Author's note:

Thanks again for all of you who took the time to review my last chapter, please continue to read and review, it means a lot. This chapter is here because of your reviews and my beta reader, 14Phantom, so thank you for the support! =)

~Kingdom of Stars~

Chapter Five: Water of Life

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."

I spoke softly down to him as he blinked his angry crimson eyes open and gaze up at me, lifting his head from my lap.

"Wait, Kazama, an oni lord should not lay his head in the dirt." I gently placed my hand on his forehead to keep him on my lap. "Please rest on me."

"Hmph." He scoffed. "Then sleep sitting up, foolish woman." He yawned then got comfortable on me and drifted back to sleep. I took my hand off his forehead and tried to remain as still as I possibly could to not disturb him. I leaned my back against a tree behind me and tried to fall asleep. I was very uncomfortable sitting up and my legs grew sore from supporting Kazama's head. I fought the urge to stretch them and remained motionless for Kazama's sake.

After some time my mind wandered off and in my dreams, I was back on that same cliff crawling my way to the top. All I could remember was the over whelming feeling that if I didn't hurry I would lose someone precious to me. I begged for that person at the top of the cliff to wait for me. I knew the man at my destination was the man I had to see.

I'll do anything to find you!

I wondered if I would ever be able to catch up with him. While ascending to the top I shut my eyes from the strain. My last memory was pulling myself over the edge of the cliff to the surface. I never could recall who was waiting for me, if anyone.

I felt something nudging me on my shoulder. I blinked trying to get my eyes to focus.

"Wake up."

"Hn?" My eyes sprang open to the sound of Kazama's irritated voice.

"How long are you going to make me wait?"

I realized that I was laying on my side, my body outstretched on the dirt. I rotated myself on my back feeling very sore and disorientated. My eyes felt heavy, I rubbed them forcefully as I sat up. It was a struggle to keep the exhausting urge I was feeling, from luring my body back to the ground, to sleep.

"Get up. I won't wait for you any longer."

"Okay!" I staggered to my feet and fell once on my knee, then regained my balanced.

"We're almost out of these filthy woods." Kazama grunted. He started to advance toward a pathway. I brushed the dirt off myself.

"Kazama." I called out.

"What is it?" He grumbled roughly, annoyed.

"Nothing, I just wanna say good morning." I chirped cheerfully. He didn't respond.

"Um…did you sleep well?" I muttered shyly.

"Try to keep quiet human, I'm not in the mood."

"Okay, I'm sorry."

I hoped Kazama slept comfortably on my lap and wondered how long he waited for me to wake up. I gazed up at the vaguely lit sky of dawn and thought about him, the man in the Shinsengumi that I was trying to find. The uncertainty of his wellbeing left me a dark feeling of obscurity. I yearned for the slightest degree of comfort, longing for a sign that this journey will not all be in vain.

As Kazama and I treaded through the woods, I noticed something drifting heavily in the wind. I squinted my eyes and saw a bloodstained blue haori coat in the distance off to the side of the path we were taking.

"Kazama wait." I uttered sounding more demanding than anticipated. I ran over to the coat and embraced it in my arms.

"This belonged to a member of the Shinsengumi!" I stuttered, exasperated in shock. That was the first sign of the Shinsengumi I had found from the start of this journey but it was given to me in the most unrelenting way. The blood nearly symbolized the death of this coats owner. I could only imagine how the Shinsengumi had suffered from the battle of Toba-Fushimi. Kazama stood behind me.

"Hmph, serves that bastard right. Foolish dogs of the Bakufu didn't know what they were up against." Kazama snickered cruelly. I held onto that coat imagining the worst. He waited a few seconds for a response from me. I gulped back tears maintaining my serenity.

"The Shinsengumi are a waste, they're not even dog samurai." He taunted. "Now drop that repulsive thing or I'll leave you behind." Kazama walked past me without looking back.

"You should consider them all dead." He grumbled, disgusted. I clenched my teeth, gripping tightly onto the bloodily coat.

"You're…right." I whimpered. Kazama halted and glanced over his shoulder at me.

"You're right, they probably didn't know what they were up against and they're all probably dead." My arms restrained the coat to my chest, refusing to let go as I stood up. "It was foolish of me to go on this journey to find them, what chance do they possibly have against their enemies?" My voice trembled. Kazamas face was expressionless as he listened to me.

"I-I almost regret my decision to try to find them, but I believe that they keep fighting because of their strong sense of duty and will, and I know they will not give up no matter what the chances of winning or losing are, that's just how he is, stubborn and self-important!" I paused to get a grip on myself, in order not to lose my peace of mind.

"I've gone too far now to give up; I still have to find the Shinsengumi. I made a promise to one of their members that we would meet again, so I have to keep going. Though I can't escape this gut wrenching feeling that it might all be in vain."

"Hmph, looks like you're not as dense as I thought." Kazama mocked. I blinked, puzzled by his words.

"Drop that filthy thing, and let's go." He remarked.

"But-"

"The blood on it could attract furies, leave it, or forget traveling with me." He growled.

I forced my arms to let go and ran over to Kazama, catching up with him. I treaded behind him, my eyes never leaving his back. There was a chilly breeze in the air, though the sun shined brightly. We traveled peacefully for a while. My stomach grumbled a couple of times. Kazama had ignored me the whole way and traveled through the woods like I wasn't even there. Suddenly Kazama paused in his tracks and scanned over our surroundings.

"Kazama?"

"Come here." He grabbed my arm and shoved me behind some bushes.

"Kazama, what is it?"

"Shut your mouth and stay out of my way, or you'll be killed." He asserted in a serious tone.

"But-" I whispered. He gave me a quick glare that froze the words in my mouth. He took a few steps away from me and extracted his sword from its sheath.

