As the muffled voice of a wailing child echoed through his house once more, China breathed out a quiet and exhausted sigh before rushing back to the room across the hall for about the sixth time last night. His footsteps were normally light and silent, but his exhaustion caused him to have to drag his own weight across the floor. His eyes were baggy and had dark circles surrounding them. He yawned, tired, and noiselessly opened the door.

The room he had entered wasn't all that large. It was decently sized, and had a large open window to one side that faced the glowing light of the midnight stars. The moonlight beaming through the window in particular casted a glow on the crying and moving little figure inside a small cot.

As China stepped closer, he winced as the sound of the baby's cries became louder and more painful to hear with each footstep. He didn't hesitate, however, to pick up the little boy and hold him in his arms, as his both brotherly and motherly instinct did not allow him to leave a helpless child on his own.

The cries of the small child might have continued on louder throughout the night if China had not begun to sway gently side to side. Fortunately, it doesn't take long for the child in his arms known as South Korea to fall asleep again. As China began a motion similar to dancing in the moonlight, the little baby's cries went from wailing to just quiet sobs. Soon, he was fast asleep once more.

China smiled softly to himself as he stared at the child sleeping soundly against his chest. This process was new to him. It was odd that he was able to put South Korea to sleep in only a few seconds, but leaving him for even a few seconds to go to his own room to sleep would wake him up again. He couldn't understand the clinginess of this child he had found in the woods early that morning. Even now, when he was right there, South Korea didn't seem like letting him go for even a few moments, if the way he latched onto the fabric of his robes were any indication.

If China were to be honest with himself though, he was more worried for himself rather than the child at the moment. When it came to children, he had a pretty good sense of what would happen to them in the future. If this child were to grow up as clingy as he was, China, knowing himself, would spoil him rotten. From there, South Korea might grow up without a backbone and would constantly be looking at China for help. As a Nation, this behavior would make him vulnerable to the other, less kind forces of the world.

China sighed again (although he himself was getting frustrated on how many times he had done that in the past hours). It seems like whatever god looking down on him just wasn't going to give him a good night's rest that evening. He was jolted back to reality when South Korea began squirming in his arms a bit. China, too deep in his sleep-deprived thoughts, had begun to unconsciously stop swaying little by little, and the lack of comfort was making South Korea mad.

China, in spite of himself, continued the swaying motion and, ironically, smiled. He was worried to what this child would be like in the future—spoiler alert; he grew up the total opposite—but for now, perhaps he should worry about his and the child's future some other time. It does no one good to worry what is to come, yet do nothing about the present.

Dashing through the hallways swiftly but gently to not disturb the half-awake child, he entered his own chambers and lay on his tatami mat with the little baby wrapped in his arms. When both the child and its caretaker were comfortable under the moonlight streaming through the window, they simultaneously welcomed sweet slumber to their eyes.