Introduction

A little fantasy fanfic that ponders what would happen if Yoh and Hao were both princes in a kingdom that could only have one ruler. XD I wonder what will happen...? Review.

Disclaimer

I do not own Shaman King.

Chapter One - The Birthing

There was a hush around the palace. Not a leaf rustled, or a bird chirped, which was unusual for that time of day. Even the servants walked in quick, soft steps, creeping along the palace walkways. The only noise was the far-off, faint sound of a woman screaming. This particular woman had a good reason to be screaming. She was having a baby.

Mikihisa leaned over his wife, his silken golden robes rustling as he looked on worriedly.

Keiko panted, her eyes tightly shut. She gritted her teeth and pushed.

Several of the lady palace attendants who were watching gasped, seeing a head appear. Their fans fluttered faintly.

"Sire, the baby is coming out!"

"I know that, I can see!" Mikihisa snapped.

A neck and shoulders followed the head. The midwife reached down and took the blood-covered baby from Keiko, picking up a towel from a nearby attendant. She wiped the baby off gently.

"It's a boy," She announced joyously.

The entire court that was present sighed a breath of relief. The peaceful reign of the Asakuras would be continued.

Mikihisa motioned for a chair, and fell back on it, exhausted.

Meanwhile, Keiko was still taking deep breaths and shuddering. Inhaling, she pushed again. Another head appeared.

"Sire, sire, it's twins!"

"Twins?" Mikihisa, hearing the announcement, lifted his head, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

The court murmured worriedly among themselves. This had not been anticipated. Joint rulers to a kingdom never worked.

The midwife carefully lifted the second baby up, cleaned it off, and glanced at it.

"A boy."

There was a silence. Everyone awaited the king's decision.

Mikihisa sighed, "One of them will have to die. Call in a onmyouji."

Keiko immediately sat up.

"No one will be killing any of my children."

The servants quivered, not knowing which one to obey. Mikihisa waved a hand, dismissing what Keiko had said.

"Move along," He said, "And hurry up about it."

The servants scuttled away.

Keiko stiffened, outraged, but not daring to speak.

Mikihisa closed his eyes wearily. Being a king had changed him dramatically, he realized. Several years ago, he would have never thought of killing newborns. Now, he was ordering one of his own sons to be executed.

"The onmyouji has arrived, sire."

"Bring him in."

"Yes, sire."

A bent old man limped in. He had a long, shimmering white beard, wrinkles around his eyes, and a kind face.

Pointing his knobbly cane to the twins, he said in a raspy voice, "Are these the youngsters?"

Mikihisa nodded.

"I want you to tell me who will be best suited to rule my kingdom," He said.

The onmyouji looked at him and then looked at the babies.

Walking over to the midwife, he asked, "May I?" and took one baby from her. After studying it for a moment, he gently handed it back and took the second one from her, doing the same thing as he had done to the first. Then, he slowly walked back to the middle of the court, and shook his head.

"Well?" Mikihisa asked impatiently.

"I cannot judge which one will be best suited for the kingdom."

"What?" Mikihisa bellowed, jumping from his chair, "What do you mean you can't?"

"I cannot read babies. Babies have no heart, no soul. They are like clean slates that have never been drawn on."

Mikihisa held a hand to his head, sitting back down.

"How will I be able to choose my successor then?" He asked wearily.

The old man limped toward the doors, his cane making thumping sounds on the rich, red carpet.

"Give them a few years. Give them a chance to love and learn. Then call on me again."

Keiko laid down, satisfied.

"I think that is what you should do too."

Mikihisa looked at her, then at the old man, then at the nonplused court. He suddenly felt incredibly tired. His bones ached. The babies, He thought, looking at them, were too young to have bones that ached.

"All right," He relented, "Give them a few years."

Keiko smiled.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She asked the midwife, "Are you going to keep the queen from her babies?"

As the midwife handed the babies to her, Keiko noticed that they weren't crying. She was a first-time mother, but she was quite certain that babies were supposed to cry when they were born.

"What's wrong with them?" She asked the woman, "Are they sick?"

"No, Your Highness," The midwife held her eyes low, "They are just unusually quiet."

"How strange," Keiko said out loud. But that's fine, She thought, nobody should be crying at the birth of the heirs to the kingdom.

The old man reached the doors. Pushing them open with his cane, he looked back at Keiko and the twins.

"If I may, Your Highness, before I go, I have some suggestions on what to name the princes."

Keiko looked up, giving the old man a grateful look. He had saved her sons, and she owed him a great debt for that.

"Of course. What are the names?"

The old man stroked his beard, his eyes softening as he looked at the mother and her children.

"That one, " He said, motioning at the baby that had come last, "Should be named Yoh." "And that one," He said, motioning to the quieter baby, who was now looking around curiously, "Should be named Hao."

"Hao and Yoh," Keiko said to herself. They sounded nice.

"I like them," Mikihisa said loudly, from his chair. He glanced at the royal scribes, who were talking excitedly among themselves. "Shouldn't you be writing the names and the announcement of the new heirs to the throne down?" He suggested quietly. The scribes, caught in their slacking, immediately stopped talking and started rummaging around for parchment. "Take the queen away," He said, motioning to the lady palace attendants, "She needs her rest, and so do the babies." As the rest of the court gradually dispersed, leaving to go to their different duties, he looked out the magnificent gold-framed window that was at the side of the room that he was sitting in. The sun was shining brightly, which caused him to squint. There was still a stench of blood in the room, even though the servants had cleaned up the mess that had been caused by the birth. A stench of blood that would not go away for years and years, as long as one of the twins were alive. So it begins, He thought to himself, the great battle of son against son. Of brother against brother.

So, do you like it so far? Does it suck? Should I continue it or just give up and dunk my head in a fishbowl? Review and tell me what you think.