The Beginning Part 1

The Kage was enjoying himself, laughing loudly, which allowed the rest of us to be at ease. We were out on the lawn of the palace watching a group of young men from the noble families show off their swordplay skills in front of the rest of the noble families. I stood by the Kage's side, my arms clasped behind my back, as I watched on with a blank face. There were other things that the Kage should have been attending to at that moment instead of watching other men fight, but it wasn't as if it were my place to suggest that. It wasn't anyone's place to suggest that, really, unless they enjoyed the thought of their heads being detached from their shoulders.

The current favorite of the eligible noble heirs was a newly appointed captain, Captain Hosokawa Hiroto of the Hosokawa family. The boy had been blessed with the flowing blond hair and bright blue eyes that the finer folk of the Empire adored. The only thing better than that would be to be born with white hair, like that of those of the Tokudaiji family. One would have thought that he were of royal blood considering how much these people fawned over him.

The Kage chuckled, watching as Hiroto's opponent shook in front of him, then he looked up at me. "That your type of man, Ai?" he whispered. "The popular type, the type all women would die for?"

I looked back at him not breaking my cold expression. "I live only to serve you, sir. Marriage is not something that has ever crossed my mind."

The Kage blinked then chuckled again. He reached up to pat my head, ignoring the looks of disapproval those nearby shot us. "You'll just have to marry me then, one day, eh? Since you're so adamant about your job and all."

"I must request that you do not make such jokes, Kage-sama. You should choose a fine lady of noble blood to marry and to give birth to your heir, not me of such low birth."

"What are you talking about, Ai?" The Kage smiled up at me as if I hadn't understood something yet. "You grew up with me here in the palace. You were raised just as I was. Really, you're more noble than any of those noble women out there."

I wanted to tell him that it was not just the matter of how I was raised but also my lineage, but that would be stepping outside of my boundaries of what I could or could not say. Instead, I would need to ignore the heavy looks of disapproval the noble families were giving us and instead make sure that the Kage remained in a good mood. That was my most pressing job, after all, not even second to running the court soldiers. If the Kage was not happy, then none of us were happy after all.

We spent the next hour or so watching sweaty men get even more sweaty. The June heat was setting in, just in time for the Kage's twenty-second birthday. Watching the Kage, I could see him slowly loosing his good mood as his stuffy uniform stuck to his skin and as sweat dripped from his curly white hair to his nose. The lawn was getting tense as the nobles sensed the Kage's disgruntlement, but was saved by the bells ringing noon.

"Kage-sama," I said coolly, "would you like to come inside to have lunch? I hear the cooks have made fresh lemonade."

A sigh of relief was shared by everyone there as the Kage looked up at me smiling. "I would."

I followed the Kage as he made his way towards his apartments in the palace, his guests bowing as he left them behind. I stood a little too much behind him as we walked, wanting to hide the rather large sweat stain that had drenched the backside of his uniform. The Kage, however, didn't seem bothered over whether or not the nobility saw it.

"Ai, why do you think it's so hot during this time of year?" he asked me out of nowhere. He took a minute to eat a cookie, sugar falling onto his lap. "Why do we have a time of year that's unbearably hot? Why have a time that's extremely cold? Why not perfect weather all the time?"

He looked back at me when I didn't immediately reply. "Ai?" he grinned. "I thought you knew everything."

I blinked. "I'm sorry, sir, but there are things that even I do not know. The only person who would know the answer to that would be whomever created this world, if such a being does exist."

"Ah, I guess you're right." The Kage frowned a little and crossed his arms over his chest. "But I do wonder if the reason for such inconsistent weather is due to us humans ourselves."

"I am afraid I do not follow, sir."

"I mean, I wonder if the reason why the reason for bad weather, disease, and famine are all due to the actions of humans. We claim we are different from one another and so therefore we go to war with them." He sighed softly. "And I was thinking that if we were to end all wars and make a perfect, united country then all these 'bad things' will disappear. That is similar to the way how my father used to explain it, after all.."

"...Sir, are you planning on starting up the Campaigns again?"

The Kage was silent for a moment, then his eyes widened and he slapped his hand to his forehead. "Ah, dammit!" he exclaimed. "I told you! It was going to be a surprise!"

"You were going to keep the fact that you were going to restart the Campaigns from your head of military? Sir, excuse me if I am out of line, but that is-"

He cut me off by leaning over and putting a finger to my lips. Shutting up, I looked at him. "You are my friend, Ai, not just my General. I can have a little fun with you every once in awhile!" He gently pushed my arm, laughing softly. "But seriously though, now that I've gone and blown it all, I was going to announce it at my birthday ball two days from now for all of the nobility to hear."

