Japan: Aged 6 in human years.
China: Aged ? in human years.
"Please? I'll follow right behind you. I promise!" Japan begged, for what was likely the fifth or sixth time that afternoon.
China sighed. "I'm sorry, Kiku. But I have work to do today, and I still have to cook dinner -aru!
Japan pondered the situation for a bit. If China couldn't take him, then maybe he could go by himself! He was six after all. That was surely old enough to go into the forest alone! "GēGē, perhaps I can go by myself, if that's alright with you."
Amber eyes stared into chocolate. China bit his lip and began nervously twirling his hair. Well, he knew it was an option from the start, but that didn't mean he liked it. Honestly, what if his precious little brother got hurt, or lost, or even mauled by some wild animal?! However, Japan was a rather responsible child, and Yao's earlier excuse for not letting Kiku go was true. He had quite a bit of work to finish before the world meeting tomorrow, peace & quiet would be very helpful.
"All right -aru. But be careful, please! And don't go too far. Oh, and you better be home before dinner time -aru!"
The normally calm child let out a happy yell, and then dashed into the forest. "I promise, GēGē!"
China stopped fussing, and with a laugh watched as his little brother retreated between the bamboo trees. He was positive that after he'd said 'All right' Japan stopped listening anyways.
•oOo•
Honda Kiku was having a fantastic time. The forest was filed with interesting plants, sweet-smelling flowers, and beautiful butterflies. He made up his mind to paint them later so he could see them all the time. His art skills weren't perfect, and they were nothing like his brother's amazing sketches, but he had resolved to practice until he was the best artist ever! As he journeyed deeper into the forest, he came across a small clearing and something sparked in his brain. He knew this place. Suddenly, it hit him. This is the place where China found me. Lost in thought, he failed to notice he wasn't alone. It was only when the shrubbery began to rustle that he became on guard.
"W-who's there?" Japan's head swiveled around as he attempted to survey the area. The bushes rustled once more, and then a tiny, black and white furball tumbled out. A baby panda! Kiku ran over with excitement, all previous fear left behind.
"Where are your parents, Panda-san?"
The panda, obviously, did not respond, instead opting to nuzzle Kiku's foot. After scoping the area a bit, he discovered no trace of the baby panda's parents. Getting comfortable, he rolled around with the panda for awhile, happily petting and playing with his new friend.
The clearing began to seem dimmer, and Kiku cast a worried glance at the sky. The sun was low, and that was a clear indicator that he better get home for dinner- and fast!
But what about his new friend? China most certainly wouldn't let him keep a pet, and he couldn't just leave him here! But what if I can hide him? If he was careful enough, China would never find out! There was that big cupboard in his room, he could create a nest for him... Japan immediately began plans for how to hide, feed, and play with his new pet.
•oOo•
As soon as his brother walked through the door, Yao Wang felt a huge weight lift off of his chest. "You're home -aru!" He moved to embrace Kiku, but was surprised when he quickly jumped away. Japan was normally sensitive to touch, but not around him!
Slightly hurt, he frowned. " Well, dinner's ready when you are -aru."
Japan glanced nervously at his feet. "Uhm... I need to go to my room for a second. I-I'll be down in just a moment!"
China went from being hurt, to being suspicious. This was not normal behavior from his calm, steady brother.
"Japan?" China questioned.
But he was already upstairs, doing whatever was important enough that he had to hide it from him.
You better be careful, little brother. Because I'm going to find out what happened, no matter what.
•oOo•
The next few days passed with much tension. Japan doing his best to take care of the baby panda, including bringing bamboo and water from the forest, fluffing up the blankets in the cupboard, and doing his best to litterbox train him. So far, he was majorly unsuccessful with the last one.
It was only five days before his plan fell apart.
"Here, Panda-san... Please come out!" Kiku whisper-called. Currently, he was on his hands and knees searching for his panda friend. After coming inside from his outdoor painting session, (he was right, those butterflies looked marvelous on canvas!) Kiku had gone to check on Panda-san, and discovered him missing. After a half hour of basically tearing apart his room, (in hindsight, that probably wasn't his best idea, due to the fact that his room was now a complete wreck.) he'd still had no luck in finding his secret pet. Just as he was about to give up hope -
"Aiyah! What is that!?" China screamed from the living room.
Kiku immediately raced down the stairs, heart beating wildly. "GēGē? Are you alright?" China was sitting on the couch, cradling his panda.
"Japan -aru. Please explain why there was a panda in my living room." China said, doing his best not to flip out. Deciding that his best option was likely to tell the truth, Japan explained everything.
•oOo•
China listened to Kiku's story, doing his best not to interrupt. Sure, he was upset with him, but he had to admit, he was pretty impressed too. Not only had Kiku managed to hide the panda from him - Even if it was only for five days... He had also taken good care of it, and the panda seemed to be happy. Perhaps it wouldn't be too bad having a pet around the house!
"Alright -aru." China smiled after Japan had finished his story. "You can keep him, but only if you take care of him -aru!"
Kiku looked absolutely astonished, he wasn't expecting China to let him keep Panda-san! "Thank you, GēGē... But aren't you mad?"
"Not really -aru. I'm a little upset that you hid it from me, but you did a good job of taking care of your panda, and proved you're responsible enough to have a pet. Even if I would've preferred to have a cat."
Japan's face lit up. He loved cats. "Can we get one of those too?"
China laughed. "Don't push your luck -aru. It's a nice day outside, would you like to come paint with me? The forest is really beautiful this time of year."
Japan nodded happily, and followed his brother outside, panda in arm. Little did he know, this time they would return with more then paintings or pandas. Watch out world, Taiwan is coming through!
A/N:
*more hysterical laughter*
I really, really, wanted to put up the ballroom dancing chapter, but this ended up happening instead. The ballroom one (Geez, it needs a name.) was supposed to be historical, but I can't find any Japanese princesses that were assassinated. HISTORY, Y U NO GIVE ME FANFIC MATERIAL? So, that chapter will come later on.
I FORGOT SOMETHING AND I'D JUST LIKE TO SAY I DON'T OWN HETALIA. I NEVER WILL OWN HETALIA. YOU'D THINK AFTER 113k FANFICS JUST ON THIS WEBSITE HIMARUYA WOULD GET THAT ALREADY. (However, if I did, Hong Kong and Iceland would have a character song together :3)
Alert: I'm doing a contest! My 15th reviewer will get to choose a character to make an appearance. Any character, as long as they're canon.
I have 4 favorites and 9 followers. *gives everyone internet cookies* It makes my day every time I see a fave or follow, so if you're reading this story but not following, please do! It makes updates come much faster. :)
Responses to reviews:
strongwolf4: *tips hat* Thanks!
Maya5392: First off, let me just say your review made me incredibly happy. Thank you! I made Thailand China's nephew because when I wrote the first chapter, it was at four am and I was too lazy to put either him or Vietnam into the story. Both he and Vietnam will be making frequent appearances later on! I don't really know much about Macau. He may make an appearance later, if anyone really wants him to.
Guest 1/ Guest 2: Haha, I've been there before.
mimi-chan and aliling-chan: Aww! I'm glad you like it. I actually have a game chapter planned, and I'll take your idea into consideration. As you see, the characters' ages typically change each chapter, so when Thai makes an appearance you'll just have to check. :)