Author's note:

I'm sorry for the SUPER late update. I've worked hard on this chapter between school and work. This is by far my longest and most time-consuming chapter. I even had to do research for this one so PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! It's helps a lot. For those of you who reviewed my last chapter, no words can describe my gratitude, thank you so much.

Also, before I forget to mention, I have an amazing beta-reader, 14Phantom.


I turned and faced the two paths in front of me. After all this time I had finally found the Shinsengumi. If it wasn't for Kazama I wouldn't had ever made it here. I hesitated unsure which path was the best one to choose. If I caught up with Kazama perhaps I could still make it to see the Shinsengumi in time but is it worth the risk?

I had already formed my resolve. It was time for me to make my move. I clenched my fists, knowing which path I had to take and hastily dashed forward with avidity and bliss in my heart.


~Kingdom of Stars~

Chapter 11: A Major Flaw


My footsteps trampled loudly as I rapidly sprinted through the streets, shrouded by the darkened fog of night.

"I have to hurry!" I whispered breathlessly to myself. "I have to catch up to you!"

Cold air gasped into my lungs stinging the back of my throat with each breath I painfully inhaled. A burning sensation cramped the tired muscles in my legs. Tormented by great physical strain I resisted the urge to rest as several minutes passed, each feeling like hours.

"Wait…for…me…" I panted, racing as fast as I could force myself. I swiftly bolted around a few blocks then scanned the area. "I've found you!"

I thrashed my body through the entrance then fell onto my knees, in anguish.

"The Shinsengumi, they're not here!" I cried, gazing into the empty hall that was their headquarters. I realized that they had already moved onto Koufu Castle and I had just missed them.

"No! Where are you?!" I whined as I let my body fall onto the hard ground, exhausted. After I caught my breath I slowly rose and staggered toward the street. I glanced once over my shoulder at their vacant headquarters wondering if I would ever find him. I had a new destination and couldn't afford to waste time. I anticipated the worst, fearing that the bloody vicissitude of the country's metamorphosis would drag the man I was searching for underneath the chaos and beyond my reach.

Crushed and destitute, I began my journey back to the restaurant. I still needed to get my clothes.

The murky and hollow streets were illuminated dimly by the light shining from the stars in the sky. I glanced upward at that star I once venerated in Kazama's arms. I had no idea where I could find Kazama at that moment. Disheartened, I compelled myself not to search for him. It was too late to catch up with him anyway.

My frigid body shivered violently from the chilly breeze in the air.

"The Shinsen-" I whimpered, coughing into my cold hands. "No, the Kouyou Chinbutai, I'll be going to Koufu Castle, wait for me there." I begged.

It took nearly twice as long for me to get back to the restaurant as I sluggishly dragged my body onward. I saw Chika sweeping dried crusty leaves in front of the restaurant.

"Kaori! Back already?" She called out to me, putting down the broom and rushing to my side. "So, did you find them?"

I weakly shook my head, unable to speak.

"That's a shame. Come on inside, it's really getting cold." She kindly uttered grabbing hold of my shoulders and guiding me inside the restaurant. "Poor thing you look so tired. How about you stay one more night, I'll pass it by Hotaka."

"Thank you. I'll leave first thing in the morning." I mumbled.

"Where do you intend to go?"

"The same place the Kouyou Chinbutai are heading, Koufu Castle."

"Are you sure you want to be in the middle of a fierce battle? They're going to defend the Castle from the pro-imperialist faction." She questioned with worried eyes.

"I don't think I have any other choice."

"Well you at least shouldn't be going alone. Wait, I know! You should go with that handsome blonde friend of yours." Chika inquired blinking an eye.

"What?! He's not my friend, just someone I know that's all." I asserted, my face getting hot.

"Not a friend, huh?" She taunted. "It doesn't seem that way to me. At least not from what I've heard from the other waitresses who gossiped about how he wanted you to pour sake for him." She giggled.

"They gossiped about us?"

"Of course, men that fine don't come by here that often. He was a real treat for the eyes." She laughed, blushing. "Me and the other girls have a feeling he came just to see you, so tell me is he your lover?'

"What?! Lover?! No!" I nervously stuttered. "You got it all wrong, we barley know each other and he's not my boyfriend." I bashfully asserted. Like hell Kazama would ever make me his lover.

"Well, anyways you really shouldn't be heading into battle alone. I suggest asking Blondie to escort you." She insisted.

I felted winded and coughed into my hands, my body tensed. "I know that I shouldn't be going alone but I don't need Blondie to escort me." I chided. I pictured the last moment I spent with Kazama and wondered where he was.


"How insulting, you should be fired."

"I had a hunch that you couldn't handle it on your own. You're a mess."

