Hi, guys!

Today two years ago, exactly on January 2, 2014, was the day I wrote the first chapter of Dream and Fate, and on the next day I published it on AFF . It's a trivial matter, but it's quite important for me, so forgive me to emphasize all the dates, lol.

Anyhow, I never planned to finish DnF (the way I shorten the title) this long. Remember back then, in the first months I used to update it almost everyday. Now that I think about it, I wonder how I could do it. Yeah, the first chapters were shorter compared to the later chapters, perhaps that's the reason. Also, perhaps because there were just so many things I wanted you guys, my lovely readers, to know sooner rather than later. That's probably what drove my spirit to write that fast.

Recently, real life is getting tough. I've been given greater responsbility in workplace and my social community, thus comes more jobs to be done. Not that I'm complaining. However, I feel like I need to apologize for delaying the updates of my fanfics. Sometimes I wish I have 25 or 26 hours a day rather than 24, lol.

Now, I still have Imperfect Pearl, Meeting You SP, and Myriad Riddles ongoing beside DnF. I'm planning to finished the other three fics first before publishing the last chapter of DnF. Sorry for that, and if you need explanation, I'll give one when eventually I update that final epilogue.

Then, for this 2nd anniversary of DnF, I feel bad for not managing to finish anything. On the first anniv, I managed to finish MY the series, so for compensating my own guilty feeling this time, I would give you 1/5 from DnF final epilogue. However, if you decide to wait until I update the full chapter, just ignore the post below.

Overall, please accept my deep gratitude for every little support you have given me, my beloved readers. I really appreciate them who left comments for they give me encouragement and stimulation to move forward with my story. I also appreciate you all who gave DnF your vote. Upvoting only needs a single click, but it means a lot to me, and I believe to every writer out there, too. Then, last but not least, thanks for all that subscribed to DnF. I hope you guys not only enjoy the story, but also get something valuable to be remembered or applied in your real life.

Sincerely yours,

Rei

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Chapter 88

Epilogue-Part 4-Final

Dreams and Fate (2)

Day 2nd, Week 8th of Spring, Year 21st of Hakumei

Love is not all about passion and desire. A true love, I believe, is not something that appears all of a sudden. It needs to be nurtured, like a seed. If it is planted in a good soil, watered and fertilized regularly, and cared with sincerity, it surely would grow to be big and fruitful. The love that I want is the one that could set my heart in ease, making me feel safe to be myself, supporting me in my chosen path, but also fierce enough to make me feel excited, and strong enough to shield me. Just like the love Mother had for Father. And I think, I’ve found it...

**********

Spring was near to its end. Ainosuke could feel humidity thicken in the air. Settling on the back of his black stallion, he inhaled a deep and long breath watching the sunflowers proudly dancing in the breeze. He dismounted and let Hiro roamed around, grassing. He walked to his favorite spot in the meadow under the biggest tree.

Putting his sword on the ground, he lied down on his back. His body was aching from fatigue, and his head throbbing because of lack of rest for the last three months. Staring to the leaves on the branches above, he felt the midmorning sun rays fell upon his skin. He found a bit of peace in the breeze, the sun, and the familiar scent of the place that once his home.

He closed his eyes to seek more comfort the earth provided.

He did not plan to visit this place. After succeeding in creating the cure for the disease a month ago and delegated the team lead to another senior doctor, he returned to the East Royal Academy for he had been a month late for starting his teaching. He in all honesty wanted to straightly go to the capital since his sister must have also started studying there, but circumstance did not allow him to. He needed a week to alter his teaching schedule and delegate it to his colleague. But when he was about preparing for the capital, he was called back to the border. An incident happened with the medicine he sent for Seiryoku that had him reevaluating the formula, and that had taken a couple weeks more.

“Ai-kun?”

He opened his eyes as he heard someone called out his name. He turned his head to the direction of the voice, and saw a young woman. Standing not far from where he lied down was Akari with a mare behind her. She let her mare roamed around freely, joining Hiro in the meadow.

“You have returned from Seiryoku?” she approached. Her steps were light but not hesitant.

He let her come closer and sat down beside him. For a few seconds they said nothing to each other. He was lying and she was sitting beside him, each with their own thought. It didn’t feel awkward even so in the silence.

“Are you having a problem?” she asked when he reshut his eyes. “Did something happen with your project?”

“Why do you think so?” he asked back without opening his eyes.

“Because I remembered back then you always came here when you need to seek a peace of mind.”

A tiny smile formed as memories of their childhood replayed in his head.

“I just miss this place,” he chose not to give a full honest answer to her question. I just need a place where I can  let down my guard without any worry.

“Though Auntie and Uncle are not here anymore?”

The grave of his parents had been dug out, and their remnants were kept secured in Chinen residence until the day his plan would be executed.

