The Four Kingdoms
Disclaimer: I don't own Shaman King
Chapter LIII: Legacy
Four years later...
The closet in Mommy's chamber was his most favorite hiding place in the world. He liked to squeeze himself between the silk, satin, lace and cotton dresses until his back would hit the wooden board. He would wait for her there with great anticipation while inhaling the scent of Mommy's clothes. They reminded him so much of the roses back at home.
"Men... Men... Where's my little tiger cub?" He could hear Mommy calling out his name. He sniggered but remembered that Mommy had a sharp sense of hearing. He immediately covered his mouth so she wouldn't be able to catch him there.
It was too late. The doors of the dresser were pulled open and he saw Mommy's pretty face smiling at him.
"There you are... I had a hard time finding you. You're getting better at this game, my little Men..."
Mommy pulled him out and carried him in her arms. "Let's get you ready. Your father is coming with Uncle Lyserg to fetch you."
He hugged her tight. If Father was here then he would be coming back home soon. He would miss Mommy again. "Come with Men, Mommy..." He placed his little hands on her cheeks and removed the strands of golden hair that had strayed on her face.
"Mommy will come visit Men. Don't worry... I think you will have fun in Kouri. Uncle Horo Horo and Aunt Pirika will be there."
"Men?" Father called out to him from downstairs.
They went down to greet him. Father immediately took him and threw him into the air. He also missed Father. He was away most of the time. Mommy said Father had to help Marco because Mother was not there anymore. He could not remember what Mother looked like. They said she got sick really bad so she went to Grandfather's place. Wherever that is. Mommy would show him paintings of Mother when she was younger. She was really beautiful, too. He got his eyes and hair from her.
"How is my little boy?" Father asked him as he raised him above his head.
"Ren, if you drop him, I'll never let you play with him again."
Uh oh. Mommy seemed angry at Father.
"I won't. Don't worry." Father smiled at her.
"Hey, Anna! It's been a long time." Uncle Lyserg entered the main door holding two boxes. Good thing he was there. Men did not want Mommy and Father to fight.
"These are gifts for you... and for my little nephew..." Uncle Lyserg handed them each a box. "Maybe open them when we come back from Kouri. And ohhh, there are still more gifts, Anna."
Men grew excited. He surely liked surprise gifts! He only received presents on his birthday. Every year on his birthday, Father and him would cross the sea in a big ship and they would go visit Mother's house where Marco lived. Then the three of them will go to this quiet place where there were stones with squiggly lines on them. They said Mother and Grandfather were there but he couldn't see them. Then they would go to Auntie Jun's house and he would play with Other Grandfather for hours.
"I got this! I got this!" Uncle Yoh entered carrying a pile of boxes. He looked like a court jester juggling things with his hands.
Mommy asked some palace maids to help goofy Uncle Yoh. When he was freed of the boxes, Mommy wrapped her arms around him and kissed him on the lips. Men only saw Uncle Yoh a few times in a year but Mommy was very happy whenever he was around.
"How is the little rascal?" Uncle Yoh ruffled his hair. Men hated it when he does that but today he would forgive him because he brought gifts.
"We found him at the port of Morphia with Faust. They were also on their way here so we invited them to sail with us." Father explained to Mommy.
"Faust wanted to visit Eliza at the burial ground first. He would be coming over for a courtesy call." Uncle Yoh added.
Men hoped Uncle Faust won't show up. He was afraid of him. He had scary eyes and teeth.
"Well, you, three better get going so you don't end up on the road after dark. I hope Pirika says yes. Good luck!" Mommy squeezed Uncle Lyserg's hand.
"It's Horo Horo whom I'm worried about but thanks, Anna!" Lyserg bowed down at Mommy.
"Thank you for taking care of Men..." Father kissed Mommy on the cheek.
"I always got your back, Ren. Anyway, I love doing it. See you when I see you, my darling!" Mommy kissed Men on the forehead. She also gave Father a peck on the cheek before seeing them off.
