I'm in a very good mood. I haven't felt like this in a while. This chapter is actually mentioned in the manga. For those who haven't read the manga, go buy it or look for it online. Note that I don't know much about boat riding as the last time I did it was when I was younger and I can't remember it. So everything here is made-up.

"Waah!"

Hao couldn't help but smile slightly at the look of awe on his little brother's face. The boy was so innocent, finding anything new to be the most amazing thing in the world. Looking over at what his brother was looking at,however, Hao couldn't help but think the awe wasn't misplaced. Though he could do without the numerous amounts of humans wandering the place.

The two had been brought on a family trip to Kyoto with their parents. Their grandparents hadn't been able to make it, seeing as they were old and had other things to do. They did, however, express their regret at not being able to come along.

"Ne, Kaa-san!" At Yoh's exclamation, Hao snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the younger to see the boy excitedly tugging on their mother's hand. Asakura Keiko laughed at her son's enthusiasm and for a brief moment, Hao's eyes wandered over to her other hand. The one that clasped his. He quickly turned away though, looking out into the lake.

Today, they were going to go boat riding using swan shaped boats. The ones where you had to paddle by yourself to make move. Hao wasn't really looking forward to it.

"Impressive, isn't it?" The older twin snapped his head up to see the smiling face of his father, Mickey. "Doesn't it make you feel excited?"

"Maybe," Hao mumbled, looking away. He still felt a little unnerved whenever his parents showed him affection, despite how long they had been together already.

"Come on, nii-chan!"

"Wha-?" Hao suddenly found his arm being grabbed and was forced to release his mother's arm, least he pull her with him. Keiko let out another laugh and the older twin soon understand why. He mentally sighed, allowing himself to be dragged like a doll toward the boats. There was no way of stopping Yoh when he was this excited. "Yoh, you're going to pull off my arm at this rate."

"Oh, sorry nii-chan," the younger apologized with a large grin, not looking sorry at all. But he did slow down, enough so Hao didn't feel like he was being dragged anymore. "Let's take this one!" Hao looked toward where his little brother pointed and raised an eyebrow. The boat was big. Much too big for a pair of nine year old twins to paddle by themselves. Though, Hao did like the design of the swan.

"Why don't you try a smaller one?" Mickey asked, walking over to them with his wife and unknowingly voicing what Hao himself had wanted to say.

"But I want this one!" Yoh protested and pouted. Hao almost flinched when the younger turned to look at him for support. Ever since the cookie incident, for lack of better name, Yoh had miraculously found a way to use the puppy dog eyes. Ever since then, Hao couldn't deny him anything.

"Why don't we all ride in it?" Keiko suggested and Hao couldn't keep his eyes from widening. "There's enough room for all of us." Before he could protest, however, Yoh let out a cheer and grabbed his arm yet again.

"Let's get in before someone else takes it," he said, coming in himself before tugging the older twin in. Hao was taken by surprise by the tug and found himself lose his balance, falling right on top of his brother. The two bumped heads, causing them both to let out a exclamation of pain.

"Ow!"

"Ouch!"

Their parents laughed at the sight, causing the twins to look at them. Yoh pouted, rubbing his forehead while Hao just glared at the two, ignoring the pain. He resisted the urge to grumble under his breath and got off his brother, allowing the younger to sit up. Keiko wiped away a tear of mirth from her eye and smiled at her husband, who had already recovered and taken a brief moment to watch her laugh. He returned the smile and Hao wanted nothing more than to wish for it all to end. Just watching them was uncomfortable. He was quickly distracted when Yoh tugged on his, rather abused, arm.

"Look, nii-chan! Swans!" the boy shouted excitedly, pointing. Following the direction the younger was pointing, Hao blinked and was surprised to see that there were indeed swans. A small smile crossed his face at seeing the pure white feathered birds. They were beautiful.

"Want to get a closer look?" Keiko asked and Yoh nodded vigorously, taking his eyes of the birds for only a moment before turning his attention straight back to them. There were only two and it was obvious they were mates. Hao barely registered the two adults climb in, too mesmerized by the sight of the birds. He felt calm and peaceful and happy.

"Nii-chan!"

"Hm?" Hao glanced at his brother from the corner of his eye. Yoh was staring straight at him. There was an unreadable expression on his face but it was broken when the younger smiled.

"Aren't they pretty?" The older of the two slowly turned to look at the other fully. There was a moment of silence as Hao stared, at Yoh or at the swans past him. It was hard to tell. Then, the thousand year old shaman smiled.

"Yeah. They are," he whispered and Yoh's smile widened.

Maybe this trip wasn't as bad as he thought it would be.

Hm. Didn't really come out as I expected. Not that I expected anything. Ah, well. I think I might turn this into a little series of events that happen in their lives. Up until the beginning of the Shaman King Tournament. Then I'm going to stop. Any mistakes, tell me. If you think the characters are too OOC, tell me.

I feel so giddy today.