Author's note:
Thank you so much for your reviews on my last chapter, I appreciate the suggestions and encouragement from my followers and beta reader 14Phantom. I hope you enjoy this chapter and don't forget to leave a review, they help out a lot.
My legs lost all their strength and I collapsed to the ground. Kazama was a little ways ahead of me and I caught a glimpse of him stopping in his tracks as my eyes closed. I wasn't able to open them again. I laid their lifeless, hoping that Kazama would continue this journey without me, hoping I could finally be free from him, a malicious evil, in death.
~Kingdom of Stars~
Chapter Four: Strength
In my dreams I saw a graceful little girl dancing around a field of flowers. She was wearing a horrific mask of a devil's face. The mask was pale pink with razor sharp teeth. It had two large horns above two smaller ones by its eye brows. The face wore a beastly malicious expression and its eyes were hollow; empty. It was the frightful face of an oni from common folklore.
She moved aimlessly with elegance in the tall grass. I watched her from a short distance away, baffled by the sight of her. A red ribbon drew the mask to her face and was twisted around her wrist. As she twirled with the flow of the wind the red ribbon loosely spun around her tiny figure. It appeared as if splattered blood was spiraling around her, under that wicked mask. Then she started to sing in the soft innocent voice of a child.
"Humans are selfish, humans are corrupt; they do not love, they only hate."
I approached her cautiously.
"Hey, little girl?" I called out but got no response. She continued to sing.
"They deserve suffering; they deserve death."
I was alarmed by her devilish song. The words she sung felt like a frightful omen. I wanted her to stop singing those terrible words.
"Hey! Don't say such awful things! What are you doing out here?"
She froze suddenly and those vicious eyes of the oni mask glared at me, a chill running down my spine. Then she fluttered around the field again and began to sing once more but the lyrics changed.
"You are selfish, you are corrupt; you do not love, you only hate. You deserve suffering; you deserve death."
The little girl pointed at me. I grew frustrated and angry.
"Stop singing that!" I yelled.
Then Kazama appeared behind the little girl. He was in his demon form with ghostly white hair and piercing amber eyes. His sharp hellish horns were about a foot long and curved at the tip. His face was tainted with malice as he approached the child.
"Run child, run! Move away from him!" I franticly warned. The little girl did not move. Kazama took his sword and slashed her stomach open. Her blood sprayed out onto the grass. The mask she was wearing fell from her face as she collapsed to her knees. Upon seeing her face I realized; she was me as a child.
"No! Stop, Kazama don't kill her, it's not her fault!" I screeched, but it was too late she was already dead.
"You're right, it should have been me. I'm the one that deserves death." I whimpered. I felt something slimy squeeze out of me and realized that my stomach had been slashed open as well. I reached down, my hands covered in blood and guts. I felt limp, as if my soul had exited my body, and he stood over me with a hateful glare.
"I was the one who should have committed seppuku back then." That last thought of a haunting memory echoed through my mind and brought me to consciousness.
When I awoke it was almost dark and I was lying on the grass in the same place where I had collapsed; alone.
"Kazama!" I yelped and sprang up. He was nowhere to be seen. Had he left me? I did not know. A part of me was sad at first, and lonely by his disappearance. The other part of me felt relieved. I gripped the medicine bottle around my neck, as I tried to shield myself from the torment of an agonizing memory leaking into my thoughts. I shook my head, pulling myself to together.
"That dream…it wasn't real." I whispered to myself. Kazama looked so vicious in that nightmare; it felt so life-like. I placed my hand on my stomach just to make sure it really wasn't slashed open. Then I staggered to my feet.
I had no idea where to find Kazama; I wished I knew where he was. He really did abandoned me. I thought maybe he would wait for me, guess it was foolish to expect that of him. I only knew two things for sure at that point; I was still alive, and I still had to find the Shinsengumi. At that moment I decided with, or without Kazama, I was not going to give up. I needed to see him again, no matter what the cost.
With new found determination I advanced toward the woods and continued my journey, by myself. I feared the worst, remembering why I needed to travel with Kazama in the first place; for protection. What would happen if I ran into more furies? Could I take them on alone? All I had was a knife and I knew that my chance of survival was slim at best. Though it was hard to stand him, I couldn't help missing his presence and feeling a bit destitute.
I heard a strange noise creeping up behind me.
"Kazama?"