He opened his eyes and sat up. “There is another reason to miss this place.”

“Another reason? What is it?”

He smiled, making himself sitting comfortably before answering, “You.”

She blushed but then pouted, “Don’t make fun of me, Ai-kun!”

He chuckled and patted her head once before answering, “Because you are easy to tease.”

She sighed, turning, “Hana-chan didn’t come with you?”

He shifted to lean his back on the tree’s trunk, “Why should she?”

She shrugged, “I thought that you two have always been together.”

“That’s only because she assisted me in my project. And she returned to Matsudera right after it finished.”

“Oh, alright.”

Another silence dawned around them. He stared far to the meadow where his parents’ graves used to be. His chest felt tight. He missed them so much.

“Akari,” he called out softly, preventing his mind to dig deeper into his memories. He did not like dwelling in melancholy.

“Yes?”

“I’m sleepy. Lend me your shoulder.”

“Eh?”

Despite her surprise, Akari did not flinch nor shun away when he deliberately rested his head on her shoulder.

“Give me a moment,” he closed his eyes, arms folded on his chest, comfortably leaning on Akari.

He blocked his brain from thinking about anything. He wanted to feel nothing but serenity at the moment. He needed to unload the heaviness of his heart. The deaths of so many people before his eyes for the last three months had unexpectedly affected him this much.

As silence and the breeze tenderly brushed his hair, with a bit of Akari’s warmth and fragrance, he could find a little peace.

“Hey, Ainosuke,” he heard Akari’s voice and noticed the seriousness despite the soft tone.

He gave nothing to answer.

“You don’t have to shoulder everything alone whenever a problem occurs,” she continued.

Still, he kept his silence.

“When we’re kids, we promised to help each other, you should remember that. Even if I can’t do much, at least I can lend you my shoulders like this moment, or my ears to listen. I’m still your sister.”

At this, he reacted, mumbling, “You know you aren’t.”

Since they were kids, their fathers had clearly told them, indicating to their different surname—Tanaka and Nakajima— that they were not blood related family.

He felt her shifted slightly before she countered, “Though we aren’t related by blood, just like your father said, we’re still family by heart.”

At the mention of his father, he lost control over his mind that past painful memories flooded, almost suffocating him, but when he thought to pull away, he faintly heard Akari humming. She hummed the song which his mother used to sing when tucking him to bed. Another set of his mother’s memories flashed one after another. He shut his eyes tighter, wanting to hold the swarming tears from falling, but he failed. A few droplets eventually escaped.

It was the first time he shed tears in about ten years since he decided to leave for Kyoukai. He had promised himself to never cry, but it had been unbearable after such a hard days in the border. He had been overconfident. He was not as strong as he wanted himself to be. Not yet.

Akari seemed unaware, or even if she noticed his tears, she didn’t say anything, and he was grateful for that. He found himself relaxing with the lullaby.

After the humming ended, she started softly speaking to him.

“Auntie often told us to always do our best for as long as we live, so even when you’re exhausting yourself like this, I would never tell you to stop what you’ve been doing,” she said. “Helping people, taking care of Hakumei... Uncle and Auntie would be so proud of you. But, Ai-kun, you have chosen the difficult path rather than the easier ones. Thus you should also take care of yourself to be able to continue further. I’m not saying this just because everyone is worried about you, but more because I don’t want you to fail in realizing your dreams... to be the best doctor and save as many life as possible. I knew how much you hate a failure.”

The difficult path...

A realization dawned on him right at the moment.

She knew...

He was not too surprised that Akari had realized all. She was not ignorant nor foolish. Back then when he started investigating about his family, Akari, too, had started her own. They read book together, discussed things, and exchanged opinions. He did not tell her what his father told him, about the secret their family hid, but she must have figured it out, he believed. By listening to the way she talked at this moment, he was sure, she had found out about the truth, but unlike he who declared to everyone, it seemed she chose to stay low and pretend to not knowing anything. That’s just how Akari he knew. Always calm and subtle.

Somehow, he felt lighter, and his heart no longer clenched in pain.

Back then when he was depressed after his mother gone, his little sister was taken away, and his father refused to see him, he had distant himself from others. He filled the hole in his heart by visiting his mother’s grave, and the adults let him be. Perhaps it was because he and Akari were around the same age, for while he refused any other, he let Akari to be his constant company. Just like them at the moment. They would be sitting side by side while facing the grave of his mother. He would be crying silently while she pretended not noticing, and when he felt tired, she would offer him water to drink. Then when the sun set, he would walk leading the young Hiro to the stable and Akari would walk by his side quietly until they returned to the residence and separately went to their respective room.

“Uncle Yuto stopped by a few days ago,” she added after a moment. “I heard he and Father talking. Mirai-chan... she... has been waiting for you.”

