Author's note:

Hello everyone. I'm super sorry for the late update! This chapter is a lot longer than my previous ones so I hope that makes up for it. I didn't mean for it to be posted so late though.

Thank you for staying with me through this story! Especially those of you who review all my chapters! I also appreciate your comments about my artwork. That was very nice of you all.

Also thank you 14Phantom my beta reader, for sticking with me this whole time :D I hope I continue to improve in your opinion!

Anyway, sorry again for the late update, please enjoy the story and review, review, review, they really help stir excitement and ideas for me!

"I know what he is; get away from him while you still can, or things will not end well for you." He warned.

"What do you mean? I have to go, take her to a safe place." I pleaded then dashed away from them in search of Kazama.

"You mustn't follow him!" The old man called out after me.

I stumbled into a crowd of people shielding themselves with barrels, poles, and all sorts of items on the ship. Then I felt something grab me and screamed.

"Hey." Kazama grunted, pulling me toward him.

"Kazama!" I cheered, relieved. He dragged me behind some sturdy barrels that were restrained to the deck with ropes and nails. Then he lowered me to the floor. "What are you-"

"Shut up and stay put." Kazama ordered then stood up and drew his sword swiftly from its sheath.

"Wait! What's going on? Who is attacking us!?" I panicked. Kazama glanced down at me.

"Pirates." He grunted then ventured hastily toward the perilous sounds of battle.

~Kingdom of Stars~

Chapter Eight: Written in the Stars

"Pirates!?" I cried, aghast and overwhelmed.

BAM!

My body flung forward into the barrel I was using as cover. My knees slammed onto the deck. I staggered to my feet as the ship shook violently, causing a nauseating feeling inside of my skull. I heard people panic and scurry around the ship. I peeked around the barrel searching for Kazama.

BAM!

BAM!

The impact of the blast, fired from cannons, rocked the boat riotously. My body was thrashed back and forth under the chaos. Suddenly a steel pole flashed in front of my eyes. The impact left a sharp ringing in my ears and heat crept on my face. I fell on my side, holding my head and screaming in agony.

"Kazama!" I cried as loud as I could manage but no matter how loud I called out to him, he didn't come. I stumbled to my feet.

"Kazama!... Kazama!" I whimpered. Everything around me appeared blurred. I held my dizzy head as I swayed back and forth, unable to see the floor. I grazed my fingers over the upper left corner of my forehead and then glanced at them. I was so shaky all I could see was deep garnet oozing liquid dripping down the length of my fingers. I flailed my arms sightlessly around calling Kazama's name. Then my side hit something.

"Kazama?" I questioned. Suddenly I felt like my body was being thrown. Then my limbs were whipped hard on the surface of water.

Splash!

I realized that I had blindly staggered to the side of the boat and fallen off. As I sank I saw a string of blood lift from my forehead and disperse in the sea water. The freezing waters numbed my body, making it difficult to move. I could hardly see the surface and could only gaze a few feet in front of me. It was as if I was swimming through murky ink. I caught a glimpse of something lurking in the distance and knew that the great predators of the ocean were attracted to the scent of my blood. It prowled around me, anticipating the perfect moment to strike. My heart raced in my chest as I suffocated. Death was inevitable. My eyes closed as my mind struggled to find peace. My life flashed through my thoughts and paused on my last memory of him.

The setting sun painted the skies with an orange glow, giving everything shadows. I gazed through teary eyes at his back, his hair flowing. Then he spoke the last words I ever heard him say. Words I could rest in peace with for eternity.

"Kaori, grow into a beautiful woman someday and marry me…"

I mouthed the words "I will" to the man in my dreams and my lungs filled with salty sea water. The carnivore beast continued to scavenge around me. I knew that soon the sharks would strike to feast on my flesh, but I didn't fear the feeding frenzy. My soul could survive the infinite emptiness of death with the words he spoke to me that day. If death met I could be at peace with him again, I would embrace it.

I prayed that I would die holding onto that one memory, just so I could be with the man in my dreams in my last moment of life. I forced my mind to continue the memory.

I took a step toward him, then suddenly the sun fell into blackness and I was a beautiful full grown woman. I reached out to him in the dark and he lifted me into his arms, delivering me into his embrace. I felt myself rise as if his spirit was carrying my soul out of my body. I raised my hand, visionless, searching for his face. The tips of my fingers fell on his lips and I gracefully traced the side of his face and rested my hand on his cheek. Then a light shined through my eye lids and, all of a sudden, something didn't feel right.