Lyserg watched his nephew sleep on King Ren's lap. Despite the bumpy carriage ride, the little boy had managed to doze off. He looked so much like his father except for the color of his eyes and hair. There was no mistaking he was Ren and Jeanne's son.
They were on their way to the Kouri palace to ask the king for his sister's hand. Ren wanted to support his friend in case Horo Horo would outright refuse. It would also be an opportunity for Men to go see Kouri. The Kaminari ruler wanted his son to be familiar with the Four Kingdoms. He didn't have that chance when he was a little boy.
"Thank you, Ren... " Lyserg said to him out of the blue.
"What for?" The Tao monarch asked.
"For accompanying me to Kouri... For making Men your heir. You didn't have to marry my cousin after what she did..."
"It's for the better. Marco and I had to read through legal documents to check if there's a way to let Men carry the Tao family name without being married to his mother. There was none. We had to present a marriage certificate so my son can use my last name in his birth record. Marco even suggested that we let Men keep the Mont St. Michel name and that I can just adopt him into the Tao family afterwards but that sounded absurd! Men is my own flesh and blood, why would I adopt my own son? Yet, Kaminari will not acknowledge him as the heir if he isn't a legal Tao. He will just be a bastard in people's eyes. I won't let that happen to my boy..." King Ren stroke his son's hair.
"I had to make a decision right then and there because Jeanne was dying. She hadn't taken her medicines during the entire pregnancy and her health just deteriorated fast after giving birth. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice your own happiness for your child. You'll understand it more when you become a parent, Lyserg."
"You're a good person, Ren." His friend smiled at him. "Well, I don't know if this is reassuring but you're a widow now... So you have the legal right to marry again if you find the right one for you..."
"I don't want to think about it yet. I already have my heir. Besides, Men will be more confused. He had known Anna as his other mother. She was there with us from the very moment we brought Men back to Kaminari. My son knows that he has two grandfathers so he thought he had two mothers as well. It's kind of cute."
"If Anna marries you know who, then Men will have two fathers." Lyserg teased him.
King Ren scoffed. "I'm the only father Men will ever know. He will just be goofy Uncle Yoh and nothing more."
At the Kouku burial grounds along the Kasai border...
"Ahhh... I knew it was you who arrived this morning..." Ryuu approached Faust who he found sitting down in front of Eliza's tombstone. Manta waved at the medicine man as he walked with his former partner.
"Hey... Thank you for maintaining this place." Faust stood up to pat Ryuu's back.
"Oh what brings you here, Manta? Hope your family business is thriving." The medicine man smiled at him.
"Queen Anna called for me. She wanted to build a playground for Prince Men Tao."
"I see... Good for you... More projects more coins."
"What are you planning to do after your mission?" Manta asked. "Ryuu told me you're down to the last clan."
"I don't know really... Hao seemed an independent king. He doesn't need an adviser..." Faust sighed. "I wish I can be with my Eliza soon..."
He glanced at the two tombstones next to his wife's. "I wonder what Amidamaru and Mosuke are doing now in the afterlife."
"They are probably drinking." Ryuu chuckled. "Do you want to go to the pub?"
"Yes!"
"Er... I have to go back to Queen Anna to report about the dimensions of the playground." The little man looked hesitant. He did not like the feeling of getting wasted.
"Oh come on, Manta. Queen Anna is busy with Prince Yoh. Just come back tomorrow."
Ryuu and Faust each took an arm and drag him along.
At the Kouku palace...
"Anna, did you receive the letters I sent to you from Mu? It is a huge continent! Even larger than the Four Kingdoms!" Prince Yoh exclaimed. He sat on a chair while Queen Anna trimmed down his hair.
"Stop fidgeting, Yoh!" The blond royal scolded him. "Yes, I did receive them."
The Kouku queen would cut his long hair everytime the Kasai prince visited her. They had been doing this home coming ritual for four years now.