"Enough, you really are no different. All you humans are the same, deceiving and disrespectful."

"I don't have all night to chat with you. You're wasting my time."


"I'll be fine." I continued. "Besides…he doesn't even like me."

"Aw, come'on now." She provoked. "It would be so romantic to go on an epic adventure with him, you should really-"

"I don't need that stupid jerk!" I hollered out of frustration. Chika's eyes widen and she immediately became silent.

"I was just making a joke." She criticized.

"I know. I'm sorry. I'm just really tired. Thank you so much for all you've done for me. If it's okay I think I better go to bed now, I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow."

"Alright, I'm sorry for keeping you. Get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning." Chika trotted back outside to finish cleaning.

I scampered up the stairs to the room I had previously stayed in. I noticed my clean clothes were neatly folded in the corner of the room as well as a sleeping yukata that I quickly changed into.

Something familiar glimmered in the corner of my eye and I peeked out the window at the still placid sky. Kazama's star hadn't left me in the streets but had followed me all the way to the restaurant casting a deep undefined longing in my heart.

"You're such a jerk Kazama! I don't need you." I found myself rambling to the heavens. "I can take care of myself on my own. Things are finally the way they are supposed to be; just me, alone, searching for the Kouyou Chinbutai; just how it was in the beginning." I mumbled plopping down into the bed. "I don't need your help anymore, Blondie!" I grunted.

I found myself giggling at the thought of Kazama's reaction to being called 'blondie' then I pulled the covers up to my face, feeling the tension in my body evaporate.

"Where ever you are Kazama…just be safe."


I was visited by an evil spirit in my dreams, the same haunting incubus from before. As it reared its nostalgic presence into my inner consciousness, I found it harder to compress unwanted memories.

The horror began with a flash of blinding light that pealed through the lids of my eyes. My ears vibrated with muffled voices. As the scenery became more focused I observed a crowd of curious people circling around me. I sat in the middle of the crowd on a cloth wearing a white open kimono. An instrument of death lied in front of me next to a piece of literature. Mortified, I scanned the anxious faces around me until my eyes landed on the fiend that manifested itself into my nightmare. The little girl who danced aimlessly around a field in my previous dream stood amongst the spectators still wearing that pale pink mask of a devil on her face.

"You should have been the one." She whispered.

Acting without thought, I abruptly grasped the short sword in front of me and positioned the blade before my stomach and just before I released my soul my eyes sprang open.


I bolted upward in a panic and placed my hands on my stomach. There was no blood and everything seemed normal. I sighed, relieved, then rummaged through my things preparing to get dressed. I found the medicine bottle with the 'X' mark on it and placed it in the palm of my hand.

"Generation X…" I mumbled to myself. "I wonder what it all really means."

After getting dressed, in my own clothes, I concealed the bottle in my garments and put my hair up, in the usual way, wearing it down with the sides bounded by a ribbon. On my way downstairs I overheard a conversation Hotaka was having with a costumer.

"Tell me what business you have with her." Hotaka demanded.

"Just tell me where she is. I must see with Kaori." A strong female voice pleaded. How could this stranger know my name? Cautiously I snuck up the stairs a bit, hiding myself.

I didn't recognize this voice. I wondered if I was being hunted down for the medicine bottle that I carried and suspected that this person met trouble.

"Oh, Kaori, you're finally awake." Chika cheerfully said meeting me by the stairs.

"Chika, is there a back door I can sneak out of?" I franticly asked.

"Yes of course, what's the matter? Why would you have to sneak out?"

"Could you tell me where it is?"

"Sure, it's this way." She gestured for me to follow her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just really need to get going."

Chika brought me to the back door.

"Good luck Kaori, I hope you find the Kouyou Chinbutai." Chika kindly cheered then closed the door.

I treaded through an ally way escaping the restaurant. Then suddenly a black shadow materialized in front of me. I yelped and backed away.

"Are you Kaori?" The same female voice I heard inside the restaurant asked. She stood before me in ninja-like apparel.

I felt threatened and leaped passed her, charging out of the ally way.

"Hey! Come back here." She ordered.

Suddenly I was grabbed. "Let go!" I shouted.

"Please just calm down." She pleaded.

I thrashed my fists around trying to fight my way out of her grip. She scoffed. I noticed some people casually going about their business on the street and inhaled deeply preparing to scream for help.

"You're making this a lot harder than it has to be." She complained then shoved a cloth in front of my face. I instantly lost all my energy and my eyes slowly crept shut. I commanded my body to move but all of my mobility ceased. A dark cloud poisoned my consciousness, tucking away my thoughts and causing my world to go blank.