I couldn't help but ask. "Who else knew about this, sir?"

"Oh, only...What was his name...? Oh, right! Ishida Shou, General of the Southern Empire."

The Kage grinned at me, not understanding how big this decision, his announcement, was. And, of all people, why Ishida? But I wouldn't risk asking him that. I didn't need him thinking that I was questioning him, or worse, disapproving of his decision.

Instead, I just pulled on that friendly smile that always calmed him down and nodded in approval. "I see, sir."

The Kage tilted his head, smiling still. "You're not mad at me, right?"

"Of course not, sir. Just tell me these things, if I may, sir? I am afraid I am not that big on surprises."

At this, the Kage just laughed, releasing the tension that was building up in my chest. "Yeah, I guess that is true, Ai! When I had Dad throw that little surprise party for your birthday when we were younger, remember how much you cried? You were in a horrible mood all day!"

"Sir, that's not very.."

"Appropriate? I know, ai, but look around." He swept his arm around, gesturing to the sitting area we were in, no one but the figures in the paintings to keep us company. "We're alone. There's no one to watch us. You can let loose, Ai. And call me Akihiko, please. None of this 'sir' and 'Kage-sama' stuff."

"Please, s-"

"Ah.." He raised his eyebrows and looked at me expectantly.

I sighed. "Akihiko."

"There you go!" he laughed. "You haven't called me that in some time. I was getting worried."

I tilted my head, trying to relax as he wanted. "Why, Akihiko?"

"No reason." He chuckled. "And, your face, it's funny."

As expected, the Kage's birthday ball went on without any problems. The event took place mainly in the ballroom of the palace, where most of the nobility could be found dancing to a live orchestra. Food was set out on the tables that lined the wall to the far left of the room. Waiters skirted expertly around the flowing dresses of the dancing women, offering all of the guests a glass of weak champagne, the only type of alcohol allowed by Custom outside of the wine all were allowed to drink during specific occasions.

Being that I was on duty, I wasn't allowed to have any.

I followed the Kage like an incessant fly as he moved about the room giving greetings to his guests as Custom required him to. He looked stuffy and unhappy in his restrictive uniform, even more so with the added heat of over a hundred bodies in the same room, but every so often he would look back and give me a smile. According to his own words, he knew how little fun this type of thing was for me since I had to follow him around all night and was unable to "enjoy myself". Therefore, he felt better because he wasn't the only one not happy.

When the clock started nearing midnight, we paused as Ishida made his way towards us. The Kage smiled, giving him an unprecedented wave. Ishida just smiled and waved back.

Ishida had been a strange man before he'd become General, but he somehow managed to become even stranger afterwards. His black eyes were too big, his lips too red, and his body too lanky for someone considered to be the top of his class, both physically and mentally. He wore his hair parted dramatically to the side, kept in place with too much hair gel, and the white color that all generals dyed their hair did not fit him at all.

"Kage-sama, happy birthday!" Ishida pronounced, dropping down into an elaborated bow. When the Kage motioned that he could stand up, amused by how Ishida was acting, Ishida gave him his signature grin. To the Kage, the grin was funny. To the rest, it was creepy.

"How are you doing, Ishida?" the Kage asked him. He continued on without waiting for his answer. "I'm sorry, I accidentally blew the big surprise to Ai." As the Kage chuckled, Ishida showed no signs of being annoyed or angry.

"That's quite alright, Kage-sama," Ishida replied, his grin growing wider. "Ai here probably wouldn't have enjoyed that surprise, right, Ai?" He chuckled softly at the look I gave him, then he looked back at the Kage. "Nevertheless, it's about time to give the big announcement, don't you think?"

"Oh, I suppose so. Give it before people start leaving. Come on, Ai."

I looked back at Ishida in the corner of my eye as I followed the Kage to the low stage on which the orchestra was performing. Ishida just continued to grin and waved. Then I turned back around, taking my place behind the Kage's right shoulder when he stood ready to give the news. As if on cue, the room went silent and gave all of its attention to him.

When the announcement was give, the initial reaction was plain shock. Men shared glances and women's fans stilled. The longer the silence stretched out, the more agitated I noticed the Kage was getting. His mood was about to boil over when Ishida started to clap. He was soon followed by the other generals, and then the guests finally joined in. I clapped as well, earning me a smile from the Kage. If he really wanted to go this route then I would need to support him. Some of the people here would be more than glad to jump onto any reason as to why the Kage was not suited for his position.

Just as well, the same went for me.