Disclaimer: This is fanwork based on the manga the Quintessential Quintuplets (Go-Tobun no Hanayome), by Negi Haruba. Its setting, characters and plot belong to its rightful creator. I write this only for fun and as a little writing experiment.

WARNING FOR ANIME VIEWERS: Currently, the story is following the events of the manga beyond chapter 32. If you don't want to be spoiled, STOP READING.

Closed Continent

It was a joyous moment. The Republic of Yotsuba had finally been freed from the Ekiden League's blockade by her sister countries, and the Kingdom of Nino and the Itsuki Commonwealth had finally made peace. In the conference of the year 48, the heads of the Nakanos gathered together in an atmosphere of celebration, renewing their vows of friendship and alliance.

Unfortunately, the joy did not last long. Without their knowledge, a separate international meeting was taking place at the other side of the ocean.

00000

Isolationism

While the tensions of the Great Schism had hit the Old Continent the hardest, its effects had also been felt in the New Continent. With the Nakano powers in disarray and investment in the colonies suffering because of it, many Futaro clans started questioning their relationship with the Easterners.

Sure, so far, their contacts had been mutually beneficial. The towns and ports built by the Nakanos didn't encroach upon their ancient territories, and in other places they had invited to set up embassies and trade outposts by the locals themselves. Merchants, sailors, scholars and diplomats from the New Continent were becoming an increasingly usual sight in the clans closer to the coast. And the other way round: more and more Uesugis were travelling to Nakano lands, learning from them and returning with tales of wealth and wonder.

However, not everyone was happy with those arrangements.

Trade had introduced new tools, materials and foodstuffs, but it had also changed the way of living in many tribes and created new demands. Others were jealous of their ancient traditions and did not like that Nakano customs, clothing and languages were creeping in their local communities. Religion was a particularly touchy issue. Several clans had abandoned their animism and converted to the Church of Miku, and the most traditionalist among the Futaros were afraid that this foreign Goddess would replace the ways of their forebears.

There were other, more tangible fears. And a bit of guilt too.

The more the Futaros got in contact with the Nakanos, the more they involved themselves. After all, had the Great Schism not started due to their presence in the conference of the year 39? And had they not sent several embassies to the New Continent, with less than stellar results? What would have happened if war had broken out among the Nakanos? Would the Futaro clans be forced to join it and choose one side or the other?

For these reasons, an edict was issued by the assembled clans:

"No ship nor any member of the clans shall presume to cross the ocean sea. No scholar, warrior or trader shall be suffered to purchase anything from the foreigner. Whoever presumes to bring a letter from abroad shall be banished. All Easterners who propagate the doctrine of the Miku shall be cast out. The whole race of the Nakanos with their mothers, priestesses and whatever belongs to them, shall be confined to their ports, and contact with them shall be forbidden."

00000

The Nakano reaction

The policy of isolationism decreed by the Futaros was draconian, but there were serious difficulties to put its clauses into practice. To begin with, not every Futaro clan that was in contact with the Nakanos had taken part in the conference. As for the Isanaris and the Raihas, they did not consider themselves to be under the authority of the Futaros (despite their pre-eminence, nobody had claimed the title of Shogun of All Uesugi in generations), so they ignored the tribal edict.

Nevertheless, to say that the Nakanos did not take it well would be an understatement.

Merchants and traders bemoaned the sudden halt to their profitable businesses in the New Continent. Scholars lamented the loss of opportunities to research a new world, from its fauna and flora to its art and culture. Priests were horrified at the perspective that millions of people would be prevented from receiving the word of Blessed Miku. And the settlers, who were already living in the New Continent, came to the chilling realization that their way of living was at risk. Even if the Futaros let them live in peace, they were heavily dependent on their mother countries for support. Without being able to expand and trade, the colonies would die out.

Not everyone was upset by the news, though. For decades, the bureaucratic caste of the Maruos had opposed the colonization efforts. While they took issue at the way it had been carried out ("I cannot say I appreciate how insulting this declaration is towards our family of nations", a leading diplomat said), all in all they were satisfied by the edict. They believed that it would make their countries focus their energies elsewhere.

But they were wrong.

00000

The Great Freeze

The winter of the year 50-51 was the coldest in over 500 years in the New Continent. Northern winds brought freezing temperatures to the south, spoiling harvests and killing both farm animals and game. The Futaros soldiered on, but resources were becoming scarce.

It was then when the Nakano relief fleet arrived.

Indeed, just as it had happened in the year 31, during the Northern Plague, the five Nakano powers chose to help rather than look at the events from afar. While contact with the Futaros had been reduced to a minimum, there were other tribes willing to bring them news, and when they learned of the Great Freeze, the rulers of the Nakanos decided to help. The Ichika Empress herself used the national treasury to defray the costs of the expedition. Despite some initial resistance, the Futaro chieftains had no choice but let the Nakanos in.

It was perhaps a cynical move, taking advantage of the cold and the hunger (and the big guns of their boats) to break the Futaros' isolationism. Nevertheless, it was successful. The edict was soon forgotten and trade flowed again.

In the end, the policy of isolationism had been short-lived. Intended to put a stop to Nakano influence in the lands of the Futaros, in hindsight it only served to make their commitment more serious. Too serious, in fact. The Great Schism had just been a warning. The golden days of the Age of Exploration were giving their last gasps and a new conflict was brewing, one the people of Uesugi would not be able to avoid this time.

Author's notes:

Thought that this fic was dead? Not so far! It's true that, due to personal reasons, I haven't been able to update in a long time. However, I've always prided myself on not leaving any unfinished fanfic. Even if it takes years, I'll always finish what I started.

The title "closed continent" is a reference to sakoku, "closed country", the policy of isolationism in Japan during the Tokugawa Shogunate. Barring certain trading ports in the periphery and some diplomatic missions, contact with other nations was forbidden (ike in the case of the Futaros, here, though, the Japanese had had in the previous decades lots of foreign contacts: ambassadors came and went to Japan and from Japan to many countries, traders, sailors, missionaries and pirates were a common sight). The text of the decision is based on the Japanese seclusion edict of 1636.

With this, the Seven Goodbyes arc is finished. The Last Exam arc awaits! Fans of the manga know that it was a turning point in the plot. And it will be here too.