"You've been tracking us for some time now haven't you? Come out you bastard." He called out to the woods. I heard something rattling in the trees, then a dagger flew toward Kazama and he deflected it in one swift movement with his blade.

"Damn you." Kazama growled. I saw him take off hastily away from me. Someone was tracking us? I peeked through the bushes losing sight of Kazama. I wondered where he was going. I didn't want us to get separated and I was worried he would abandon me here. I rushed out of the bushes and ran in the direction Kazama went. Just when I thought I had lost him, I heard a voice and followed it until I saw Kazama, then hid in some nearby bushes.

"I don't understand why you are taking care of that human girl, is it because she wears the legendary Water of Life bottle around her neck, or is it because she saved your life?" The voice belonged to a young boy with brown hair and brown eyes; he seemed to be taunting Kazama.

"What do you know about that?" Kazama growled.

"She was the one who killed Shiranui. Yes? This human girl will have to be punished, you know that."

"Just how long have you been tracking us?"

"Ever since Shiranui found you, by the way were you impressed by his bullets? They were created in the same fashion as that oni slaying sword the Douji-giri Yasutsuna."

"So that explains it." Kazama remarked.

Kazama listened in a ready-to-strike stance. I remained as silent as I could trying not to be noticed by either of them.

"This girl has some kind of connection to the most powerful elixir in history. She will be a valuable asset in the creation of the new oni world, so if you don't mind we'll be taking her." The boy asserted with a barbarous grin on his face as he pulled his sword from its sheath.

I gasped, and quickly put my hands on my mouth. I had no idea what this boy was talking about.

"You're wasting your time." Kazama growled. "This girl is my business. I will decide what happens to her."

Sling!

Sling!

Kazama attacked the boy who seemed to be no match for him. Suddenly the boy's hair turned white and his eyes gold. I realized that the young boy was actually an oni. Then I heard some footsteps brushing in the woods near me.

"So this must be the person that Kodo Yukimura wants."

"Looks like it, she wears the generation X Water of Life bottle around her neck."

I heard voices beside me and turned around to see a small pack of furies. I yelped as they grabbed me and pulled me out from the bushes. My arm was scratched on a tree branch as they dragged me.

"Let go of me!" I frantically shouted. "Kazama!"

"BLOOD!" One of the furies started drooling over my arm that was bleeding a bit from the scratch.

"We must not feed on her, Yukimura wants this one alive."

These furies seemed different from the ones I've seen before. They were able to hold onto their sanity in the sight of blood, though it still was a struggle.

"Kazama help!" I screamed as loud as I could. One of the furies put his hand on my mouth and started to carry me off.

"Looks like my business here is done." Said the boy Kazama was fighting. I watched as he started to turn and run from Kazama. The furies were carrying me away in a rush. I lost sight of Kazama and wondered if he went after the boy and decided to forget about me. Then I heard one of the furies screech in pain.

Sling!

I saw blood splashing in the air around me. The fury, that was carrying me shoved my body onto the ground and pulled out his sword.

"Hmph, you pitiful fake oni bastard think you stand a chance against me?"

Slash!

I sat up to see the pack of furies had been slaughtered and Kazama slicing his sword through the heart of the last remaining fury.

"Kazama!" I said, with glee. Kazama glared spitefully over his shoulder at me in a rage. He grabbed my clothes, lifted me up then slammed me into a nearby tree.

"Tell me everything you know about that Water of Life bottle around your neck." He growled, furious.

"Water of Life? I don't know what you are talking about."

"Don't play dumb with me, human, why do you wear that generation X bottle around your neck?"

"It was a gift to me that's all! I don't know anything about it please believe me!" I cried. He stared into my eyes for several long seconds.

"Kazama, your hurting me, please let go." I begged. He dropped me.

"So, you really know nothing about it, lowly cur." He growled. I shook my head.

"What is the Water of Life?"

"It's a medicine that created these filthy disgusting creatures." Kazama snickered glaring down at the massacred furies.

"So this is a Water of Life bottle?" I questioned while gripping the bottle around my neck. Kazama glanced over at it.

"Don't wear that thing outwardly, conceal it." He remarked. I tucked the bottle in my clothes removing it from sight.

"Did you kill that boy?" I asked.

"Bastard got away, I'll have to find him later and kill him." He said as he sheathed his sword.

"Thank you for rescuing me." I muttered. He glanced over at me with a blank expression. I was so happy that Kazama and I were reunited again and giggled, for some reason I couldn't hold it back. I felt so relieved that Kazama came back to me. His crimson eyes narrowed.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing; it's just, that was the first time you ever protected me, I'm beginning to think you're starting to like me a little now, that's all." I mumbled, blushing.

"If you had information about that legendary elixir, I couldn't allow those bastards get their hands on it." Kazama grunted as he began walking down the path. "I can't have you slowing me down anymore, shut your damn mouth, lowly human, and let's go."

"Okay!" I trotted behind him. I felt a little upset knowing that the reason he saved me was to protect information about this mysterious bottle around my neck and not for the value of my own life. I had no idea what kind of secrets it harbored. I only hoped that it wouldn't cause my ruin. We traveled for some time, and he was completely silent as usual. When we made it to the top of a small hill I could see a town in the distance and new we had made it out of the dangerous woods at last.

"Kazama look!" I was so excited that we had made it. I ran over to Kazamas side and pointed to the town.

"I'll be going to Edo by boat." Kazama said. "If you want to stay on land the locals can help guide you, the routes not complicated."

I glanced up at him.

"Kazama, I'll go where ever you will go."

He looked down at me a little irritated.

"Hmph, suit yourself."

To be Continued…

Author's note:

Don't forget to leave a review, they keep me going! Thanks for reading!