When Prince Yoh was away on a mission to a foreign land, he would write a letter to her everyday then send everything whenever possible. He was frugal in spending the allowance provided by Hao and he had to do side jobs to earn extra coin for his personal expenses. Faust was also helping him out with the finances because he had no one else to support. He started mixing concoctions again as there was an abundance of medicinal herbs in the new places they visited.
The Kasai prince also requested his twin brother to have garden roses delivered to the Kouku palace on a daily basis. This time, it was Prince Yoh's name that was written in the message but King Hao would sometimes add a postscript just to annoy Anna.
Everytime the prince went home, he would bring with him souvenirs such as spices, scarves, trinkets, mini statues, and wooden toys for Men from exotic lands that he had visited. The Kouku royal had kept them all in a box. She was planning to give it to Yoh when they grow old so he could open it and reminisce his travels.
"I am almost finished. There." Queen Anna brushed off the strands of dark hair from his shoulders.
The prince stood up and looked at himself in the mirror. He always felt like a renewed man after a hair cut. "I'll grow it out again for you. I know you love trimming my hair and I love it when you do it."
"It would have been faster if you would just use the Harusame to slash it." Queen Anna suggested while putting back the comb and scissors inside the drawers. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist.
"I miss you... I wish you were there with me..." He buried his face on her golden locks. "There's only one more clan that we need to bring back then I can finally be with you..."
"This soon? And I thought I would be waiting forever." Anna shut the drawer close. She felt him withdraw his arms around her. For a minute she thought that she had hurt his feelings. He was so sensitive! She was only messing with him.
"Please turn around..." Yoh whispered behind her.
The blond queen granted his request. When she turned to face him, she found him bending on one knee and offering to her a small box containing a diamond ring.
"Anna Kyouyama, four years may not be enough to prove to you how much I love you. Will you spend eternity with me so I can show you everyday?"
"Yes..."
The Kasai prince inserted the ring on her finger then hugged her tight.
"I already informed my brother that I want to marry you after completing the mission. I have been saving up coins to cover the wedding expenses so as not to burden you or Hao. Kasai wouldn't be able to organize something as grand as the one you had in Kaminari though..."
Anna pulled him by the shirt. "I don't care just kiss me." And they locked their lips like it was their last.
"I love you, Yoh Asakura..."
Later that night, they made love for the first time.
"So... How are you, young man?" King Horokeu smiled at the little Kaminari prince who immediately ran behind his father.
"My name is Men not Man..." the little boy said.
"Awwww... That's so cute. I wish I had one, too..." The Kouri king clasped his hands together.
"Find a girl first, brother," Princess Pirika teased him as she entered the throne room. She gave Men a high five then went straight to Lyserg's side. She flashed a finger with a sapphire ring to her brother.
"Are you giving me the dirty finger, Pirika?" King Horokeu squinted his eyes. "I am appalled at your sudden disrespect towards me."
"Argh, brother. Must I state the obvious? Lyserg and I are engaged!"
"What?!? Did Father approve?"
"Yes, Your Highness. I went to him first. He even helped me choose the ring for Pirika." Lyserg assured him.
"How many years have you been in a relationship?"
"More than four years, brother." Princess Pirika wanted to call him horse face but a little child was there. She couldn't swear either.
"How about another 4 years more?"
"What?!?" Lyserg and Pirika looked at each other. Desperation was written all over their faces.
"What's going on, Father?" Men asked out loud. "Why is Uncle Horo angry?"
Ren squatted so he could talk to his son face to face. He's not angry at you, Men. He doesn't want Uncle Lyserg and Aunt Pirika to be together."
"But why?" the child inquired further.
"Yeah, why Uncle Horo?" Pirika placed her hands on her hips and glared at the Kouri king.
"Because..." King Horokeu took a deep breath. "Uncle Horo will be sad if Auntie Pirika would go away with Uncle Lyserg. Uncle Horo will miss his little sister so much."
