~Five years time skip~

3rd person's POV:

The music soared through the air like an eagle on an up-draft, taking with it the very souls of the listening audience. It ascended in a magical flight to the heavens, a breathtaking melody.
Then after the crescendo it dived back down, giddy, until all that was left was the silence there was at the beginning.

Once the silence took over , his red and golden orbs opened ever so slowly. He glanced at his violin before handing it to the maid who stood beside him , with her head low.
She looked up at him and the heat rushed to her cheeks.
He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. I guess he must get used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course the blush that accompanied it was a dead give-away. Afterall he was the ruler of  Rakuzan , the most powerful and largest Kingdom.

His kingdom was a peninsula, terminated to the north-east by a ridge of mountains thirty miles high, which were altogether impassable, by reason of the volcanoes upon the tops: neither do the most learned know what sort of mortals inhabit beyond those mountains, or whether they be inhabited at all.  Surrounded by oceans on the other three sides made it almost immune to attacks and hence one of the most indestructible Kingdoms ever.

" As breathtaking as always, Akashi sama" said Reo from a distance.

Akashi looked at him and responded with a weak yet soothing smile.

" There has a been a rumour , my lord. "

Akashi gave Reo a questioning look and mouthed " go on..."

Reo obeyed and continued " We've come to hear that , the land beyond the north-east mountains are inhibited. There is a slight chance that Akira sama might be-"

Akashi didn't wait for him to complete. He rushed towards his chamber and after a few minutes,  he walked out without his crown or cape. He held his sword in one hand and his attire was simple as ever.
He placed a hand on Reo's shoulder ,
" I leave the Kingdom in your capable hands. I shall come back in three days." he said as he rushed out.

Reo chased after him , " No wait ! " he yelled.

Akashi paused for a few seconds , to hear his general speak.

" I shall accompany you, sire. The ministers will take care of everything until we return. " he stated as he bowed.

Akashi narrowed his eyes at Reo but obliged. " Fine. " he uttered and made his way towards his horse.

The red emperor left the palace grounds on his horse , without much being spoken, while Reo hurried to meet the ministers and informed them about his little journey with the king.

He left some time later ,but managed to catch up with Akashi on their way to the mountains .

~~

They rode at a fast yet steady pace. It took them almost half a day to reach the ranges.

Reo wanted to question Akashi if he was certain about crossing the barrier that stood before them , but he decided to let the question slip away. He knew how much Akashi wanted to see her. He knew how hard it was for him to spend these five years, doing nothing except looking for his queen. He knew how dedicated Akashi was and that there was nothing that would stop him from getting her.

Reo's thoughts were soon interrupted by Akashi  " You can still retreat if you wish to. " stated Akashi.

But Reo slightly swung his head and muttered out a no.

They took a track that snaked around the side of a mountain with a sheer drop to the right. They were somewhere in between two mountains and the path got narrower as they moved forward.A few trees twisted out of the side of the hill with leaves as hard as thorns. Behind them, below them, ahead of them, it was all the same.

Above all , it was summer and the mountains were volcanic , the temperature rose second by second.

At some point , both Akashi and Reo abandoned their horses as they couldn't make it further along with their ride. They decided to let those animals shelter in a cave like structure , while they made their way forward on foot.
It was almost mid night by the time they reached the other side of the mountain.

Reo was beyond surprised to see flat and levelled ground and a few huts in his view. He never thought that this part of the land was inhabited. However , Akashi remained indifferent to the fact that life existed beyond those mountains.

They walked forward and they could barely see anything in the dark. The only thing that lit up their path was moonlight.
They managed to find a barn , and decided that they would spend the night there.
Reo discovered a few milk cans and forced Akashi to drink some along with him in order to satisfy their hunger.
They found a spot comfortable enough and soon drifted off to sleep.

Next morning :

" Reo "

No response.

" Reo! "

No.

Akashi picked a mug of water that was close by and splashed it over Reo's face.

" Arrghhhhh! What the- " Reo coughed and cursed as he sat up.

" Let's go " said Akashi.

" Oh? Akashi sama! Hai hai. " he muttered as he stood up and tried to dry off his wet shirt.

The two of them walked in silence through the village street. They passed the greengrocer with his window full of apples and oranges, and the butcher with his bloody lumps of meat on display and naked chickens hanging up, and the grocery store. They entered a few bars and wine shops in search of her.
Reo suggested that they need to look for her in a few restaurants , because he thought that she might be working as a maid . Akashi was prepared to look for her anywhere and everywhere though he didnt like the idea of her working as a maid.

