Disclaimer: I don't own 47 Ronin.

A/N: Hello there! This is the first time I dare to publish something, so I'm feeling very small among such incredible writers. My native language is Spanish, and even though I'm fluent with my English, don't hesitate to tell me if you see any grammar mistakes. Also, if you haven't watched the movie yet, I don't recommend this fic for you because it has major spoilers. I assumed while I wrote this that Mika was 21 when she last saw Kai, just so you know.
Please review and let me know what you think, guys! Whether it's something bad or good, I'd appreciate either way your comments.
Thank you for reading!

-I will search for you, through a thousand worlds and ten thousand lifetimes until I find you.

-I will wait for you, in all of them.

How I love cherry blossoms. Most of the time, since I was the responsible of Ako as ruler, I tended to forget about the seasons. I had a lot to worry about back then because I was not used to all the things a ruler must take care of. I also learned that if I kept my mind occupied, the hollow in my heart didn't feel so big; everything reminded me of them those days, of him. But when spring came, I couldn't help to notice all the sakuras blooming proudly, carefully, like if they hurried they wouldn't be as beautiful as they were. Ako had blossomed the day the Ronin avenged my father's death, it blossomed the day they all died, and it has blossomed since then because of them. Even after 50 years, these trees blossom in their honor, and I remember them, and him.

I'm already 71 years old, and I've been feeling badly these last couple of days, but these trees bring me peace. They reminded me of his eyes. Kai's eyes told me a million things all the moments we were together, some of them he felt ashamed of, but his embarrassment just made those things more meaningful and sweeter. It's been so long since he had to leave this world behind, but his last words still wander through my head, saving me from the darkness, just as the taste of his lips in mine gives me light.

I had the chance to marry a wonderful man from the city of Kamigori, who respected me and helped me enjoy life until his last breath. Lord Hiroaki was his name; he was a good person, full of life and bravery, and he loved me just as much as I loved him. When I thought I was meant to be alone with my grief, he came to me and gave me his sincere friendship so kindly, without judging me or pushing me into anything. He understood my promise of love to Kai and he didn't judge it. We had two beautiful children, Asano and Mako, whom we raised and make me the proudest a mom can be. Both of them have children, and my son Asano is the ruler of Ako now since his father died 9 years ago. God gave me a blessed life, and I thank him for it every day.

Here, with a wrinkled face, thinking of the shape my life's taken after I lost Kai, I smile. I am happy! Because I know deep inside that Kai would have never wanted me to stop living because of him. His love made me who I am, he made me blossom like a sakura flower itself all these years. The aching in my chest comes back, this time harder, and I remember what my father had told me once, that all we could ask for is that we leave this world having loved and being loved. It was done then, and I understand it now, that's why the pain didn't cease; I was ready. I am ready to leave this world behind because all I was meant to do here, all I was meant to be, was done.

"I will search for you, through a thousand worlds and ten thousand lifetimes until I find you", were Kai's last words to me. I knew, that even after so many years without him, I was going to keep my promise; I would wait for him in all of them. I fell in love with him since I was a little girl, when I didn't even know what love was, but I did notice something weird happened in my stomach every time he looked at me. I wanted us to be birds, so we could fly together through endless skies, but misfortune was upon me and broke our wings. When we grew up, adversities, traditions, people and duty tore us apart. But there's one thing they couldn't take away from me: hope.

A light is ahead between the branches of the cherry blossoms, so bright it makes me blind, and then I hear his voice calling my name. It is his voice, I feel it in my bones. I try frantically to find his face among all shine, but I can't see anything. An almost invisible hand stretches through the incandescent light towards me, and suddenly there is no reason to hold back the pain anymore, neither a reason to be afraid of death. He is here, he had searched for me, he still loves me; that's all that matters. So I welcomed both of them and took his hand, waiting for our lives to begin again, glad that we were possible at last.

Hope was not a dream anymore, it has blossomed into reality.