The Kouri princess teared up. She almost forgot that getting married meant leaving the family she had grown up with behind.
"Don't be sad, Uncle Horo. Uncle Lyserg will take care of Auntie Pirika for you. I know because Father takes care of Mommy while Uncle Yoh is away." The little prince smiled at the king.
"That's the most beautiful thing I ever heard someone say..." King Horokeu sniffed. "If Lyserg will love Pirika the same way as Ren had loved Anna then I approve of this marriage."
Pirika ran crying to her brother. She hugged him tight.
"Get in here, future brother-in-law. We are a family of huggers." King Horokeu beckoned Lyserg who obliged.
Later that night...
"So... you allowed Pirika to marry Lyserg. We should be celebrating! Why are you sulking here?" Tamao refilled the cup of her inn's number one customer.
King Horokeu drank it all down without pausing for breath. "I guess I'm just really sad... Pirika is my baby sister. She grew up so fast."
"Maybe you're just afraid to be the only one left behind when people around us have moved on and you're still stuck in the same situation. It's normal, Horo."
"Hmm... Maybe I should open an inn seeing that it had helped you move forward." The Kouri king teased her.
"Don't you dare!" Tamao warned him.
"Or I can buy your inn and you can live in the Kouri palace with me."
"How about you try wooing me first. Then let's see after four years." The pink-haired lady poured herself a cup of ale and gave the king his refill.
"Challenge accepted." King Horo Horo grinned.
They clinked their cups and drank the contents in one gulp.
Six months later...
"My Dearest Anna,
I hope you'll smile today with this good news. I have finally convinced the Yonedas to return to Kasai. They are the last clan in our list. After sending this letter, Faust and I will be heading home. I might even pop at your doorstep by the time you receive this letter.
I miss you so much. I can't wait to see you give birth to our child. I was really happy when you said you were pregnant in our last correspondence. I love you, Anna and little Hana, too. See how excited I am? I already gave our child a name. I hope you will approve.
Forever yours,
Yoh"
Queen Anna caressed her belly as she stared out the window. She had been reading her fiancé's letter again. It came this morning with a promise that her Yoh would be arriving any time soon. Every half an hour she would look out the window to check if a carriage had parked in front of the palace but the Kasai prince never showed up. The hours of waiting turned into days and the days turned into weeks.
Maybe Hao had another mission for them. Maybe they had stopped by an exotic city to explore or to buy presents. The worst case she could think of was that they got lost. They had been traveling to new places. It wasn't really impossible.
Then Hao's letter came one morning and he told her something that she did not dare think about. Yoh and Faust might have perished from a sea mishap. The Kasai king said in his message. The ship they boarded never reached the Kouku port and was never seen again since it left Mu. Sailors speculated that a big wave or a maelstrom might have sunk it down. Common folks living near the port areas circulated rumors that the ship was attacked by pirates and killed everyone on board. Adventurers told stories about a giant seven-headed sea snake who might have crashed the ship into splinters with its coils.
Anna refused to believe any of them. Hao liked to play jokes on her after all. Yet the letters from Yoh stopped coming and the months passed by without a glimpse of his long dark hair and his sheepish smile. The rumors, speculations, and stories eventually died down and so was the hope that Yoh and Faust could still be alive.
The news of their demise spread across the Four Kingdoms and Kasai was once again in mourning. Anna was there when Kasai rang its bells to signal the death of the prince. She found herself once again with the Asakuras, this time to share with their grief and possibly some theories as to where Yoh and Faust could have ended. They couldn't have possibly disappeared into thin air. Hao was more mellow towards her the whole time she was in their midst. His eyes would fall on her belly bump whenever they crossed paths at the Kasai palace and he would shake his head out of pity each time. She hated that gesture.