I blinked, bewildered. Then I realized that my hand wasn't resting on the cheek of the man in my dreams, but Kazama's. I heard thunder in my head as everything became distorted around me. I painfully regained consciousness. My body shivered violently. Kazamas strong arms held me to his chest. My hand dropped from his face. I saw his lips mouth words I couldn't understand. I was in too much shock to hear anything.

"Ka-Ack!" I began coughing forcefully. Kazama kneeled down on the deck of the ship and lowered me gently on the floor. He had saved my life again. I coughed the water out of my lungs. Kazama glanced down at me and said something I couldn't hear, then stood up and rushed away from me.

"No!" I yelped, reaching out. I felt a blanket being placed on me. My head jerked to the side and I saw two civilians helping me recover. I noticed people running around aiding each other. The attack seemed to be almost over. Blood soaked the deck as well as broken parts of the ship. All the corpses on board had slashes cut into them. I knew that Kazama had been the one who killed all the pirates. After some time the shock wore off and I was able to comprehend what was going on around me.

"Are you alright?" Asked one of the passengers, who had put the blanket on me.

"Yeah," I muttered, freezing. My forehead had stopped bleeding. The wound wasn't as bad as I anticipated. When I lifted my hand to touch it I whimpered in pain. The people around me helped me stand. I glanced around at all the passengers who were whispering to each other.

"He killed every last one of them."

"How is that possible? I never dreamed a man could be so skilled."

"He saved us, but he looks so strange, there's definitely something off about him."

My eyes met Kazama's crimson glare through the crowd of chattering people. He stood halfway across the deck from me. The way he looked at me was the same as the very first time I saw him. When he saved me that day, I thought I was going to die and I had envisioned the man in my dreams that I was searching for.

Just a moment ago same thing happened. I saw the man in my dreams awaiting death and Kazama woke me up again from that same dream. Kazama waited there for me. I took a step toward him.

"DEMON!" A man shouted amidst the crowd, I halted at the sound of aboisterous voice. I glanced around and noticed that elderly man from before shouting to the crowd. "THAT MAN IS A DEMON!"

I saw Kazama glare at the old man then scoff. The people started mumbling in agreement.

"I knew there was something strange about him, but a demon?"

"There's no other way to explain this."

"Everyone stay back!" The old man continued. "No good can come from demons, they are vile, destructive, beasts. It was his presence that poisoned our luck causing those pirates to attack us! Don't be fooled, shun him!"

"He killed all the pirates by himself! He is a monster!" I heard a woman on board shout. The women concealed their children in their arms and the men glared at Kazama like they were threatened by him.

"Be gone with you demon, leave!" The old man yelled, waving his arm toward Kazama. The passengers chattering turned into malicious whispers. Kazama went over to the side of the ship and prepared a life boat then called out to me.

"Hey, coming?" He held his hand out to me. I stumbled a few steps toward him.

"Don't go! Demons and humans don't belong together, they're of different worlds! Stay with us, you are nothing but a human girl, only misfortune falls before those who travel with oni!" The elderly man shouted. I stood before Kazama, reached out to his hand and hesitated, looking over my shoulder at all the flustered people.

"Trust me girl, humans and demons are too different from one another. You won't find what you're looking for with this man." He warned, in a prophetic tone. I glanced back at him. Then I felt myself being pulled and lifted into the life boat in one swift movement. Kazama stepped in with me then slashed the ropes holding the boat to the ship. The life boat hastily splashed onto the surface of the water. The passengers raced to the side of the ship looking down at us. Kazama rowed the life boat away from them. As the old man preached about the danger of demons the people prattled cruelly about us. Some taunted us from the ship.

I felt rage build up inside of me. How could they say such things about Kazama after he saved them? I thought about how ungrateful and selfish the people on that ship were. I felt I understood a reason why Kazama hated humans so much and why he called them nefarious creatures before.

