be the complete opposite.

"Yes! Take us with you!" He shrieked, jumping in the air. "Great job, North! You finally found someone useful!"

Yao chuckled. "Well how about I give you two names, then? Unless you already have names?"

The twins met each other's gazes, before slowly turning back to Yao and shaking their heads in unison.

"Well how about," Yao pointed at South Korea. "Yong Soo? And then," he pointed at North Korea. "How about Hyun Jae?"

Both twins nodded excited. Yao stood up and looked over at the mare. His brows furrowed. "Poor girl won't be able to carry all of you at once."

He frowned for a moment, before walking over to the right side of the horse. He unfastened a large basket from her side, and clipped it around his own waist and shoulders. He held out an arm for Panda.

"You'll be riding on my shoulder until we get home," he said, letting Panda settle on his shoulders. Yao turned to the three nations still sitting on the horse.

"Now, which one of you wants to ride in the basket with Panda?"

"Oh! Me!" Clarine shouted, raising a hand in the air. Leon pouted, crossing his arms.

"No fair! I wanted to," he looked down at the ground in dejection. Yao thought for a moment before sighing.

"We'll switch out then," Yao said. "So all of you get a turn."

He picked Clarine up, and placed her in the basket on his back. His shoulders visibly sagged with the weight of both Panda and Clarine on his back, but he said nothing.

Next he hauled Yong Soo and Hyun Jae onto the mare. He stepped back, admiring his work before taking the mare's lead again and starting their journey home.

Another several days passed, which turned into weeks. Yao looked exhausted, between walking the entire journey home, constantly switching children out in his basket and carrying both them and Panda, and keeping the pairs of siblings from strangling each other.

When they finally did get a moment to sleep, Yao was almost always woken up by at least one of the five children, whether they were hungry, had a nightmare, or just wanted to bother him (Yong Soo, I'm looking at you).

Despite this, all five of the children got along well. They all loved Panda, and Panda seemed to return the feelings. Yao himself loved to watch them play, and being able to teach them things about his country and of life as they traveled was amazing.

Finally they made it home, and the children (minus Kiku, who already had a room and had seen the house) were astounded at the size of it. Most homes they had passed hadn't been more than three or four rooms.

Yao's house though, was a beautifully furnished, two story and sturdily built home. Yao walked the mare over to a stable that had been built beside the home, taking the children off of her back. He let Panda leap off of his shoulder, and took Hyun (whose turn it had been to ride in the basket) off of his back as well.

He took the reigns off of the mare, along with the several bags and small baskets of money and other items he'd found along the way. Placing these in the large basket still strapped to his back, he led the way to the front door.

Taking out a small metal key, he unlocked the door. Almost immediately the children ran past his legs and into the house.

Kiku was left behind, calmly walking inside. Yao put a hand on his shoulder and bent down to speak to him.

"Kiku, I know this is a huge change," he said softly, searching the nation's emotionless eyes for answers. "Are you okay with them staying here?"

Almost immediately Kiku responded. "Yes. They're all super weird but also nice. I'm okay with it."

Yao blinked and smiled. "That's good to hear. Then let's get them all to their rooms."

He stood and entered the home with Kiku on his heels. The memories sped by to show Yao giving each pair of siblings their own rooms. He put away the extra money he'd made from selling his medicines, and sighed as he realized that he'd need to get clothes and other stuff for the new children.

He told Panda to watch over the children for a while as he made a stop to the marketplace, carrying a rather plump pouch of coins with him as he left.

He returned with hands full of fabric, and the basket on his back also full of more things. The children gathered around him to see what he'd gotten.

Several new pairs of clothes for each nation, along with items for each of them. Gem-studded combs for Clarine and Hyun, golden bracelets and sandals for Yong and Leon. Yao had no idea how to raise five children, as he'd also went overboard with buying other items.

He'd bought a blanket for each of the children, and had somewhat color coded the items as well. Leon with red items, Clarine with pink, Yong with blue, Kyun with yellow, and Kiku with green.

Each child was given a blanket, at least two pairs of new clothes, shoes, and a stuffed toy just because Yao wasn't sure if they would want one or not.

The family was complete.

Later that night, when Yao had all of his children put to bed, he walked out to the large deck to look at the stars. He sat down on the staircase, and Panda made his way to sit beside his owner as well.

"Oh Panda, what am I going to do with all these new kids?" Yao asked, a find smile on his face. "They're all crazy."

Panda nudged Yao's hand with his snout, and Yao began to pet the bear's head. He looked up at the stars.

"I might not know how to handle them, but I at least know one thing; I will never let any child suffer a life without a family if I can do anything about it," Yao said with a determined shine in his eyes. "These children will always have a place to come to. They will never have to beg and search for refuge."

The stars seemed to pulse, until a new memory faded in.