Hello everyone! This is actually a rewrite of my very first SK fanfiction from 2013 (that was terrible sorry not sorry to younger me, also very inaccurate) so I decided to rewrite it and include Yoh and Hao growing up together and lots of twin fluff
The dark room illuminated only by candles currently housed two elderly people. The head of the Asakura clan and his wife. The former was sitting on his knees, performing divination.
"No doubt," he said, receiving the same results. "This one will be Hao, I'm sure of it."
Kino stayed in the shadows, but said in a low voice: "What if there are twins?"
Yohmei gawked at her.
"Twins?" he asked, dumbfounded. Kino nodded.
"Keiko went to see a doctor. Two boys, identical twins even."
Yohmei pursed his lips into a thin line. He didn't like this. He didn't like this at all.
"We wouldn't be able to recognize which one is Hao," he said carefully, his wife nodding in agreement.
Yohmei clenched his fist in anger.
"I was so sure that we would have to kill Hao, but I cannot possibly wish such harm upon my grandson," he said finally. It was his call, he knew. He would decide if his grandsons lived or not.
Kino's face darkened as she tilted her head forwards, seemingly looking at the ground.
"Are you sure?" she asked him, and he shook his head.
"I'm not sure," he said, a drop of sweat rolling down his forehead. "Hao is dangerous, that's for sure. I grew up hearing stories about him. I'm certain that he's evil and should be taken care of." Yohmei clenched his fists. "But I would never dream of harming my own grandson."
He took a deep breath and then released it. Kino waited patiently.
"I don't know, maybe there's a chance to..."
"Change him?" Kino supplied. She was always a firm believer in change. People changed all the time, she knew. Perhaps they could merge Hao to their own image while he was still a child.
Yohmei looked at her.
"Change him? That demon hasn't changed for a thousand years, what certainty do we have that he wouldn't be the killing machine we know him to be?" he said through gritted teeth, his brows furrowed so much that he resembled an owl.
"But you know he wasn't always like that," Kino pointed out. "He had once been the head onmyoji, and he had been trusted by the court. Maybe that version of him is still there somewhere."
As much as he hated to admit it, Kino was right. There had been a time when Asakura Hao wasn't a mindless killer with the shaman kingdom in mind. From the sources that were in his temple, they knew that Hao had been a kind man once upon a time. Maybe there was a sliver of a chance that he could be turned into that man again.
Yohmei stayed silent for a minute.
"Alright," he said finally. "We'll try to change him."
A few weeks later found Mikihisa and Keiko building a crib in their room. When they first heard the news, they were overjoyed. Being to-be parents, they were relieved when they heard Yohmei's decision. Now, Keiko was nearing the end of her second trimester and they had already started preparing for the babies' arrival.
Keiko helped by sitting in the middle of the room, watching Mikihisa as he skillfully put the crib together. It was a large enough crib for two babies.
"I still can't believe Father decided this way," Mikihisa commented when he finished and Keiko brought some juice for them both. She sat down, smiling.
"I know, I was surprised too. As an Asakura, I grew up hearing all those terrifying stories about Asakura Hao and what he had done," she said, and then raised her hand and put it onto her growing belly. "He will have a good life here. I'll make sure to be the best mother I can be for him."
Mikihisa nodded. Since he had married into the Asakura family, he had only heard about Hao when Yohmei took them both to the sacred temple where he had learned about the dark history of one of his children.
Now he bent forward and placed a soft kiss on Keiko's head.
"I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mother, Keiko," he assured her and they smiled at each other. "Have you already thought about names?"
The woman ran a hand through her hair. She smiled nervously.
"Father talked to me in the morning. He wants me to choose a different name for Hao," she said unhappily. "He thinks it will erase the crimes that he has done in the past."
Mikihisa sat opposite of her.
"You're unhappy," he commented. Keiko nodded, turning her head away.
"A new name won't erase the sins he'd done," she said quietly. "Besides, I think Hao is a nice name."
The two adults looked at each other. Keiko tried her best to muster a weak smile as she yawned. She ran a hand over her baby belly, feeling light butterflies as the babies moved inside her. The twins were the most active during the night, causing Keiko to lose her sleep, and now she was fighting the fatigue as she yawned. She was getting quite tired just from sitting on the floor.
Feeling a slight kick at the place she had put her hand at, she looked at Mikihisa.
"Come feel them," she said, taking his hand and guiding it to her belly. Since she was at the end of her second trimester, the twins started to be more active, regularly tormenting her, but she rarely paid attention. She was glad that she would get to meet both her sons. When Yohmei first told her that her child would be Hao, she was terrified. She had grown up hearing about all that he did, but at the same time… she couldn't bring herself to hate her baby. Hao or not, he would be her son, her baby boy, and she would do anything for him. And then she found out that there was another baby. Another boy and she was overjoyed, but the true feeling of relief came only after the decision that no one would be killing the babies.