She returned to Kouku with no further news from Kasai and found flowers and letters of condolences from their friends here and abroad. Lyserg and Pirika decided to postpone their wedding that year out of respect for her and the Asakuras. No one could ever console her though. Oftentimes, she would stare out of the window and pray to the Great Spirit to deliver her fiancé to her. Sometimes, she would curse Yoh for making her wait long only to leave her behind again.
Ren was becoming more concerned about her health and her pregnancy. Ryuu reported to the Kaminari king that the queen had cocooned herself in her chamber so it was hard for them to monitor her actions. The palace maids would just deliver her meals there since she didn't want anyone to disturb her. Because of her reclusive way of coping with her fiancé's death, Ren decided to stay in Kouku momentarily. He requested a guest room in the palace for him and Men so they could accompany the queen in her time of need.
Months after Yoh was presumed dead, the Kouku queen gave birth to a baby boy whom she called Hana. Ren stayed by her side during the whole delivery in order to make sure that she won't give up. It wasn't an easy one. She cried when she first held the baby in her arms. She cried for his dead father, too.
The first few months after giving birth was a struggle for Anna but the Kaminari king was returning back the favor that she did for Men when he was still an infant. There was never a night when Ren would not check on her or baby Hana.
"I've tucked Men to sleep. That boy had so much energy or maybe it's just me getting old." Ren entered her chamber and gazed at the sleeping baby on the cradle. "I think Hana looks like you, Anna..."
"Hmmm..." was all the blond queen could say. She continued gazing at the sky by the window, still praying to the Great Spirit to give her strength to raise Hana without Yoh.
Ren grabbed a shawl from one of her drawers and covered her shoulders with it. It was one of her dead fiancé's recent gifts to her.
"Everything will be okay, Anna..." Ren held her hand. "I will help you go through this... You don't have to do this alone... "
"The Great Spirit must have hated me so much, Ren... First my parents then Yoh..." The blond queen sighed.
"Men and I will always be here... And you have Hana now... I promise we won't leave you..."
The Kaminari king did keep his promise. He took turns watching over the baby when Anna or the nanny was exhausted. He was there with the queen when Hana cried for ages when his first tooth came out. He guided him as he took his first steps and had to prevent Men from racing with his "baby brother" towards Anna's arms.
When the boy turned a year old, they threw him a big birthday party and invited all of their friends over. The Asakuras were delighted to see Little Hana and were grateful to the Kouku queen for introducing them as his grandmother and great grandparents in spite of him being a Kyouyama on paper.
The king of Kasai was nowhere in sight during the celebration. Anna was relieved that he didn't show up. A wholesome kids' party was not a venue for Hao's perverted behavior. Even if he would come later, he wouldn't get to see his nephew anymore for the baby had already fallen asleep. Anna instructed the nanny to take him to the nursery while she and Ren attended to the guests.
When she got the chance to sneak out of the crowd, she went up to the nursery to check on her child. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw Hao standing by the cradle and peering over the baby.
"What did you do to the nanny?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
"Nothing. It seemed I frightened her away. She looked shock when she saw me... like she had seen a ghost. I guess she thought I was Yoh."
"What do you want Hao?" Anna furrowed her brows.
"I'm just here to visit my nephew. Did you and my brother get married in secret before he left?"
"No."
"Then why did you not practice safe sex?" The Kasai monarch rubbed his left temple with his fingers.
"If you notice, it's too late for that and it's none of your business!" Queen Anna fumed but controlled the volume of her voice so as not to wake the baby up.
"It is my business, Anna. I'm appointing Yoh's son as my heir."
"You can't do that! He is a Kyouyama. He will be the next king of Kouku! "
"And your child with Ren Tao? What will become of him?"
"What are you talking about? We don't have one..."
"I meant your future child with him. You're too naive to think that the Tao king had given up on you. We all need to move on from Yoh's death, Anna..."
The queen grew silent. "Then what about YOUR future child?"
"They're all going to be bastards but I'm always careful so those bastards won't even exist." King Hao told her proudly. "I never wanted to be tied down by one woman. It's so boring having to wake up with the same girl every morning. Where is the fun in that?"
