[ DISCONTINUED ] Reborn: Runaway Bride

Chapter 03: Akiyo

Ai took a deep breath and walked towards the garden as Akiyo accompanied her in silence. Once she had calmed her nerves down, she slowly turned her head to look at the younger brother of the man she vowed to avoid.

Akiyo Omaru... Jin Omaru's half-brother and the only friend Ai had in her previous life.

Akiyo has a pair of bright cyan blue eyes and silky long black hair that was tied up in a high ponytail. His face also lacked visible expressions but unlike Jin, Akiyo's eyes were soft and kind.

In her previous life, Akiyo was the only person who stood by her in Omaru household and the only one that believed in her. Even when the whole world had gone against her and she herself ended up doubting her credibility, he remained unwavering and still trusted her.

She once asked the kind-hearted Akiyo how could he be so kind to an evil woman like her. Yet the young man only shook his head gently and didn't answer. He only muttered softly that, "Maybe one day you will find out, Ai."

"Thank you, Akiyo", Ai voiced out gratefully, forgetting for a minute that they had yet to be acquainted that well in this life and it was inappropriate of her to address him as such. She grew red at her slip-up and quickly fumbled for an apology.

"I-I means Second Young Master Omaru!", she stuttered.

Akiyo chuckled lightly at the blushing young woman. She seemed to be about the same age as him or a few years younger, yet she possessed such an alluring beauty that could even rival the most exquisite courtesan.

Akiyo shook his head no. "It's fine, you can call me Akiyo,... Ai...", he replied slowly, testing out her name as it rolled off his tongue.

If he was completely being honest, he would say he actually loved how casually she had addressed him. It sounded exquisite coming from her and somehow his thoughts strayed to wonder if it would sound even more tempting during a passionate love-making.

Akiyo forcibly shook his wayward thoughts away and focused his mind back to the present. Usually, between the two brothers, women flocked to his brother like bees to nectar. And yet, this young woman, Ai, had a mortified looks on her face that screamed she absolutely wanted nothing to do with his brother and would rather run in the opposite direction. That action sparked his interest so strongly that he decided that he must get to know her, by hook or by crook.

"You must be wondering why I'm so afraid of your brother", Ai muttered softly as she directly gazed back at him. Her pale golden eyes that previously flashed with nervousness, fear, and even some happiness and relief were no longer. Instead, those pale golden orbs now held endless desolation and sadness.

Akiyo felt his heart clenched tightly at her expression and almost wanted to stop her from mentioning what pained her. There was a moment of pause until she continued detachedly, "Do you believe in second chances and being reborn?"

Unsure of where this was going, he nodded and replied, "to some extent, yes."

Akiyo listened silently as Ai recounted her story, from the day she met his brother to the fateful day in the future that ended with her demise.

A few hours passed and Ai smiled apologetically as she looked at Akiyo who had been silent throughout. She didn't know what came over her to suddenly mention everything to Akiyo and she probably sounded like an insane person to him. But at the back of her mind, she believed Akiyo is not the type of person who would misjudge her and prejudice against her. At the most, he probably thinks she was just ranting all the grievances she faced and simply wanted comforts and care towards her. It was to be noted that even though a couple of hours had passed since she started talking, the young man had been completely patient towards her and never once interrupted her, aside from a couple of nods to show that he was listening.

This kind of things, she probably sounded like a selfish brat that put her needs above others but at this point in time where there were uncertainties and fear, she desperately needed someone she trusted to talk to. Just like how Akiyo in the past trusted Ai, she also trusted this young man resolutely. To them, their friendship is way deeper than simply being normal acquaintances.

After talking to him, she felt inevitably better and her mind stabilised.

"Thank you again, Akiyo", Ai once again expressed her gratefulness.

Just as Ai was thinking, the gears in Akiyo's mind was turning at a rapid speed. He believed in her story without a doubt and had the most sincere concerns for her. He felt that her words coincided with the reason why she avoided his brother and also for her friendliness towards Akiyo himself.

There was no reasons for her to lie to Akiyo and no visible merits in creating such an elaborate lie. The locations and items she described in Omaru household were all legitimate and completely inaccessible to the outsiders. Unless she herself lived there previously, there was no way she would have known them all. She also seemed to know about him and his habits in details and Akiyo felt both happy and nervous at the same time, fearing that perhaps his emotions and intentions would have been known to her.

A thought flitted through his mind, perhaps... another possible reason was that Ai probably is fond of him instead of his brother. Since she is fond of him, then she investigated about him in great details and hence came up with this elaborate scheme to steal his heart...

But this... This seemed highly unlikely... Perhaps he was feeling way too over the top and too irrational but such kind of possibilities, he truly doesn't mind and even felt giddy at the prospect. In fact, he would very much be delighted to be informed of that!

Even if Ai was as evil as she said so in her previous life, Akiyo still doesn't mind. He was feeling slightly envious of his older brother and if it was him in his brother's position, Akiyo would have given her his heart. Willingly.

From what Ai described, the previous Akiyo also seemed to be in love with her, even though Ai didn't seem to realise as she was blinded by the love for his brother. Akiyo didn't like the thought of that and somehow had the desire to compromise her virtue so that she may always be resolutely his.

Akiyo forced his heart to hold back the beast that was roaring to get out. Yet he secretly made a vow, in this lifetime, he would make Ai Shizuka his and his only, be it that she wanted to or not. He would personally make sure his brother could no longer hurt Ai and he would even resort to eliminating his blood siblings and any other threats along the way, should such needs arise.

Unbeknownst to them, a young man with blonde exotic hair had been listening to them secretly. His intelligent grey eyes looked at them with complex emotions as he shrouded himself further into the shadows.

Kit Koyozoki let out a soft inaudible sigh. His mind was in a dilemma as he was torn between the choices of righteousness and loyalty.

By righteousness, he should not inform his young master of what had transpired since the young lady had a valid reason for staying away from his master. Even though the words she spoke defied the common logic and was somehow absurd, he also believed she was telling the truth. There was legitimacy in details she mentioned and most of all, such kind of raw and undisguised pain, agony and sadness she displayed, not many noble ladies of her status would be able to fake through it.

Due to his family background and occupation, he had always prided himself for being able to differentiate between the lies and the truths, and this time, his instincts were telling him that it was the truth and since that was the case, he felt that the two people in the story should not be united together.

But he had sworn a blood oath to his young master and it's his duty to inform him what had happened. But his mind was torn. As much as it was his first time seeing the young miss Shizuka, he felt a strong sense of familiarity and felt strangely reluctant to part with her. In fact, if possible, he wanted to stay by her and block the path of his young master so that his young master wouldn't get to her.

Kit Koyozoki quickly shook away the hopeless and unrealistic emotions as he left Shizuka compound dejectedly. He is now a nothing but a lowly servant here and even his own blood-related family in Shinto had abandoned him. There was no possible way he could ever stand next to such a brilliant young lady in the future.

Or so he thought...