Author's note:
So, my computer had an annoying virus for some time which really sucked since I couldn't get on my laptop that often. Sorry for the delay everyone but now I'm back!
Zhera and Ainhoa11, I'm so glad to hear that you think the story is getting better and better, I hope I can live up to your expectations.
Lily, haha you have a hunch? Keep reading to see if your guess is correct.
By the way everyone, my beta reader 14Phantom is so awesome! That's all I have to say for right now, let's read!
Kazama and I then ventured into the village. A haunting gust in the wind gave me an eerie sensation. The streets were completely vacant and none of the houses were lit. Amid the sense of danger and ambiguity a foreboding ache clawed at my gut.
"The sun just set a moment ago. So, where is all the people?" I asked, scanning the lifeless area.
A gloomy fog brushed on the streets and the moon shone with a sickly purple tint. A roaring wind pierced through the air and lashed out at us, accompanied by a sinister and unfriendly howl. I bolted into Kazama's back and tightly griped his clothes with one hand as we treaded through the streets. He didn't pay any attention to my actions.
"Um, Kazama, I think something is off about this place." I whimpered. Kazama placed his hand on his sword then halted abruptly and spoke.
"I'm feeling it to."
~Kingdom of Stars~
Chapter Fourteen: Village of Nightmares
Kazama and I stood completely still, waiting silently. The streets were painted with shadows. A light breeze swooped over our path, weeping throughout the village.
"Damn, I thought this route would be safer for you." Kazama grunted.
I stared at his back. His hair waved slightly with the wind.
Crash
Suddenly, the sound of something tipping over echoed in the distance. I felt my hand grip tighter onto Kazama's clothes. We both glanced in the direction of the noise and saw a bucket rolling down the side of the street. I forced myself to let go of Kazama's back, trying to be brave. Suddenly a cat dived out of an ally way and dashed across the street. I sighed in relief that the source of the noise was just a harmless cat but Kazama didn't lose focus.
"I was scared for a moment there. I thought we were going to be attacked-" I uttered.
"Quiet." He ordered, planting his feet in a fighting stance. "Something's coming." He warned.
"What is?" I nervously asked spinning around.
A thunderous blast of wind engulfed around me. Wisps of my hair twisted around my head in every direction. Suddenly I heard a deep groan from above me. My gaze shot upward. Two glowing red lights surrounded by a dark cloud flew down towards me. I leapt backwards avoiding the creature's crash landing on the dirt in front of me. A powerful wind circled around its feet. I assumed the beast was a fury until I glanced at its uncanny features.
The creature wheezed heavily, drool pouring out from its jaw onto the dirt. It had a hunched back and silvery skin covered with wrinkles and spikey ears. My body froze, stunned.
"Get back." Kazama ordered, shoving me to the side. He glared at the beast for a moment until it leapt at him with its mouth opened wide. All of its teeth were sharp fangs like the jaw of a shark. Kazama whipped out his sword and slashed the monsters chest open. My feet staggered a few steps back, trying to not be in the way. I heard an insidious growl and glanced up at the rooftop of a building and spotted another one of those creatures standing above Kazama.
"Kazama, above you!" I shouted.
Kazama kicked the creature in front of him causing it to tumble down on the street before he darted to the side avoiding the attack of the other creature as it flew down to him from the roof. Kazama swung his sword repeatedly at the beast that swiftly dodged each attack until it bumped into a wall of a building. Kazama lifted his sword over his head and motioned to chop the beast in half. The creature caught Kazama's blade right before it touched it's ash like skin.
"What are they?" I winced.
I saw the creature Kazama previously cut down lurk towards Kazama from behind and prepared to strike while his sword remained caught in the other monster's grasp. When it lashed out to attack Kazama I tugged off my sandal and hurled it across the street hitting the beast on the side of its head, knocking it down on the ground by Kazama's feet. Kazama kicked the creature's side that was holding his sword, making it let go of his blade. Skillfully, he drilled the sword through the fiend's chest, puncturing its heart in a parallel strike. It let out an earsplitting howl as it collapsed to the dirt; dead. Kazama glanced at my sandal then at me briefly. I nodded my head at him. He prepared to fight the other monster that staggered to its feet. When three pairs of glowing red eyes illuminated from the darkness besides Kazama.
"How many of them are there?" I whimpered.
I felt something grab my arm from behind me and was unexpectedly was forced to stumble backwards and shut my eyes, afraid of gazing directly at one of the savage fiends.