"You're unbelievable, Hao!"
"Yoh would want his child to be the future king of Kasai. He never got his shot... I can't make Hana my heir if he is not an Asakura in writing. The legitimacy of his rule will be questioned as he is not my son and he is not a legal Asakura. You know the laws of our land. Anything on paper is acknowledged and honored. So here is my proposal to you... When he turns eighteen, we will adopt him into the Asakura clan just like what my grandparents did with my father so that he gets to carry the family name. Deal?" The Kasai king offered her a handshake.
"It is not for us to decide Hao. Let Hana choose his own path."
"Fine. But when he is not a sniveling infant anymore, let him come to Kasai. Please allow him to get to know his real father and the kingdom for which he had sacrificed his life."
King Hao took a small box from his robe's pocket. He opened it and handed it over to the queen. "Keep this and give it to him if he decided to be king of Kasai."
It was the five-point star gold pin with the Asakura crest engraved at the center - - - the heir's insignia.
"Dada?" Little Hanna sat on his cradle gazing at the Kasai king. He smiled at him and stretched his arms hoping he would lift him up.
"Is he asking for milk?" Hao stared down at the baby with no clue as to what he was supposed to do.
"Now you woke him up!" The Kouku queen rushed to her child and carried him in her arms.
"Your Highness! Your Highness! Prince Men is throwing tantrums downstairs. He is asking for you." The Kaminari heir's nanny appeared by the doorway of the nursery.
"I'll be down in just a second... Since you want to be part of my son's life, here... Carry him." Queen Anna handed the baby over to the baffled King Hao.
"Drop him and I will kill you." She threatened him before rushing downstairs.
The Asakura king wrinkled his nose and held the baby away from him. "Hurry up, Anna! I think the little wart pooped!"
Four years later...
King Ren and Queen Anna watched the nine year old Men and the five year old Hana turn the Kouri ballroom into a playground. Their nannies were desperately running after the children, fixing their mini suits, and trying to make them behave during King Horokeu and Queen Tamao Usui's wedding feast. Anna did not expect the couple to tie the knot because the Kouri king irritated Tamao so much but that observation was made based on the limited time she spent in Kasai. Things had changed apparently. Now, Tamao was chortling at her husband's lame jokes.
"Do you want to dance?" King Ren stood from his seat and offered his hand to the blond queen.
She conceded and they walked to the dance area where married couple, Lyserg and Pirika Diethel swayed with the orchestra music. Pirika was five months pregnant and her husband was being extra gentle so as not to tire her out. Marco, the care taker of Mont St. Michel mansion was standing still, looking embarrassed as a noble woman tried to pursuade him to become his partner. King Hao was also there dancing with a new woman everytime the music changed. Then there was Chocolove, Ren and Lyserg's school friend who was doing crazy dance moves all by himself. Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes.
When the waltz ended, Lyserg tapped Ren's shoulder and the two friends caught up about life.
"So..." Lyserg glanced at the women as they were discussing something about raising boys. "Did you ask her already?" he whispered to his friend.
"Not yet..." The Kaminari king shook his head.
"Why not? It's been five years since Yoh died... Maybe she has moved on by now?" Lyserg tried to encourage him.
"I'm not sure. We're both busy with our own kingdom's affairs. I wasn't able to visit them in Kouku lately. Their trips to Kasai had also become more frequent. Anna is slowly introducing his real father and the Asakuras to Hana."
"The boy grew up knowing you as his father, too. Maybe it's time to make your little family official."
"I don't know..."
"You really won't unless you ask her!" Lyserg was frustrated at him.
"Hey, are you two fighting?" Pirika approached them looking a bit worried.
"What is it this time, Ren?" Anna placed her hands on her hips. "Are you keeping another secret from me?"
"What?! No! I just want to ask you if you would want to come with me to the... Funbari Inn... to relax." Oh crap, asking someone if she wanted to go to a place previously owned by her dead fiancé was the stupidest thing to do.