“I know,” he eventually responded. “That’s why please let me sleep. I don’t want to look horrible in the first meeting with her.”

He felt a small chuckle coming from her, “You’re always so weird, you know. Why choose this place rather than your comforting bed?”

“You knew the reason,” he nonchalantly answered, attempting to lighten the mood.

“Because you’re worried that Sho-chan would come bothering your sleep and beg you to play with him?” she went along.

When he was a kid, he had avoided taking nap in his bedroom because Shohei would always choose the wrong time nagging him to play, and he could never refuse the puppy eyes the younger pleaded him with. And the meadow was the best place to hide.

“We keep your room as it was. You can use it whenever you visit us,” she informed.

He sighed out the last burden, sincerely wanting to talk, because it was rare for him to be able to reminisce his childhood with such ease.

He opened his eyes and leaned away, straightening his back against the trunk.

“How is Uncle and Auntie?” he asked, sitting side by side with Akari.

“Father and Mother are fine.”

“Sho-chan?”

A scowl formed on her face as she strecthed her arms forward. “He is still staying with Takaki Yuya-san in North Province. And he has been studying like crazy. He wants to beat Mayuko in the next exam.”

“But they pursue different field and major,” he was amused.

Shohei had been studying in a business school in North Province, while Mayuko major in medical science, aiming to be a doctor, in Far East Province under his guidance.

She chuckled, “I know, right? That’s just how silly Sho-chan is. I think he just wants Mayu-chan’s attention, but he kept denying whenever I about liking Mayu-chan.”

Nakajima Yuto often brought his family to visit Nakajima Keito that their children bonded well with the course of time. A sprout of jealousy almost grabbed his heart, but he immediately tampered it down. He was happy seeing everyone’s happiness, for he then was sure that his father and mother did not suffer for nothing.

“I see. Mayuko perhaps will be the top graduate from my teaching by this rate,” he informed, recalling the outstanding reviews from Mayuko’s previous teachers he read before deciding to take her to be one of his students. “Sho-chan has to work hard then.”

“Yeah, he should,” she agreed. “Anyway, I’m glad that he is willing to study business so that Father doesn’t have to worry about this farm. I knew everything about farming and horse, but I’m in business and dealing with people.”

He let out a silent chuckle. He knew it. She was always timid and shy in front of new people, but he knew the strength she had been hiding under that.

A short silence hung between them until he heard her heaved a sigh.

“I still couldn’t believe Sho-chan doesn’t remember you at all,” she muttered, a hint of sadness in it.

“Couldn’t be helped, his memorization is bad,” he shrugged.

She shoved his shoulder weakly, “Hey, he’s my little brother!”

“I’m your little brother, too,” he smiled acting innocent.

“So?” she challenged him, arching a brow.

He shook his head, now changed into serious mode, “He was just five when I left, and it’s better this way. I even wish Hana didn’t remember me either.”

“Why?”

“She often asked about my parents and what my relation with your family is.”

“She just cares a lot about you,” she defended.

“I know, don’t get me wrong. I don’t dislike her. She is sweet, energetic, and quick-witted. I just... hate lying to her.”

“I’ll talk to her to refrain from doing so,” she stated.

“She listens to you,” he remarked. “But you don’t need to. I’ll talk to her by myself later.”

“Alright then.”

He inhaled a deep breath, absorbing the scent of the meadow. He felt Akari watching him.

He turned to her, smiling with more ease, “Thank you.”

“Eh, for what?”

“For everything. I feel better now,” he replied, standing up to his feet. “I’ll take my leave.”

“You don’t want to meet Father and Mother before you leave?”

Bending down to grab his sword, he answered, “No. I didn’t plan to meet anyone since the beginning, but I’m glad you saw me here.”

“But, could you spare a bit of your time later? Father has been missing you, and... the last time you visit them was three years ago, Ai-kun.”

He considered it while strapping his sword on his waist. “I’ll try, but I’m not sure when it will be.”

She sighed, “Fine. Are you leaving for the capital?”

“Yes. Do you want to send word or something?”

“No,” she shook her head. “Just be careful. I heard robbery happens often lately along the road to the West Province.”

He nodded then whistled loudly to call Hiro. While waiting for Hiro galloping toward him, he reached into his pocket and took out a piece of hair ornament. Handing it out to Akari, he said, “A souvenir from my stay in Seiryoku.”

She smiled, her dimple was visible, “It’s so pretty. Thank you. And please, send my best wish for Mirai-chan.”

He nodded, giving her a sincere smile, then said, “About Sho-chan... when I meet him someday, I hope to meet him as a family.”

He then mounted his stallion without further delay, leaving Akari ponder over his message.

*****END OF SPOILER*****