Chapter 1 A New Journey

 

In this universe, the world consisted of two continents with five kingdom, one state, many nomadic tribes and the unexplored western countries. Hakumei, Heiwa, Seiryoku and Sabaku were countries in east continent, while Komasu, Ryusei, Kyoukai, nomadic tribes and western countries were in the west continent.

Our main leads will travel and connect with prominent figures of this world throughout the story. The journey will be long, and so let's just begin...

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A ship horn roared as a big navy ship departed slowly off the harbor of Kurofune, Hakumei flag flapping in the air. As the sea water rippled, one could see a man standing at the side deck. His hair swayed wildly but he seemed not care. His eyes glued to the shore where a figure standing, wrapped in a black cloak. That figure is Shida Mirai, his little sister. Only when he could no longer see the shore that he finally retreated into the cabin.

He walked up to his room in the cabin. A soldier saluted as he passed by. Once he arrived before the door, he knocked. A woman's voice responded. He mustered a smile before entering.

"Done?" His voice was as gentle as his gaze.

The woman before him smiled back, "Yes. How is outside?"

"The weather is good. We might reach Kyoukai in about a week. If you have difficulty during the voyage, just tell me," he answered.

She nodded, her smile intact, "Alright."

He stepped closer then took her hand in his, surprising her. "Thank you, Akari."

Her eyes blinked once before she responded, "Don't say that again, Ai-kun. We have discussed this matter before, so let's proceed as planned, alright?"

His eyes slightly narrowed as his smile widened, "As you wish, my dear wife."

Blushing, she withdrew her hand from his then hit his chest lightly, "Don't make me awkward around you!"

He chuckled, "Sorry."

It is just amusing to see you flustered. He added in his heart.

"I want to get fresh air outside," she hurriedly walked out without waiting for his response.

As the door closed, his smile disappeared.

He let out a mild sigh while throwing gaze around the room, contemplating about his circumstance.

He is Tanaka Ainosuke, the Head of Hakumei Medical Association, also the Head of Eastern Royal Academy. He was heading to Kyoukai under bilateral agreement between the State of Hakumei and Kingdom of Kyoukai's governments, covering some projects. 

The lady who talked to him was Nakajima Akari, his wife. They just got married last month. However, though they're husband and wife, their marriage was rather unconventional. 

He knew Akari since their childhood. Among others, she is the closest person in his life, even closer than his own little sister. He knew most of her weaknesses, thus in order to make her accepted his proposal he had deliberately utilized that weakness. 

"Perhaps it's difficult for you to believe in my feeling," he said back then after they returned from Seiryoku. She was still hesitated, and he could not help using his last resort.

He added, "However, do you not think that marrying me will benefit you?"

Akari showed looks of disapproval, "Getting married is not merely for benefit."

He nodded, "Indeed. An ideal marriage is not merely for benefit, but... do you even consider yourself to get married in the future?"

She was disturbed, "What do you mean, Ai-kun?"

His gaze softened as he elaborated, "You're now 25 years old, aren't you? And you have rejected more than a dozen proposals coming for you. I believe you realized how it frustated your parents since girls in common get married around the age of 17 or 18."

She shook her head, "I just haven't met someone suitable. Don't make any reckless conclusion."

"Am I?" He taunted. "Is that not because you deliberately evade marriage?"

"No, why do you think so?"

He sighed helplessly, "Akari, we have known each other for a long time. Do you think I'm clueless about what you are thinking?"

"We were living apart for years. People change, Ai-kun. I may not the same person you knew," she refused.

For a moment, he did not reply. He focused his gaze to Akari and finally throwing the ultimate reason, "You and I are so much alike, Akari. We have secrets about our identity that should be concealed no matter what. I yearn for a sincere and honest relationship, thus I cannot marry someone while keeping secret from them all my life. Are you sure you're not the same?"

Akari looked at him but did not immediately answered. When she finally replied, her gaze had softened a lot, "Even so... I don't love you, at least not in the same meaning with your feeling for me. If I accept you, would I not wrong you?"

"I don't mind," he quickly responded. "I believe that love can be nurtured, and... if someday you met another man to whom you could trust your life, I promise I won't hold you back."

"Ai-kun..."

"I just want you to be happy and worry free, Akari. I will try with marriage, but if eventually you cannot be happy living with me despite all, I will let you go and do as you wish."