"How about the kids?" Queen Anna scanned the ballroom with her eyes looking for the children.
"The nannies are here. The Asakuras and Marco are here. Maybe we could ask them to look after the boys while we are gone? It's just for a night and it's near this place..."
"It's alright, Anna. Brother had reserved rooms for all his guests so they could sleep here at the palace." Pirika assured her.
"Okay... I badly needed time to catch up with my sleep anyway. I'm exhausted..." the Kouku queen finally agreed. She longed for a real vacation where she can relax and eat in peace.
They booked the private villa when they arrived at the Funbari Inn. There weren't many visitors that time. The staff had limited the reservations because the owner of the inn got married that day.
After relaxing in the private hotspring, the couple stayed at the patio of the villa and savored the peaceful evening.
"Hey, Men and I missed you. He was elated when I told him you and Hana would be there at the wedding. Sorry for not dropping by Kouku sooner. I had to oversee some repairs at the Kaminari palace. Men also started his tutoring sessions two weeks ago in preparation for the Royal Patch Academy's entrance exam."
"It's fine, Ren. Hana misses you and Men, too. He has no other playmate in Kouku."
"And you?"
"What about me?"
"Did you miss us, too?"
"What kind of question is that?! Of course, I missed you both!"
"Relax, Anna. I just want you to be clear about it... By the way, I got something for you. It's in your bathrobe's pocket. I put it there when you were soaking in the hotspring."
"You peeked?" Anna accused him as she fumbled through the pockets of her robe.
"Never! I'm not like Hao!"
The queen felt something hard and took it out to have a better glimpse. It was the engagement ring that Ren gave her almost ten years ago. The Kaminari king reached out to hold her hand.
"All these years I still love you, Anna. Well, I did not stop loving you... I know that I can never replace Yoh Asakura in your heart. But.. please spare some space in there for your best friend. We've dodged our own murders, and we've been through war. It would be an epic story to tell our children and grandchildren, don't you think? But that's not my question, don't answer yet."
The Kaminari king went down on one knee. "It felt incomplete when we were not together... Will you marry me again, Anna? I promise it won't turn out to be a disaster like the first."
The Kouku queen half laughed and half cried.
As he inserted the ring, Ren noticed that the one from Yoh was already gone from her finger.
With tears in her eyes, she enclosed him in an embrace and whispered to his ear. "I thought you've never asked. I love you, Ren..."
After nine long years, they once again shared a passionate kiss.
Thirty years later...
King Hana Asakura of Kasai held his dying mother's hand. It was cold as ice as life began to fleet from her. He immediately departed the palace with his uncle, the former king upon receiving his youngest brother's telegram from Kouku. Uncle Hao took one final look at his mother then quickly left to join the rest of his friends outside. He said he didn't want to remember her like that. He could appear insensitive but Hana knew that his uncle deeply cared for his mother.
His half-brother, the king of Kaminari, Men Tao closed his eyes while he stood by her sick bed. He couldn't bear to watch the only mother he had ever known in pain. He would be forever grateful to this wonderful woman who had loved him equally as the rest of her own children. She never treated him as an outsider.
Their only sister, Queen Seira Tao was crying her eyes out as she clinged on her husband, King Yukiharu Usui of Kouri. Her mother was her long-time confidante and number one supporter. Losing her best friend was just too painful.
Queen Seira's twin brother, King Sora Tao of Kouku was comforting their father as he silently sat on a chair. He immediately reached out to his siblings when the doctor said that their mother had only a few days to live. He had witnessed his mother's health deteriorate over the past week and it pained him to see her weaken day after day. He was also worried about his father who rarely got any sleep because he had never left her bed side since she fell ill.
"Ren...?" Their mother called out to her husband. The former king of Kaminari took her hand and kissed it.
"Thank you for being always by my side..." she whispered to him. "Please don't be sad when I'm gone..."