I spun around and saw glowing red eyes and sharp menacing fangs a hair away from my face. It was a fury. I screeched and jammed my foot into its gut. It grabbed my ankle and flung it upward, knocking me to fall down hard on the dirt. I pulled out my knife. He sprang on top of me and I stabbed him in the chest. The fury fell to my side and I stood up.
"Heehehahaha!"
I realized I had just missed its heart. It sprang up facing me while cackling hysterically with my knife still jammed in its chest. It was covered in blood from bullet wounds. I backed away defenseless.
"Kazama!"
Kazama was still nowhere to be seen. The fury leapt at me as I turned to run. It caught me and restrained me to the ground. It was going to eat me.
Sheessh
Suddenly I felt like there was nothing on top of me.
"Kazama?" I whimpered.
When I sat up I noticed I was covered in gray sand and that the fury and Kazama both were nowhere to be seen. Bewildered over what just happened, I regained my composure and began treading through the woods once more.
After a few steps I heard a voice, and decided to investigate it. I hid behind a tree and saw a girl wealthy dressed with long brown hair.
"So you would agree to become my wife then?" I heard an elegant romantic voice. I peeked around the tree some more and I realized it was Kazamas voice. He grabbed her and lifted her chin up to his face. She looked up at him in disgust.
Slap!
She slapped him on his cheek and glared up at him.
"By all means no, this is strictly business, do not get the wrong idea."
"Damn you." Kazama grunted rubbing his cheek.
"So you will leave Chizuru alone now, yes?"
"Hmph."
"Kazama, I will only agree to bear your child if you promise not to interfere with Chizuru Yukimura's life anymore." She pouted.
She was going to bear his child?
"Alright then, I'll come for you later, oni princess." Kazama agreed.
"Remember Kazama I'm only doing this in service of our oni race."
The branch I was leaning on snapped and I fell forward, landing in front of them. She froze and stared at me.
"Well, hello." She said in a cheerful voice. Kazama growled furiously. I backed away embarrassed to have been caught.
"Um, Kazama I-" I stuttered nervously. The girl gasped.
"Kazama you know this human girl!?"
"Excuse me, I'm sorry." I said, shyly standing up.
"How do you know Kazama?" She persisted.
"Well, he and I were traveling together."
"What!? Really!?" She looked astonished. He glared at me in disgust.
"I didn't mean to interrupt you two."
"Not at all! You can call me Sen, what's your name?" She asked politely.
"I'm Kaori."
"What's this?" She said staring at the medicine bottle on my neck, her eyes grew wide. Suddenly I felt myself being pulled away and realized Kazama had grabbed my right wrist and was dragging me in his direction.
"What are you?"
"Keep your mouth shut." He warned. Then he turned to Sen.
"Be prepared for when I come for you." He demanded.
"You take good care of that girl Kazama, don't harm her." She called out in the distance.
Kazama continued to pull me away from Sen and into the woods. Once we were out of Sens sight he let go of me and continued walking.
"Wait, Kazama, what were you doing this whole time?"
"Waiting on you, what else?" He said irritated.
"Waiting for me?" I mumbled to myself. "So that girl is really an oni princess?"
"She is none of your concern."
"I know it's not my business but, is Chizuru also an oni then, and that's why you're after her?" I waited for a response. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"
"Just keep quiet." He said annoyed.
"Yes, sorry, I'm just really glad that you didn't abandon me, so thank you." I remarked, smiling at him. I cheerfully trotted behind him. He didn't say one word. I wondered how long Kazama and I were going to travel side by side and if we would encounter the Shinsengumi together.
"Hey, Kazama, is Chizuru apart of the Shinsengumi?" I blurted out. Kazama sighed, then turned around and faced me. He raised the back of his hand up across his chest to slap me. I closed my eyes preparing for the impact and felt a small breeze blow through my hair. The back of his hand had stopped right beside my cheek and then fell onto my shoulder. My eyes sprang open.
"I've already told you not to mention their name. This is your last warning, foolish woman." He growled, took his hand off my shoulder, and advanced. I watched him move away from me a few feet then treaded behind him. I kept myself from stupidly asking him anymore questions. I was just so happy I didn't have to be alone, that I just blurted out whatever came to my mind. I felt guilty having to be reminded constantly to keep my mouth shut.
After we traveled a little ways I noticed we had to move along the side of a steep narrow cliff. I moved as cautiously as I could. The side of my foot bumped into a rock and it plummeted down the side of the cliff violently.
