The Heir of Kasai

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!"