Author's note:

When I finished this chapter it somehow was almost six thousand words long, when I intended it to be a very short one, so I decided to split it into two parts. I figure, since I've been late recently on my updates, I will post the next chapter within two days from the time this chapter was posted. I have finished the next chapter. All that's left is proof reading it so it will be posted very soon.

Also, now we're at a transition phase of the story into the next saga I have planned so I do hope you enjoy the story and continue to read/review. Your support and my beta reader 14Phantom has brought this story this far so I thank you all and look forward to hearing from any of you.

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.

~Kingdom of Stars~

Chapter Nine: The Hungry Wolf

"Goodbye, Kaori." Kazama's voice echoed inside of my head as I gazed, in the direction he vanished from. My heart ached with devastating affliction from his swift disappearance.

This whole time I felt more than ready to finally arrive in Edo, but nothing could have prepared me for Kazama's goodbye. I had grown to cherish his presence on this lonely journey and was heartbroken that my time with him came to a sudden end.

A riotous wind rustled my hair as I watched the sun rise, giving light to the new day. No matter how bright its rays were, I felt no warmth.

I had missed my only chance to say goodbye and tell Kazama how I felt. Regretfully, I yearned to rewind time to relive that moment, so I could have told him that I wanted us to stay together. I wanted to cry but held my tears inside, knowing that Kazama wasn't crying over our separation. He was glad to be freed from the burden, I was sure of it. I clenched my fist, and formed my resolve to venture the streets of Edo.

"The Shinsengumi," I mumbled to myself, recollecting my thoughts. Even though Edo was my home town I was very unfamiliar with this part of it. My stomach grumbled as I searched for clues of the Shinsengumi's whereabouts.

I asked everyone I could find on the street, though there wasn't many people around at dawn. By the time the afternoon came I felt I had walked around in circles for hours. The rumbling in my stomach refused to cease, and only amplified as time passed. I needed to eat something soon before I collapsed from hunger. I hardly had any money, not enough for a meal. I sighed staring into my wallet which gave me an impoverished conception. I passed a fancy restaurant. Mouthwatering enticing fumes wavered from inside; tempting me with savory delight. Then a chorus of grumbles howled from within my stomach, begging me to indulge myself.

At that moment a notion sparked in my head to eat my fill then skip the bill. I was spectacle at first but gave in to the temptation and treaded inside the elegant restaurant. There were a lot of male workers there, preparing dishes and monitoring the guests. I had to be careful.

A kind waitress greeted me and I requested to be seated by the exit. She gestured the menu to me and I choose their most appetite appeasing meal. When it arrived finally, it was so scrumptious. I ate it like a starving wolf devouring fresh meat. After my stomach was full I felt a little guilty that these people worked so hard to serve me a nice meal that I wasn't going to pay for. I planned to make my escape before the bill arrived. I scanned the area before getting up then cautiously scampered toward the exit.

"Hey, is everything okay?" A tall waitress with her brown hair tied in a bun on top of her head questioned toward me.

"Uh," I stuttered. "Yes! Everything is fine I just have to go to the bath room," I asserted in a casual tone. She shrugged.

"Let us know if you need anything." She remarked politely then spun around on her heal and greeted another customer. When I was only a few steps from the exit I bolted out of the restaurant and dashed down the street hoping no one would notice my disappearance long enough for me to get away.

"HEY!" An angry voice shouted in the distance. I ran for several minutes sticking to vacant narrow passage ways. I frantically turned a couple of blocks and stumbled into a crowd of people by a market place then veiled myself among them. I glanced around frazzled and was relieved when I saw no one chasing me. I wondered into an alley way out of the crowd and leaned against the wall to catch my breath.

"What am I doing?" I huffed, breathless. I felt so wretched and pathetic. How would the honorable men in the Shinsengumi judge my actions? What I had done was distasteful. I never wanted to do something like that ever again. I scanned the area, paranoid.

"I have to find them…" I panted, frustrated with myself. I was so close. I just needed one clue, someone to point me in the right direction. I couldn't wait to be with him again. I would do whatever I could to aid the Shinsengumi in this terrible war. They've been bravely fighting impossible battles. "They're true samurai." I mumbled gazing at the sky, feeling light headed.

"Hmph," A deep voice scoffed. "They're nothing but dog samurai, foolish woman. Now, hurry up. You're making me wait."

"I know, Kazama, I just-" I uttered then jerked my head side to side, scanning for him. "That voice…" I mumbled, baffled. "Had I just imagined it!?"

I stepped out of the alley way and gazed through the crowd. There was no sign of Kazama anywhere. I realized that his voice had crept inside my thoughts. I forcefully shook my head and stepped back into the crowd, and resumed my search.

I asked a few locals if they knew where the Shinsengumi were but none of them had any clues that were useful. I stumbled on the dirt and almost tripped once in the street.

"Try not to get distracted."

Kazama's lecturing voice ringed in my ears. I treaded through the busy streets and briefly took out the medicine bottle from my clothes, making sure it was still there after all this time.