My eyes fluttered open as my head swayed back and forth, shaking myself awake. I fought to move my hands to scratch my head but my movements were restricted. Upon thrashing my arms out to my sides I realized that my hands were bounded to my back and my ankles were tied with a thick rope. My heart raced from within my chest.

I've been kidnapped!

Panicked, I wiggled my body together, using all the strength from my nauseated muscles to sit up. The room I was confined in was elegant and decorated with rich ornaments and vases. I wondered where I was, who had brought me here, and most of all, why. Then I heard voices mumbling from outside the room I was imprisoned in.

Faint footsteps lurked toward the entrance. I glared at the door, with both fear and animosity. Then as abruptly as the sound of footsteps appeared, they halted right before the chambers of my forced captivity. Then the door gradually slid open.

The woman in ninja attire, that had assaulted me, appeared before the door.

"Princess, she has awakened." She called out.

"Oh really, how is sh-" A vivacious voice began, as a petite girl peeked her head around the door. "Kimigiku! What did you do to her?" She complained. Upon seeing her face my eyes grew wide, recalling the woman I had met in the woods on my way to Edo.

"Sen!" I gleefully shouted. She turned her gaze away from me and glared at the woman she referred to as Kimigiku.

"Why is she tied up? You didn't harm her did you?" She interrogated.

"I had a very hard time tracking her down. When I finally found the woman you described, she tried to run away. I had no choice but to knock her out. I was worried she would try to run away again when I brought her here so I tied her up. Forgive me, princess. I truly met this one no harm." She obediently remarked, bowing to Sen. "I'll untie her."

Sen kneeled down beside me as Kimigiku released me from the ropes.

"I'm sorry if she hurt you. Her name is Kimigiku. Her family serves me. We mean you no harm at all." She kindly asserted. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well." She merrily chirped.

"I'm happy to see you again to but why have you brought me here?" I questioned, rubbing my sore wrists.

"There is something I wanted to ask you." Her face suddenly became serious.

"Something you want to ask me?" I blinked confused. I felt a twist of vibrations in my stomach as a loud gurgling growl echoed into the room. I blushed, apologetically. "Sorry I haven't had anything to eat today, what do you want to ask me?"

"It can wait, for now you should eat something. Let me treat you for bringing you here against your will."

"No, no, that's not necessary. I don't want to cause any trouble. After all I'm in a bit of a hurry to get to Koufu Caste."

"I know! How about we cook a meal together!" Sen clasped her hands together in excitement. "Please, Kaori, I feel so bad for locking you in this room, besides no one should travel on an empty stomach."

She had a point. Under all the excitement I hadn't even realized I was starving. I nodded my head shyly, in agreement. Sen helped me to my feet.

"Well come'on the kitchen is this way." She guided me down a hallway then turned to Kimigiku. "Kimigiku, could you keep watch over things and report back to me later?" The tall beautiful woman nodded. "Of course, princess." She bowed then trotted off. Sen continued to direct me to the kitchen.

"Hey, Sen." I called out to her. "Where am I, exactly?"

"Oh! I forgot to mention. We're at one of my residencies in Edo. Not too far from where Kimigiku found you. Don't worry you're safe." She said with a reassuring smile.

I sighed in relief. "That's good to hear. Actually I was afraid that I was being kidnapped by furies or something."

Sen immidately narrowed her eyes and stared at me with a straight face.

"So you do know about them." She remarked, leaning in closer to me.

"Um, yeah. Kazama and I encountered some of them in the woods before. I don't know much about furies at all." I stuttered, taken back by Sen's sudden shift in tone.

"They're better known as Rasetsu. So you're saying you didn't know of their existence until you encountered them in the woods, a few days back?" She inquired.

"No, I've never heard of them before."

"How can that be? You carry the generation X bottle around your neck." She interrogated.

"I'm being honest. I don't know anything about this generation X thing either."

Sen handed me some vegetables to chop and a knife then she walked over to a cabinet, pulling out cooking utensils.

"Actually," Sen began. "That's what I wanted to ask you about. I want to know your connection to that bottle, where you got it from, and why you wear it around your neck."

My eyes widen and my heart skipped a beat at her request.

"Sen…" I stuttered. "It was just a gift from a loved one."

She scampered back over to me, preparing some dishes.

"A gift? Who gave it to you?" She questioned, glaring into my shaky eyes.

"I rather not talk about it, if that's okay." I bashfully looked away from her, focusing on chopping the vegetable in front of me. I felt Sen studying my every move.

"Kaori, I really need to know." She pleaded in a calm tone.

"So what are we making here?" I bypassed her question, gesturing my hands toward the food. She sighed.

"I was thinking we could make some soup. If that's okay."

"Yeah that's fine with me." I nodded. We were silent for several awkward seconds.