So many things were rushing through my mind. Most of all I was puzzled on how Kazama felt. I wanted to know why he didn't attack the passengers aboard the ship the moment they insulted him but was too intimidated to ask. He sat across from me guiding the boat in the pitch black aphotic night. I stared down at my lap. I could feel a thick ice between us and knew that he was boiling with rage over what just transpired. I wondered if being called a monster hurt his pride. I knew he was proud of his oni blood. I thought of ways to comfort him but gave up. After all how could I a foolish human, ever comfort a proud, intelligent and otherworldly man like Kazama? Knowing him, he probably would feel insulted if I tried to ease his anxieties.

For some time the darkness echoed with cries of hate from the ship we deserted. Once the distance grew too much to hear them, I realized it was just me and Kazama alone in the middle of the immeasurable ocean.

Kazama steered the boat, looking away from me. I felt I had to say something to him. I wondered how he knew where he we were going and when we would arrive in Edo. But asking a question like that wouldn't be the best way to break the ice between us. We hadn't spoken a word to each other since we left the ship. I clenched my fist and my teeth pressed together to keep myself from saying anything and turned my head to the side, unable to look at him. I felt his garnet eyes on me the moment I turned my head away from him. It must have been the first time he looked at me since we left the ship.

"What's wrong?" He chided, irritated.

"Uh! Nothing!" I stuttered.

"Then don't make that face." He growled, disgusted.

I had no idea how to express my thanks to him for saving my life again, without making him angry.

"You..." I blurted out. He glared at me through narrow eyes. I immediately regretted what I just said. He was steering us to safety and I didn't even call him by his name. I felt like such an idiot.

"Hn?" He grunted, impatiently.

"Kazama," I shyly mumbled.

"What? Is this not good enough for you? Would you rather be aboard that ship with all those filthy humans?

"Ah! No, that's not it at all," I froze gazing into those angry precarious eyes. All I wanted was to let Kazama know that he wasn't a monster at all but it seemed I only provoked him unintentionally.

"Then what is it?" He grunted, abruptly. I couldn't think of anything to say. He scoffed. "Stupid human,"

"Then why did you take me with you!" I shouted out of frustration.

"You lowly cur, I told you I would take you to Edo, you've been nothing but a burden to me. If you rather swim, go right ahead. Good riddance." He remarked, bitterly. My heart sank. What did I just say!? I had known this whole time he was upset with how those people treated him. All I wanted to do was take his anger away.

"How do you know where we are going?" I uttered, bluntly. He spitefully glared at me and opened his mouth about to say something I presumed injurious toward me but I didn't give him the space to speak.

"You've been navigating this entire time in the dark. It's phenomenal Kazama! How are you doing it?" I stuttered as enthusiastic as I could manage. His expression lightened a bit.

"The stars, of course," He asserted.

"The stars?" I questioned, blinking at him.

"Yes, look up." He gazed at the sky. I glanced upward and gasped. There were thousands of them, all shining brightly yet from such a great distance away. It made me feel so small and inferior. The open universe was breathtaking. At that moment I felt so insignificant compared to the stars substantial supremacy of the skies.

"But…there's so many how could you…?" I mumbled in awe. Kazama pointed upward.

"You see that big one? I've been using it to-"

"Where?" I questioned, puzzled, scanning the night sky.

"That one next to the smaller ones, no look more to the right." Kazama instructed.

"That one?" I pointed blindly at a star. Kazama shook his head.

"No, you're off a little." He sighed. "Come here." He gestured to me to sit beside him. I moved over to his side and he motioned his arm beside my face, pointing at a luminous star with enticing beauty.

"Oh! I think I see it! It's that one, right?" I directed my finger toward a bright star glimmering in the heavens.

"Yeah, that's the one." Kazama asserted. We were sitting so close I could just barely feel his breath. He went on with his explanation about how the pattern of stars, were like a map that he could use to navigate with. I started yawning, feeling drowsy.

"Are you listening?" He questioned after some time. Truthfully, I hadn't comprehended a word he was saying, but I nodded my head anyway.

"Hey Kazama, can I ask you a question?"

"What kind of question?"

"Well, back on the ship, why didn't you attack the passengers after they insulted you? I mean I thought you would kill anyone who insulted demons but you didn't harm anyone of the civilians."

"Hmph, killing those lowly swine would have been meaningless. I wouldn't gain anything. Those pathetic humans were no threat to me." He grunted.