"Don't wear that thing outwardly conceal it."

Kazama words continued to linger with me. I quickly hid the bottle back in my clothes. Around dust I got a hint from a merchant that he saw a Shinsengumi member a block away just a moment ago. I sprinted in the direction he gestured but by the time I got there I saw no one. The street seemed empty. I sighed, disappointed and turned to walk back the way I came.

"Hey sweetheart, where are you heading in such a rush, eh?" A seductive voice suddenly manifested behind me.

"Woah! What a babe!" Another unfriendly voice remarked. I spun around to see three tall virulent looking men vacillating towards me.

"Uh! Please, I don't want any trouble." I pleaded, backing away.

"Haha! Trouble she says. We're not here to cause any trouble for you honey. We just want to know what you're up to."

I staggered to the side then bolted down the street. I heard their bustling charge of pursuit. A strong arm caught me around my chest and restrained me. I thrashed my body violently.

"No!" I shouted before a moist sweaty hand was forced over my mouth. A strong thumb dug into my check bone and I felt finger nails pressing around my face. I muffled a scream, as loud as I could manage and tried to pull the arm around my chest off of me. The other two men caught up to us, laughing.

"Hey, hey, let me have a taste of her."

"She's a feisty one; little bitch." The man holding me growled.

One of the men ran his fingers through my hair. I glared at him. He leaned his face toward mine. He reeked of body oils and excretion. His smell was so putrid I cringed. I muffled another scream into that strong moist hand confined to my face.

"Ka…za…ma." I whimpered. A tear rolled down my compressed face. I was too exhausted to fight anymore. I prayed to be rescued by Kazama with all my heart and finally shed the tears I held inside from the moment he left me. I painfully realized that I couldn't call upon Kazama anymore as much as I yearned to. I was completely on my own.

"Let's see what we got here." The man standing beside me snickered. He placed his hand on the collar of my kimono and began pulling my clothes down. I thrashed weakly. Then opened my mouth and bit into the hand on my face as hard as I could. I felt his skin slide on my teeth as I gnawed into his hand with all my might. He screeched and let go of me.

"Dumb tramp bit me!"

I screamed for help at the top of my lungs, my voice echoed through the streets. One of the men slapped me. I heard footsteps scurry toward us.

"Hey! What do you three think you're doing?" A female voice shouted.

"Get your hands off of her now!" I heard an angry voice of a man, calling out from a distance.

"Shit! Forget it!" The man that was restraining me threw my body on the dirt then took off with the other two men behind him. I fixed my clothes then staggered to my feet. I saw a small group of people approaching me.

"Hey are you okay?" A woman wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

"Looks like we came just in time, were you hurt?" Remarked a young man who approached us. He gasped suddenly.

"You!?" He yelped. I turned to my side and realized that the woman holding my shoulders was the waitress from that restaurant.

"Hey! You're that rat who skipped the bill!" She asserted angrily then glared at me. I tried to break free from her grip.

"Nuh-uh, missy, you're coming with us." One of the men in the group grunted. I had no choice but to go with them, I lost all of my strength from fighting those men. They guided me back to the restaurant and asked me to pay for the meal I skipped out on. I gave them the little money I had. It obviously wasn't enough. They debated amongst themselves.

"What should we do?"

"No idea,"

"Well looks like...we're going to just have to cut off her hands,"

"Or cut out her tongue." The men teased.

"What!?" I yelped, scared.

"You two stop that!" The waitress ordered. "Don't worry they're just being idiots." She muttered to me kindly. I nodded.

"Then what are we going to do? This girl owes us money."

"I'll tell you what we're going to do." A strict elderly man stepped out of the restaurant and scanned around the group until his hard eyes met mine. "She'll work off her debt. Bring her inside."

"Wait!" I shouted as they pushed me. "I can't work for you! I have no time."

"You should have thought of that before you skipped the bill."

"No! Please, I'll pay you back later." I begged.

"Out of the question," The stern old man remarked. "How do we know you would keep your word? Thieves cannot be trusted."

"But-"

"Would you rather us chop off your hands instead, as payment?" The old man grunted. I paused, then ceased resisting and followed them inside the restaurant.

"My name is Hotaka, I will be your manager." The old man addressed as he guided me to a room up the stairs in the restaurant. "One full day of work will be enough to pay off your debt to us. You will stay in this room tonight and start first thing in the morning, am I clear?"

I nodded my head. Hotaka turned to the waitress.

"Chika, help her get settled in."

"Alright." She replied.

"The rest of you back to work, we need to prepare the store for closing." Hotaka called out. All the men went down the stairs and the waitress gave me a weird look.

"Your clothes they smell terrible. Let me wash them for you." She remarked.

"No, you don't have to." I shyly mumbled.

"Come on, there's some daylight left. What were you doing anyway? You smell like someone who's been lost at sea. I'll be right back, wait here."