"Kaori…" Sen inquired. "At least tell me one thing. Did you drink it?"

"What?"

"Did you drink the liquid inside of that bottle?"

"No, what liquid? The bottle was empty when I received it."

"I see. Well, I figured you didn't drink it anyway, given that you still have your sanity."

"My sanity?" I yelped, glancing back at her. She turned away from me and prepared some water in a large bowl. " Sen…" I called out to her in an intrusive tone, demanding answers. "What is generation X?" I grasped the perplexing bottle in my hand and studied the esoteric 'X' carving on it.

"It is known as the most powerful elixir in history, you've never heard of its development?" Sen asserted, directing her focus toward the mystifying bottle.

"No, I haven't. Could you please tell me Sen. I really want to know all I can about his bottle."

"Well, the elixir was developed by humans in order for them to obtain the powers of demons. It all began several years ago in the Sengoku Period. Back then, the situation between demons and humans was a bit different. The Oni used to be very powerful and were united into ten clans under the leadership of the great Oni, Yase-hime. War between the humans and the Oni was not an uncommon thing. They despised each other deeply during that time. When tensions rose between the two, the humans schemed mischievously to terminate the existence of the Oni."

"What?" My grip on the bottle tightened. "Humans tried to kill off the Oni race?"

"Yes, that much hasn't really changed. Humans have always been ravenous and greedy over the powers of Oni and tried to use their powers for their own benefit and were quick to feel threatened when their demands were denied. Sometime around the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the battle of Sekigahara the humans developed a powerful elixir to compete with the powers of demons. It is said that this elixir was extracted from using various body parts of demons. The Oni clans were completely oblivious to the elixirs development because demons were strictly prohibited from interacting with the human world."

Sen's glance at the bottle in my hand turned into a glare. Then she continued.

"At first there were several different prototypes that were said to be failures until one elixir stood out from the rest. This elixir was referred to as generation X since it took nearly generations to complete and were contained in small glass bottles with an X mark carved into it. Only a few samples of this powerful elixir were ever developed, generated from rare resources. Upon testing generation X for the first time, the humans finally were successful in obtaining the powers of an Oni. This legendary monster was the most powerful Rasetsu ever created and it even possessed strengths and abilities that surpassed the average demon." Her eyes turned away from the bottle. "But it had one major flaw."

"A flaw?"

"Sometime after transforming, it lost all reason and even began attacking human villages in a lust for blood. Many humans and demons alike battled this one god-like Rasetsu and lost their lives. It got so out of control that all ten heads of the demon clans, a group called the Jukkishuu, came together to fight one fierce battle against this transcendental beast. It took the efforts of all the clans to finally bring it down."

"So it was more powerful than demons themselves?!" I hollered, awestruck. Sen nodded.

"Humans immediately ceased experimentation in fear of manufacturing the same uncontrollable creature and banded any form of research on the Rasetsu. It is rumored though, that two samples of generation X were lost during the chaos. It was a major concern at the time but after many years passed, without a trace of these medicine bottles, the rumors were quickly discarded."

I glanced down at the bottle in my hand, appalled of its bloody past.

"A few years ago a report of one of these bottles resurfacing spread through the top human organizations in foreign countries. This incident started experimentation on the Rasetsu again. The humans are currently searching for ways to perfect what they now call the 'Water of Life' in order to re-create an improved version of generation X. The original formula for generation X, however, has been lost since the battle of Sekigahara. Most Oni leaders are speculative about the presence of generation X still lurking in this world since they don't believe any trace of it could possibly be left behind after all these years."

Sen prepared the soup in a large bowl.

"Hmm, this smells so good! We need to let it cook for a little while." She gleefully lightened the tense atmosphere in the room with her ecstatic voice.

I concealed the bottle in my clothes and nodded my head toward Sen.

"Princess!" Kimigiku called out charging into the kitchen. "I have something urgent to report." She inhaled to continue speaking but hesitated upon glancing over at me.

"Uh, Kaori," Sen mumbled toward me. "Would you mind stepping outside for a moment. I'll come get you when the soup is done, okay." She gave me a smile.

"Alright, thank you so much Sen." I said, bowing to her. Kimigiku slid a door open from within the kitchen that led outside. I trotted out the door and waited patiently. After several minutes I explored the area outside Sen's residence; it was an elegant structure. I ventured toward the front of the building and leaned on the edge of a corner, gazing at the clear sky. Then I detected Sen's voice discussing something and listened to her opening a sliding door to the entrance. Suddenly I heard footsteps from around the corner I was leaning on.

"What are you doing here?!" I heard Sen franticly ask.

Then my ears captured a deep male voice I immediately recognized.

"I have come for you, my Oni princess."


To Be Continued…

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