Hao Asakura - History

History

Originally, Hao was a child named "Asaha Douji (麻葉童子?)" from the Heian era. Both he and his mother, Asanoha Douji (麻ノ葉 童子?), had the ability to see ghosts. However, Asanoha was killed by a corrupt and fraudalent priest, Densen-Hoshi, when she was accused of being a kitsune fox demon and Asaha was labelled a demon child. Asaha was eventually found by a friendly demon spirit, Ohachiyo (乙破千代?), who nicknamed the child "Mappa Douji (麻葉 童子?) based on an alternate reading of Asaha's name. Ohachiyo cared for and taught Asaha many things and attempted to quell the child's desire for vengeance and his hatred of humanity. However, when the same priest attempted to kill Asaha as a scapegoat for recent troubles in the community, Ohachiyo allowed Asaha to create an Over Soul with him so they could defeat the priest. The combination allowed Asaha to read the priest's mind and kill him, but exhausting his own furyoku caused Ohachiyo's spirit to fuse with Asaha's, permanently leaving Asaha with the reishi sight, the ability to read minds.

Asaha's shamanic abilities were eventually recognized and he became an onmyouji priest, renaming himself "Hao Asakura (麻倉葉王, Asakura Hao?)", and founding the Asakura clan. The family rose to prominence and Hao became a diviner for the Imperial Court. During this time, he found a sickly stray cat with heightened spiritual powers; the cat became Matamune, who Hao regarded as his only true friend and would bequeath a portion of his furyoku to the cat to maintain his physical presence in the world after he died. Regarded as a master of the Wu Xing pentagram, Hao was able to control the five elements that give form to creation. However, his compassionate heart was overcome by his deep-seated desire to avenge his mother's death and his growing hatred of humans because of their selfish natures. Failing to win his first Shaman King tournament because of the combined efforts of the Asakura family to stop him, Hao was able to reincarnate with full awareness of his past life in time to participate in the next tournament.

Five hundred years later, Hao was reincarnated as a member of the Patch tribe and massacred the Seminoa tribe when they refused to accept his vision of a shaman-only world. After successfully taking control of the Spirit of Fire, an elemental spirit that embodies the essence of one of the five elements of nature, he attempted to become Shaman King again. Despite possessing such advantages, he was defeated by Yohken Asakura, one of his descendants, and Matamune, who reluctantly put aside his love and loyalty for Hao for the sake of saving the world. Though the Patch Tribe intended to kill the wife and child Hao had left behind, they realized that they were missing a priest because of Hao's death. The wife and child were spared to continue to continue the lineage of Patch Priests and one of Hao's descendants in his Patch incarnation became the Patch Officiant Silva.

In his most recent reincarnation, Hao chose to reincarnate as a member of the Asakura family, as a pair of identical twins to be born to Keiko Asakura, splitting his soul between himself and Yoh. In hopes of at least stopping Hao until the next Shaman Fight, Keiko's father, Yohmei, and her husband Mikihisa, decided to kill both children. However, following his rebirth, Hao escaped from the Asakura family with the help of the Spirit of Fire, while badly burning Mikihisa and sparing his twin brother with the promise to reclaim him some day. After escaping from the Asakura family, Hao was raised by Blocken Meyer. When Hao was five years old, he began travelling the world and accumulating loyal followers while simulataneously leaving a wake of destruction in areas of conflict and killing those who would not join him while survivors would eventually gather together to seek revenge in the Shaman Fight. In the months leading up to the tournament Hao began to kill prospective competition while gathering an entourage to assist him in winning the current Shaman King tournament.

When it becomes apparent that Hao cannot be defeated in a direct confrontation, Yoh and his allies elect to allow Hao to become Shaman King uncontested and begin an alternate plan to eliminate Hao as he sleeps to merge with the Great Spirit. Yoh and his friends are unable to reach Hao before he awakens, after which he annihilates everyone within the proximity of the continent of Mu, where the final round of the Shaman Fight had been taking place. Within the Great Spirit, Hao is confronted with the souls of nearly everyone he has ever encountered who have come to save him from his loneliness and he begins to doubt his own heart. After finally reuniting with the spirit of his mother after 1000 years, she reprimands his behavior and encourages him to love and have faith in humanity. No longer blinded by hatred, he accepts the promise of Yoh and his friends to try and change the world for the better and tells them that he would watch over them and see what would happen.