"Yao-sama!" Kiku ran out to greet his brother. It had been lonely without Yao, even with Mei, and now Yao was back.

"Ai-yah. Back, Kiku, back." Yao sighed and Kiku could see a blue bundle in his arms. "What..." "Lady Silla's children are to grow with you. You are having a new brother and sister." Ah, yes, the children. But why were they here? They had a mother to care for them-was something wrong?

Now Mei was there, peering over into a new bundle wrapped in red, in the arms of a servant. "She's so adorable!"

"Adorable my foot." For some reason Yao was angry, glaring at the ground. "Did something..." "Silla is dying." His brother's voice was calm, but Kiku could guess it was a facade. "Oni-san..." "Silla was persistent that I take both. Even one was enough of the spawn of these arrogant boys." Kiku had a good guess about who these boys were. And yet his curiosity had the better of him.

"Who was their.." "They don't have a father." Yao's eyes were icy, and he handed a servant the bundle he was carrying as if it were dirty. "What of their names?" "The boy is Lee Ha Eung, the girl Lee Ha Yeon." And with that he was gone, vanishing into the great house.

"아이고(Korean version of ai-yah), what is wrong with that man?" Kiku stopped himself from shouting out loud. A tall man wearing red silk was glaring daggers into his brother's back. 'It can't be... He died...' "Everything's wrong with that git." Another man, wearing full armor, and sword in hilt, was also glaring at Yao.

"Mei!" His sister turned. "What?" "There are men, right there!" He pointed but Mei laughed at him. "What are you talking about, Kiku?" "Hey, he can see us, Goguryeo!" Kiku forgot about being a demure, polite boy. "Isn't this the Japan boy?" Goguryeo-the dead nation- leaned into him. Now Kiku could see the man was transparent.

"You...you died..." "Have you not heard anything about ghosts?" Lord Baekjae chuckled. "Ghost..ghosts..."Then it hit him. "Mei! There are ghosts here!" Mei stared at him as if he were crazy. Then she ran towards Yao. "Ge-ge! Kiku's sick!"

Kiku sighed. Seeing ghosts dressed in foreign attire was not a pleasant affair. He was now in his room, lying flat on the tadami when he could be writing calligraphy. Yao had insisted that he rest. It was pleasant, being fussed over by the usually-busy man, but he wasn't sick or hallucinating.

"Boy." It was the ghost wearing armor. "What do you want?" His voice was shaky to his shock.

"He's afraid of you, idiot, you shouldn't have been wearing armor when you died!" Lord Baekjae's ghost smiled at him. "Hello, young one. I was hoping to meet you again-although not in this form." "What happened?" He asked shakily. At least Lord Baekjae was nice.

"Kiku, today you must be in your best behavior." Kiku frowned. He was always on his best behavior. "Nisan, is someone important coming?" "Yes. Someone with a very important status and a very inflated head." Yao sounded upset and irritated. "Who is this person?" His protector didn't exactly answer, only muttered under his breath about an inflated head and a noisy, nosy personality.

"Why isn't Mei here?" "Because the idiot insisted that he see you, and only you." 'Only me?' That was a surprise. All the important people wanted to meet Yao and not him, and Kiku felt his face flushing. Yao suddenly straightened. "He's here." Kiku stood straight, just like his older brother. This 'he' would not be disappointed to meet him.

"Hey, Yao!" His brother turned scarlet. "Yao? I am older than you, idiot boy. Show me some respect." The figure running toward them did anything but that. "Come on, don't be so boring!" It was a young man, beautiful with soft features and adorned with jewels. His clothes were plain silk, and he was wearing a crown just like Yao. Unlike his brother, however, the man had a smile on his face. "Kiku, meet Baekjae."

"Baekjae?" Kiku squeaked. He had heard a lot about the Second of the Three Kingdoms. Younger Brother to Goguryeo, Baekjae was rich in his plains and in his jewels. He had an advanced culture as well. The powerful nation was quite different from Kiku's expectations, from his smile and boisterous manner. "Hmph. My name is not Baekjae. It's Baek Ah." "Your country is Baekjae." His older brother growled at Baekjae.

"So you are little Japan!" Baekjae, or Baek Ah grinned at him, then did the unexpected. He picked Kiku off the ground and whirled the little nation around. "Put. Him. Down!" Yao was getting angry from the sound of it, but Kiku didn't exactly mind. The older nation was funny, like-like a brother to him. And he had only seen him once. "You're dull." Baekjae sighed, then lowered Kiku back down. "Dizzy?" "No, not exactly." "Good lad." Baekjae ruffled his hair, flattening it. Normally Kiku would have grimaced, but not today.

"And what's your name, little one?" "Kiku. My name is Kiku Honda." Kiku took the extended hand of the taller boy, who then handed him a wrapped gift. "What is this?" "Open it!" "Not. In. Front of your guest-" "The guest doesn't mind, go ahead!" Kiku gulped, but opened it anyway. It was a sword, seven branched and made out of pure metal. The youngster's eyes sparkled at the glory. Baekjae was very, very powerful. "This is a gift, a gift between nations. Your King has received one from our King as well." He nodded, not exactly listening. "Take care of it, won't you? The next time I visit you, I expect you to tell me all about it!" Kiku smiled at the words. "Yes, Baekjae-nim."