She came back with a sleeping yukata that I changed into then handed her my dirty clothes.

"Here you can wear this kimono tomorrow when you work. I'll have this done for you before you leave." She kindly gestured a pale green Kimono neatly folded into my hands. "My name is Chika by the way, my father is Hotaka. Those two ignorant men were my brothers. We run a family business here. I'm sorry if they scared you. What's your name?"

"I'm Kaori, thank you so much, and I'm really sorry for what I did."

"No matter, as long as you work it off tomorrow, everything will be okay." She smiled at me. "You had a rough day, I can tell; try to get some rest okay? Also don't pay any attention to the other workers here, no one is going to hurt you but take my advice and stay on my father's good side." Chika said then turned to leave my room.

"Hey, wait a second." I called out to her. "I need to ask you something, do you know where the Shinsengumi are staying?"

"The Shinsengumi?" The questioned surprised. "Well, I'm not sure, but if I hear anything I'll let you know okay."

"Please do! I've been searching for them. I have to find them as soon as possible!" I frantically begged.

"Alright, alright, I have a few errands to run tomorrow I'll ask around and let you know."

"Thank you so much, Chika!"

Chika nodded her head then left my room. I collapsed onto the bedding, exhausted. I felt relieved that I only had to work for a day, though it would delay everything for me. I still had to find the Shinsengumi. I decided to ask all the customers I could tomorrow and hopefully, at least one of them would know where they are staying. I snuggled into a blanket and closed my eyes.

The moment my eyes closed I saw Kazama with that awkward expression he held before chuckling back on that life boat. I opened my eyes and curled up into a ball.

"Kazama Chikage…" I whispered. I never did get a chance to call him by his first name. I wondered how he was doing. Suddenly a tear impulsively ran down my cheek and I angrily swiped it away. I knew that where ever Kazama was he wasn't crying over me. I forced myself to forget about him in that moment and slowly lost consciousness; looking forward to the next day, a day closer to the Shinsengumi.

In my dreams I was back in the ocean drowning under its murky waters. Kazama dove in after me and hastily swam over to my body and pulled me to the surface in his strong arms then hoisted us back onto the ship.

"Why do you have to be such a clumsy girl?" He growled, holding me on deck.

I lifted my hand in the air and waved it around until it met his cheek then I caressed his skin gently, tracing his handsome features with the tips of my fingers.

"Hn?" He grunted with his mouth open slightly. He blinked once then his red eyes narrowed. "I hate…"

My eyes sprang open, bringing me back to consciousness. I lifted myself up holding my head, recalling that moment back at sea. I never found out what Kazama had said to me when he saved my life from drowning during the pirate attack. I figured he had said something like 'I hate you, foolish woman.' I struggled for several minutes to recall that moment at sea, in an attempt to decipher what Kazama uttered while he held me on that ship. I was in too much shock to hear him at that time. Perhaps it was best to not ponder over it though, since I needed to just forget all about Kazama. My time with him had ended.

I got dressed in that pale green Kimono Chika left me then scurried down the stairs.

"Ah, so our little guest is finally awake." Teased the man that suggested to chopping off my hands before. I resisted the urge to glare at him. Chika gracefully scampered over to me.

"Everyone, this is Kaori, she'll be working for us today." She called out to the group of workers. She faced me. "Kaori, let me put your hair up and pin back your bangs." She fastened my hair into a tight bun and clipped my bangs on the top of my head. She quickly showed me around and instructed me on how to properly do my work.

Throughout the day I washed dishes, served food, chopped vegetables and poured sake for customers. Chika left to run a few errands and came back after some time.

"Chika! Did you find anything about the Shinsengumi when you were out?" I inquired, sprinting over to her.

"Woah, take it easy. No, I haven't but I'm heading out later on today. I'll check again."

"Please do!" I pleaded then got back to work. In the evening it was very busy and Hotaka ordered me to serve food to a few customers in a room. I carefully carried the tray over to them. When I opened the door I gasped. The customers were the men that had attacked me earlier. I nervously introduced myself. None of them seemed to recognize me, to my relief. I must have looked like a different person dressed in different clothes and with my hair up. I served the food to them then bowed as I left the room, closing the door behind me. Then was instantly called back to work by Hotaka.

I asked a few customers if they knew where the Shinsengumi were staying but none of them were able to give me a clear answer.

At the end of the day I was ordered by Hotaka to chop vegetables in the kitchen. I heard two waitresses giggling while washing dishes.

"I know right, he was so cute!"

"I've never seen a man that looked like him before. He's so refine and elegant; I think I'm blushing."

I peeked at the two young women and giggled myself at how embarrassed one of the girls looked.

"He thanked me after I waited on him. I got the chills! His voice was so erotic."

"I know! What I like most about him are his red eyes though. They remind me of rubies."

"Red eyes!?" I screeched, dropping everything in my hands and twirling around to face them.

"Yeah…" One of the girls asserted. I faced her.

"Does he have blonde hair!?"

To Be Continued…