They searched every single alley and came out at the other side of the village on to the narrow road where there were no people any more.

But there was one building which looked more like a dõjõ.
It was wider than taller. A complete wooden structure surrounded by a small garden , enclosed within a compound.
As they approached it, they found many young males and a few girls all dressed in black,  walking around bare foot.

Reo walked towards the gates and opened it for Akashi to enter. Once they made it in , a tiny , curly haired girl blocked their way.

" Who are you ? " asked the kid as she examined the red head from top to toe.

Akashi narrowed his eyes and tried to walk past her as he felt it was unnecessary to answer a child of that age.

The kid grabbed onto Akashi's right hand and stopped him again.

Reo spoke up  trying to ease the atmosphere " We are looking for someone "

" Who are you looking for ? " asked she , in a serious tone.

" Akira..."  uttered Akashi.

She looked up at the emperor and gave him a faint smile.

" Aki-nee chan? She is inside. " said the little girl as she pointed towards a door at the end of the hallway.

Akashi's eyes widened and he turned to look at Reo who had a wide grin plastered on his face. They exchanged looks of shock mixed with surprise. Akashi rushed forward towards the door, while Reo ruffled the kid's hair and muttered out a thank you before following the king.

Akashi's steps quickened every second and soon he was right in front of the door in no time.
The fact that the only thing between him and her now was a wooden plank, made the hair on the back of his neck stiffen. He placed his hand on the surface of the door , he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a brief moment before pushing the door wide open.

Behind it was a spacious room , which smelt like metal and sweat. Akashi rubbed the back of his hand against his nose and let his eyes scan the room.

There stood a female with long black braided hair in the middle of the room facing the other direction , surrounded by 8 men with swords in their hands. They attacked her all at once , and she swung her blade at a pace so quick , it was almost hard for even Reo to follow her movements.

In a few minutes , all men fell backwards , some with their shirts cut open and few with their swords cast away.

She sighed loudly and spoke " Anybody else? "

" Me " answered a voice from behind her.

She turned around to face the owner of the voice. That was the moment her golden eyes met his heterochromatic ones.

Akashi had a faint smile on his lips while her eyes were wide open and mouth slightly agape. Tears threatened to slip out of her eyes as her sword fell to the ground.

She straightened up quickly and yelled ,
" Everybody,  leave now! ".

People hurried their way out of the room as if she would cut them open if they delayed. Reo walked out of the room and waited at the door , and tried his hardest not to cry out of happiness that the king finally met his queen.

" S-Seijuro..." she trailed off , almost chocking on her own voice.

Akashi felt like his heart which was frozen for all these years resumed beating now. Tears were pooled up in his eyes , as he tilted his head ever so slightly to look at her.

Tears streamed down her face and she brought her hands up to wipe them away.
They kept flowing as she kept rubbing them off.

" Akira..." he uttered.

" Why are you here?" she questioned.

" To take you back. " answered Akashi.

" Didn't I tell you not to look for me?" she questioned again.

" Akira.. come back " entreated Akashi, completely neglecting her question.

Reo's eyes widened a bit as this was the first time he ever heard the emperor plead.

Akashi walked towards her and held his hand out for her to take. " Please "  he begged.

" Don't " she stepped back. "D-dont touch me , Sei. " she stuttered.

Akashi stood still with his hand still waiting for her to take. She looked at him in the eye and quickly looked away. She turned around so that her back was now towards him.

" Go away! " She screamed.  " Why don't you leave me alone?"

" Akira..." Akashi maintained the calmness in his voice even though he wasn't .

" I can't leave you. I love you. I'm not asking you to forget everything and come with me. I just want to share your pain. I apologise for everything that happened in the past. I need you , so please return " he requested , his voice soft and steady.

Akira placed a hand on her chest where her heart was. She clenched her shirt and tugged at it. She bit her lip trying not to cry out loud. Yes , she wanted to turn around and bury her head in his chest but it was against all her principles. How could she accept a man that murdered her parents?

Little did she know that he loved her more than himself and more than anything else he ever held dear. Little did she know that he loved her a million times more than she loved him.  Little did she know that he blamed himself for all the pain that she had been through.

" No. " she responded.

Akashi frowned but waited for her to continue.

" I can't come with you. I don't want to. So please leave. " she said as she pressed her hand over her mouth trying her hardest to silence her cries.

Akashi let out a small painful chuckle , " You can break my heart as many times as you want. It was always yours to break anyway. " he said as he walked out of the room.

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[A/N]

Yo! I don't know how this chapter turned out to be. Hope you guys liked it.

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