"Really? You're a good man Kazama." He didn't pay any attention to the complement I gave him instead he gazed at the heavens, steering the boat. I gazed up as well. We were silent again for a while. My ears missed his erotic voice.

My head jerked up and down as I struggled to stay awake. I was surprised that Kazama let me stay next to him. I was thrilled knowing that soon I would reach my destination. Kazama kept his eyes set on the vast glowing path to Edo, written in the stars. My eyes drifted toward that one sovereign star; its powerful light set it asunder from the rest. It was so radiant that I felt like I was looking at it directly through the eyes of an angel.

"The stars, they're so beautiful." I mumbled.

"They're one thing humans can't destroy." Kazama uttered in his low august voice.

"Or demons." I remarked with a teasing grin on my face.

"Hn, true." Kazama grumbled. I yawned again, admiring the astronomical wonders of the cosmos. Then I closed my eyes and lost consciousness briefly.

Thump-thump…thump-thump

A heartbeat echoed in my ears and I peeked my eyes open realizing that I had drifted off leaning against Kazama's chest. My body jerked up and I felt the back of my head hit Kazama in the face. I gasped when I realized what I had done.

"Kazama! I'm so sorry!" I apologized, embarrassed. Kazama just stared down at me through his narrow crimson eyes. I moved my hand to brush his face and he placed his hand on top of mine, preventing me from touching him.

"It's okay." He said.

"Did I hurt you?" I uttered, worried. Kazama gave me a calm expression I had never seen on him before then he chuckled.

"Hurt me? A human as weak as you?"

That was the first time I ever heard Kazama speak to me in a friendly tone. I felt my face get hot. I glanced at our hands. He placed my hand on my lap and continued steering the boat. I smiled at him, impulsively.

"Hn?" He grunted down at me.

"You're an impressive man, Kazama. Don't pay any attention to what those people aboard the ship said; you're not a monster. What you said before was true, most humans are selfish creatures. Thank you for all that you've done for me tonight, Kazama, thank you for everything." I mumbled losing my breath in a yawn, and then rubbed my eyes.

"Tired, are we?" He remarked and I nodded my head.

"Then go ahead and rest, I'll take care of everything. It won't be much longer now till we reach Edo."

I collapsed into his chest, exhausted. I managed to peek once more at that one bright star in the sky. I never thought Kazama would ever be kind to me. I had the stars to thank for closing the gap between us. It amazed me how something so distant could bring us so close, together.

…

"Hey."

"Hnn," I grunted in my sleep.

"Wake up, we're in Edo."

"What? Edo…" I mumbled, regaining consciousness. I blinked my eyes open. The life boat was parked by the docks. I was resting on the bench in the boat with Kazama standing over me, it was almost dawn.

"EDO!" I screeched, springing upward. Kazama nodded. I bolted out of the life boat onto a small bridge in the docks. I was ecstatic.

Kazama stood beside me as I took it all in. We advanced off the docks onto land then he paused in his tracks and stared down at me. My heart skipped a beat when I realized what was going to happen next.

I tried to come up with something to say to him before we departed from one another but I felt too stricken to utter a single word. I wanted to smile and tell him how much I appreciated him but for some reason I couldn't form any words in my mouth. I gulped back tears gazing at his handsome deep red eyes.

Kazama waited patiently for me, though I couldn't say it. I couldn't say goodbye, not after all we've been through together.

"Hn…" I whimpered. He held a calm understanding expression. I struggled to maintain my composure. I didn't want my tears to be his last memory of me. I held my breath forcing the blubbering explosion to remain inside of me and he continued to wait.

Pull yourself together you have to say something to him! After all this time, you have to smile and say goodbye!

But I couldn't do it! I desperately wanted to throw my arms around him and wish him the best. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was for troubling him and give him thanks for aiding me in my journey. Most of all I wanted him to know how hard parting from him was, that I had grown to admire him so much and revered him as the man who saved my life numerous times.

Despite the great turbulence swelling inside of me, I stood there completely silent, unable to move. Some time elapsed and then I heard Kazama's deep voice ring in my ears.

"Goodbye, Kaori." He finally said disappearing with the flow of the wind and leaving no trace of himself behind.

To Be Continued…

Author's note:

This chapter was a difficult one to write, please leave a quick review, they do wonders for me! I cherish all my reviewers and followers. Thanks for reading!