"Watch your step." Kazama called out to me.
"Yes, I'm sorry."
Bang!
Bang!
Me and Kazama heard what seemed like battle noises echoing in the distance.
"What was that? Is there a battle going on? I thought all of the Shinsengumi retreated to Edo already,"
"Hmph, maybe they didn't make it to Edo and are all being slaughtered." He taunted cruelly. "Such foolish fake warriors, I bet they're all already dead, good riddance."
I grew angry with every word that sputtered out of his mouth. I clenched my fist, holding back the impulse to scream at him. He glared over at me, noticed my struggle, and smirked ruthlessly.
"You should have listened to me before and gave up on them."
"No! Please stop saying that!" I shook worried about the fate of the Shinsengumi. "I have to find them, I have to help them. Please, I beg of you, don't say that they all died, I still have to find him." I pleaded.
"So that's it, you're looking for someone in their group, in other words you're with the Shinsengumi." He paused and faced me. "I'm looking for someone with them as well, to fight. I will kill that man, who insulted the oni." He growled.
"You're trying to find the Shinsengumi, to kill one of them!"
"Guess that confirms it then." He said staring at me.
"Huh?"
"We're enemies."
I took a step back from him cautiously. I felt the ground move from underneath me and realized I had lost my footing and slipped over the cliff. I screamed terrified and whaled my arms around. My right hand managed to grab onto a jagged rock as I fell on the side of the cliff. I hung on for my life. I glanced down and noticed sharp rocks at the bottom in the distance. When I tried to climb up on my own my left wrist burned with a sharp paralyzing pain that prevented me from advancing to the top. Each time I made an attempt to use my legs to power my way upward, my feet would slip on the dirt putting more strain on my right hand. My fingers were gradually slipping from the side of the rock. I could see my knuckles turn white from the strain. I wasn't going to last long. I looked up and saw him standing over me. He kneeled down on the edge.
"I told you to watch your step, foolish human." He reached his hand down toward me. I peeked down once more, toward the ground, and felt overwhelmed with the sight. My body trembled, engulfed in fear.
"What are you waiting for, you mindless cur, take my hand already!" He growled frustrated.
When I looked up at him, as the sun finally set into night, I envisioned the ghostly white hair, piercing amber eyes, and elongated curved demonic horns. I imagined the malice, tainted in his vicious eyes as he slaughtered the child in my nightmare.
"No!" I screeched. "What happens when I take your hand? You're probably going to just drop me or cut me down once you pull me up." I wined. I fastened myself to the side of the cliff and shut my eyes. Haunting images of that nightmare penetrated my mind and caused me to panic. I couldn't move even if I wanted to, my left wrist was too weak to hold myself up, and I was too afraid to maneuver myself in any direction. I was completely stuck, and my situation seemed hopeless. I heard Kazama sigh.
"Kaori, I won't hurt you."
My eyes popped open at his words, and before I could comprehend what I just heard my body acted impulsively on its own, pushing myself upward to reach him. Those words shocked me, but were enough for me to form my resolve to grab his hand. I took his hand and was pulled up in one swift movement. My body felt light as a feather as I landed back on my feet. Once I was secure, he turned and made his way around the edge of the cliff. I paused for a moment then followed him off the narrow edge of the cliff and back into the woods. My left wrist started to ache. I held onto it, as the throbbing pain slowly evaporated. Kazama was completely silent. All I heard were the rhythmic chirps of crickets in the darkness. We eventually made it to an open patch in the woods.
"We'll rest here for tonight, no sense going on in the dark, can't see a damn thing."
"Um, okay." I nodded my head. He lid down on his side. I wanted to thank him for pulling me to safety but I couldn't find a way to word it and didn't want to risk making him angry or frustrated again. He was probably too tired to care. I sat next to him with my hands in my lap, unable to find the words to thank him. After some time I decided to just flat out tell him how I felt.
"Kazama…" I whispered but got no response. I could hear his faint breathing. It was too late now for me to tell him. He had fallen asleep. I sighed, feeling sleepy myself. I noticed that it might be uncomfortable for him to lie on the ground. I hesitated for a moment then reached my hands out to him and placed his head on my lap. I heard him grunt once in his sleep.
"I'm sorry for foolishly not trusting you before." I spoke softly down to him. He flinched once before regaining consciousness.
"What are you-"He grunted.
"Thank you Kazama, for saving my life."
To be Continued…