"You may rest, my love... We will be fine... We love you..." Ren kissed her hand and wept for his dying wife.
The queen gazed at her family one last time before breathing her last.
Anna found herself walking through the woods where she had run as a teenager trying to flee from her parents' murderers. This time she wasn't escaping death.
When she reached the calm waters of the Great Spirit's River, she saw her reflection transform into a younger version of herself. She stroked her supple arm and caressed her firm face. The whites on her hair disappeared and her locks were more golden and lustrous than ever. She was seventeen again.
Then someone called her name and waved at her from across the riverbank. She crossed the Great Spirit's River bridge and to her surprise, she found a seventeen year old Yoh waiting for her at the other side.
"Hey, Anna. It's been a long time..." He greeted her with his trademark smile when they were only a few inches apart. "Hana is all grown up now."
The blond girl could not believe her eyes. After all these years, she saw him again. "What happened to you?" she asked.
"Well... our ship took a detour to avoid encountering pirates. But the waters were more perilous there and a giant wave sank us down one night. I'm sorry... I wasn't able to come home to you... I've been waiting for you since then..."
Anna stroked his hair. "It's okay, Yoh... We're finally together..."
"Shall we go then, My Lady?" Yoh offered her his arm.
"Go where?"
"Anywhere you want, my love... I will never leave your side this time..."
The End
A/N: So I've started this story around Christmas time of 2011 and I do apologize for not finishing it any sooner. I wanted this story to be close ended so deciding on the final pairing took longer. Ultimately, I went for both cause why not? Anna ends up with Ren while she's alive but gets to spend eternity with Yoh after death.
RenxAnna is such an interesting pairing and I haven't read a lot of fics exploring them as a couple. I was curious as to how their relationship could work because they both have strong personalities.
It's an alternate universe so I found it befitting that a non-canon couple should end up together. They had been through a lot of things in this story but they were always there for each other until the very end.
Nevertheless, YohxAnna is forever so I think meeting again in the after life resonates that idea. Yoh's death was foreshadowed in the scene wherein Amidamaru wakes him up from his drug-induced slumber and Yoh asks when he could see him again. I hope you weren't shock by his sudden death.
Anna and Yoh weren't meant to be together when they were alive because they both had responsibilities to their respective kingdoms that require them to be always apart. Once the burden of those responsibilities had been lifted, they could run away together as free spirits, literally. Haha.
The main plot of the Four Kingdoms was really dark and violent at some point so I thought a bitter sweet ending was more suitable. Plus, I already wrote a story that has a happy ending so I wanted this one to be different.
More than the plot twists and romance, character development was my favorite part in writing this story. For Anna, the whole point was about making her own choices and getting back control of her life because she is the only person who knows how to make herself happy. For Yoh, it was about taking full responsibility for his actions, taking on new challenges and learning from them. For Ren, it was about his grit to fulfill a seemingly impossible task and his learning to put others first before his personal interests. For Hao, it's about making peace with his family whom he hated since he was a kid. For Horo Horo, it's about moving on from a heart breaking past and finding happiness in the present.
I also tried to weave some social and ethical issues into the plot. Sexual assault among men is something as equally important to address as sexual assault among women. Yet it's most likely swept under the rug just like what happened to Ren in the story. Furthermore, our relationships with lovers, friends, and family members are what inspire us to become better persons but sometimes we would do unpleasant things in our quest to ensure that we adhere to our commitments to them. Therefore, love has a dual nature. You do good things out of love but you can also do bad things because of it. Love is the driving force of both war and peace. The amount of love and the objects to which love is given are what would determine which way the world would go. So there could never be perpetual chaos nor tranquility.
Thank you to the readers who stuck with me til the very end. I have not been responsive to reviews but I did read them multiple times. You made my day brighter each time you post a chapter comment be it out of appreciation or frustration. If I was able to make you feel and think about the situation as well as love and hate the characters, then I am happy.