Mikihisa rested his hand on her belly for a few moments. At first, nothing was happening, but then he felt it. One (or both) of his sons was awake and quite active. Briefly, he wondered which one it was, though he chose not to dwell on it for a long time. There would be a time to bond with his sons when they were born. He would be the best father ever. Smiling at Keiko, he retracted his hand. She returned the smile.
"Don't you want to say something to them?" she asked. Suddenly, she suppressed a big yawn and put her hand up to cover her mouth. Mikihisa extended his hand to help her stand up.
"Not right now, it seems like you're about to fall asleep," he remarked good-naturedly. Keiko accepted his hand and stood up.
"I am," she said. "These two kept me up half the night."
Hand in hand, they left the room.
"Well then, maybe I could play you all something to sleep better," Mikihisa said, leading the way through the numerous halls of the Asakura household. Centuries ago, it used to be a place crowded with shamans and their disciples, but nowadays, only the main branch of the Asakura family lived there. All the apprentices were gone. The estate was quiet most of the time, not including noisy ghosts like the tanuki and kitsune ghosts that served the Asakura house. But with the babies around, it was sure toí become more lively soon.
Keiko looked at her husband and offered him a small smile.
"I would like that very much, thank you."
The rest of Keiko's pregnancy passed smoothly, and her due date approached quickly. Keiko couldn't wait for the 6th of June, her official due date, despite her doctor warning her that twins and multiples were often born prematurely. As the twins grew, they often had small baby parties, preferably in the middle of the night, and she couldn't wait to get some proper sleep.
She didn't have to wait long. The twins decided to see the world three weeks early and her labour started on the 12th of May. The whole family gathered. Normally, Keiko would go to the hospital to give birth, but these were unusual circumstances. The Asakura family wanted to be able to contain Hao if anything went wrong with the baby. If he proved to be too dangerous even as a newborn, they would try everything in their power to contain him.
It was after 10 pm when the silence was cut by the cries of a newborn. The little boy cried as he breathed on his own for the first time. Everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen.
Nothing happened.
The child kept on crying, but he was quite quick to calm down. Soon, he fell silent, his small eyes seemingly looking over all of the room's occupants. Yohmei and Mikihisa momentarily stiffened. There was almost no doubt; this child was Hao. Born older, as he should be.
Yohmei clenched his fist, regretting his decision for a few seconds. They should've taken the risk and killed the baby when it was defenseless. Maybe Keiko wouldn't hate him if he tried anyway?
I wouldn't do that if I were you, a childish but serious voice cut through his mind. His eyes widened in surprise. Judging by everyone else's stares at the baby, he realized that the words could've been heard by everyone in the room.
Suddenly, a small red being appeared. The Spirit of Fire looked over its surroundings, waiting for any commands. However, none were given.
You promised Keiko that you wouldn't try anything, Hao continued. He had quieted down, not minding the close proximity of the Spirit of Fire in the slightest. He was the most powerful there, even if he was a newborn baby at the moment.
"Father?" Keiko asked, sweat rolling down her face. "What does he mean by that? Are you going to break your promise?"
Yes, grandfather, Hao taunted him in a mocking voice. Are you going to break your promise?
Yohmei clenched his fist.
"You little-"
Keiko watched, unable to interfere as the pain enveloped her body once more. The second twin was on his way.
"No, I won't break my promise," the elderly shaman said in the end, giving in. "I promised to let him live."
So you did , Hao inquired, his voice smug. One could even imagine the smirk on his face, but the baby just lied there, waiting to be wrapped in swaddling clothes.
The Spirit of Fire dispersed into thin air since there was no sign of danger for his master, but no one doubted that Hao would be able to summon him at will. Frankly, it terrified them all. A newborn child that had the capacity to summon his guardian spirit after just being born; slowly, the elders in the room realized that there was never any way how they could've fought Hao. He'd win; for no one in the room was powerful enough to subdue him. All the plotting would go to waste.
A few minutes later, another baby's cries resonated through the room. The second twin was born. Keiko sat up, sweat glistening on her forehead, as Kino gently wrapped both boys into swaddling clothes and, one by one, brought them to her to hold.
"My beautiful boys," Keiko whispered as she held both her sons. "My Hao and Yoh."
Hao stayed quiet, but his brown eyes surveyed the room. No adult made a movement to dispose of him. Of course, he knew about their little plan. What fools they were, thinking that they could change him. He couldn't be changed. But, for the time being, he would stay, pretend to be a good son, while slowly implementing his ideology of the shaman kingdom on his younger brother. Then, there would be no Asakura strong enough to stop him. Yoh, his little brother, would support him.
The Asakuras just made a grave mistake.