"Your so-called nisan ran me through with his sword. The same happened to this one. And my sister was doing nothing except crying." Lord Goguryeo snapped at him. "Really, Goguryeo, it's mean to just tell the child the truth. But yes, that's what Lord Yao did." Baekjae sighed.

"So are you going to kill me?" Kiku braced himself. He was going to die. It happened a lot in stories. Dead spirits coming back to harm the living- and here he was.

But Goguryeo only laughed. It was a harsh bark, brittle. "What would I want to kill you for? You're just a tiny boy!" Kiku's hands were trembling as he asked the next question. "Are you going to kill Nisan?" The two ghosts stared at each other.

"Tempting." Goguryeo said, looking at his blade. "Awww, you just gave us a great idea!" Baekjae groaned, then smiled. "No, we're just here to look after our children." "Your children?" "Yes, boy. Even if that Yao is a son of a dog I cannot afford my children to live without a father figure." Goguryeo sighed. "Seriously..Out of all the dunces to pick, why did Silla pick him?"

"When are you going to...?" The question was better unfinished. "Until they are on their two feet." Baekjae's voice was affectionate. "Until that Tang idiot dies." Goguryeo growled.

Kiku didn't like the idea of putting up with two ghosts that only he could see. The twins were the age of babyhood for now, and who knew how long it would take for them to grow? Until then, he would be the only one to see the ghosts.

"I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" I guess I'll have to put up with you? "No one has choices with their lives." The two ghosts said, this time, in a sadder tone.

There was a knock on his door, startling him. "Yes?" It was Mei. "Let's go see the twins!" "How about Yao-sama?" "He.." Mei sighed, furrowing her brow. "What about that jerk?" Goguryeo huffed, and Baekjae gave his brother a blow to the head. Mei, not being able to hear the ghosts, was oblivious to Kiku's confusion. "He refuses to do anything related to them." "Oh." Kiku felt like there was a hole in his chest.

Yao wasn't the best out of brothers- he offered protection, he was strong, and he was rich. But there had always been an emptiness in the way he treated Kiku and Mei. As if they were his subjects. The twins would be worse off. They would be ignored, uncared for, alone. "As if they would even care!" Goguryeo snapped, but even he sounded worried. "It's stupid, blaming them for Lady Silla's condition!" Mei looked sad and worried. "It's not like they chose to be born! And they're only infants."

Kiku could see the sadness in the eyes of the two ghosts. He remembered the various times Lord Baekjae-or Baek Ah had come, just to play with him. The older man's jesting, laughter and kindess. 'I wish I had a younger brother like you.' 'Why?' 'I have a grouchy older brother, and a foster sister who's scared and afraid of both of us. Although she has good reason to.' The man had sighed, but then erased any trace of sadness. 'Well, I don't care what you think about it! I'll be your hyung! And I'll take care of you!'

Baekjae had helped Japan, true to his promise. And his son and daughter would be raised in the dark, to grow as sad, miserable and lonely children. It wouldn't do. It simply wasn't going to happen. "If Lord Yao doesn't care for them, we can care for them twice as much." Kiku gave Mei a strong look. He would be the good brother Baekjae had been to him, and he would help them through thick and thin.

"Yes, we can!" Mei took his hand. "Come on, let's visit them!" As he smiled at his sister and turned to leave, he heard two words. "Thank you." Goguryeo. Kiku merely nodded. It was going to be an interesting time for all of them.

Okay, time for a history lesson!

Before Goryeo, Korea was divided into the Three Kingdoms-Baekjae, Silla, and Goguryeo.

Goguryeo's prince left the region to build his own land and became Baekjae's ruler, which explains the closeness of the two ghosts.

Goguryeo was known for its ferocious warriors, Baekjae for its riches and links with other countries-Japan included. Baekjae was especially close to Japan, sending their scholars for the education of Japanese Princes, bringing them books on Buddhism-and bestowing the Chilgido. Silla was the least likely to survive out of the threesome, but they made it through by building the elite group-hwarang(화랑).

Thanks to Silla's ties with Tang-China, Silla was able to save itself from Baekjae and Goguryeo-by attacking both nations and causing their downfall. So, Silla survived out of the Three Kingdom period.

In the end of Silla's rule, two new nations-Hubaekjae and Hugoguryeo was created. Hubaekjae, during its short creation was close with Japan as well, and Hugoguryeo that later became Goryeo-uniting the three Kingdoms-was also close to Japan as well.

I made up Goguryeo and Baekjae, along with Silla. The rest belongs to Hidemura-nim. I felt the need to add these ghosts-you'll see. Baekjae is the bubbly, outgoing jock character while Goguryeo is more sturdy, stern and outspoken.