He could see her fist clenched when she responded, "I also want you to be happy, Ai-kun. I also want my parents to not worry about me, but... is it really alright? You and I?"

"Give us a chance?" He almost pleaded. "Let's try and see if it works for us?"

"But... I may need a long time to change my view about you..."

He smiled as he felt the talk had come to conclusion, "I don't mind."

She lowered her gaze, "Then... I will trouble you in the future."

He smiled remembering their conversation. He did cheat to get her approval, utilized his skill in negotiation, but he was sincere and true to his feeling. 

Was he selfish? Perhaps. He never admitted that he is a saint. He had goals, and he believed he had abilities to achieve them. This time, his goal was having a happy marriage life, and to achieve that, he should make Akari love him as a man.

*********

 

Akari stood on the deck. Her eyes narrowed slightly to catch the outline view of Hakumei's north coast. Holding on the railing, her hairs flied wildly as wind kept blowing. The ship's propellers sound could be heard amids the sound of waves colliding with the ship's body.

There was a little melancholy in her heart seeing Hakumei's coast grew farther away by seconds. It was her first trip overseas. She was leaving Hakumei for Kyoukai to accompany Ainosuke, her cousin turned to be husband.

Four years?

She recalled what Ainosuke told her. They would stay in Kyoukai for about 3 to 4 years.

"Please take care of my brother, Oneesan."

A gentle voice of a girl resounded in her mind. That sentence was given to her by Ainosuke's little sister, Shida Mirai, when Mirai saw them off in Kurofune's harbor.

She could not help smiling as she remembered her little sister in-law. Such a sweet yet detached girl. In appearance, Ainosuke and Mirai were opposite of each other. Ainosuke was warm, Mirai was cold. However, in her eyes, they were so similar. Ainosuke and Mirai were born prodigies, coupled with their diligence, they would become prominence figures ahead, she believed.

However...

She let out a sigh. Mirai had Shida family and their network as her support, but Ainosuke? He was alone. He chose to be alone, cutting off all his relationship with his parents' friends and family. That was one of the reasons she agreed to his proposal. She just could not bear to see him walking through his life in loneliness.

She had known Ainosuke since child, thus she understood things unspoken behind Ainosuke's behavior. What left her speechless was the fact that she did not realize since when Ainosuke developed feeling for her other than kinship and friendship.

Ainosuke rarely visited her, but when he did, he always brought something as a gift for her. Hairpins, herbs, a folded fan, a dagger, hair ribbons, books, even a night pearl. She never thought that those were his love tokens for her.

She remembered, after her parents told her about Ainosuke's proposal, she had deliberately chased Ainosuke to ask for explanation, and in the end she asked him to allow her following him to Seiryoku.

During the time in Seiryoku, she disguised herself as Ainosuke's assistant, dressing like a man. She accompanied Ainosuke in meetings with Seiryoku's king and government, also witnessing him teaching his students and supervising experiments in Seiryoku's secret project laboratory. When Ainosuke had finished all his tasks, he took her to take a look around the border cities of Seiryoku before returning to Hakumei.

It was in the return trip to Hakumei when she asked him the question she had been pondering about.

"Since when did you view me differently?"

Ainosuke was about to sip his tea when she spoke that his hand hanging in the air for a second before he put down the tea cup.

He looked back at her, a smile grew apparent. "Since when? I don't have an answer for that, honestly."

"Ai-kun, I am seriously asking you."

He sighed, "Akari, a feeling doesn't just burst out of thin air. It might develop and grow at times. I realized this special feeling for you when I returned to Hakumei for the first time years ago."

She remembered their first meeting after years being separated. It was Nakayama Hana who found that Ainosuke was back. After that, Ainosuke stayed in the Nakajima farm and interacted with her and her family for a few days. She and Ainosuke was a bit awkward at first, but the wall between them finally broken once they met at the meadow and impulsively challenged themselves into horse riding race.

"It was after racing with you," he continued. "I realized that I could only be my truest self when I am with you. No need to put any guard, no need to pretend. I knew myself that I am the type that could not live in solitude. I need someone to open up myself without worry. And that someone is you."

That conversation happened after she accepted his proposal.

Two months after that, they held the wedding. It was an intimate ceremony that only attended by their close circle, the circle of the late Ainosuke's father, the deceased King