"Ah! Let go!" I pleaded.
"Shh! It's alright." A soothing male voice asserted as I was dragged through the street.
"Huh?" I blinked my eyes open.
"Come on. We have to get off the streets before one of those monsters catch us," the voice continued.
I realized I was being pulled away from the battle by a young man with shoulder length black hair tied in a ponytail.
"Wait, who are you? Where are you taking me?" I questioned, losing my breath.
"My name is Hiroshi and I'm taking you to a safe location." He confirmed. "What's a pretty girl, like yourself, doing in a place like this anyway?"
"What about Kazama?"
"You mean that friend of yours back there? Forget about him. Trust me, no one can fight these monsters, he's probably already dead."
"No!" I planted my foot into the ground and tugged my arm toward my chest struggling to break free from his grip. "I'm not leaving him. Besides, those monsters aren't any match for him."
"You don't understand, these things aren't human." He argued, staring into my eyes. I realized his were a light blue color.
"And I'm telling you, that doesn't make a difference. You don't know Kazama like I do. They don't stand a chance against him." I debated, thrashing my arm free from his grasp.
"Wait!" He yelped, lunging toward me. He gripped onto my arm again and pulled me to him. "I mean no offense but if we're going to survive we have to leave him behind and escape while we still have a chance."
"Let go of her." An angry voice demanded.
I glanced over my shoulder at Kazama who was approaching us with his bloody sword in his hand. It appeared to have more cracks on it than before. I saw five dead bodies of the monsters on the street in the distance and there didn't seem to be any left pursuing us. The man continued to grip my arm, refusing to obey Kazama's order.
"You must really want to die." Kazama viciously sneered.
"Wait! He wasn't trying to hurt me or anything…" I blurted out towards Kazama.
"Hey, loosen up! I'm only trying to protect her-" the man bickered, glaring at Kazama.
"She is none of your concern." Kazama criticized.
Hiroshi studied both of us for a few seconds then let go of my arm. I took a step towards Kazama.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Here." Kazama handed me my sandal. I slipped it back on.
"Hiroshi!" The voice of an elderly man called out.
A crowd of people raced toward us from down the street. Some carried lanterns and planks of wood as weapons.
"Look! Some of those horrible monsters have been defeated!" One of the people hollered.
"Who are they, Hiroshi?" A person in the crowd asked.
"Hiroshi, what happened? Who defeated those beasts?" The old man inquired, staring at Hiroshi.
"This guy…" Hiroshi snickered. "He defeated them." He said giving Kazama a hostile look. The villagers instantly began to cheer amongst themselves.
"I can't believe it! Finally we've found someone who stands a fighting chance against those monsters!"
"He must have come to save our village!"
"Let's prepare a feast for this man!"
"Hooray! We're saved!"
The old man stepped towards Kazama.
"Thank you so much. You've done us a great service by getting rid of some of those awful beasts. I'm afraid more of them are still lurking in our streets. Will you stay and defeat the rest of them and save our people from this nightmare that plagues our village?" He pleaded.
"I have no interest in helping any of you. We're just passing by." Kazama asserted.
"What do you mean you have no interest in helping us?!" Hiroshi shouted. "You're the first warrior we've seen in a long time and the first person who was able to even defeat one of those things! You have to stay and help us!" Kazama didn't pay any attention to Hiroshi's plea. Hiroshi glared hatefully at him.
"Hiroshi, that's enough." The old man lectured then turned his gaze toward Kazama's sword. "I see your sword is badly cracked."
"Know where I can find a new one?" Kazama asked.
"All of our swords were stolen recently but there is one we could give you. My son is a blacksmith and he went to go finish a sword at another village. He should be returning sometime tomorrow with the sword. We'll give you the sword if you stay."
"I already gave you my answer." Kazama grunted.
"Would you at least stay for the girl then?"
"Hn?" Kazama glanced down at me.
"Kazama…" I sniffed holding onto my throat. My head became extremely heavy and hot. Kazama narrowed his eyes, annoyed. I sneezed into my hands then gagged into a coughing fit.
"She seems gravely ill and will need some medicine and a full night's rest; if she's ever going to recover." The old man remarked.
"I'm not making any deals, old man." Kazama declared.
"I know, I'm just offering our hospitality. You've already killed some of those monsters for us, it's the least we can do for you in return."
"You're crazy!" Hiroshi squealed. "Just let him go, he's not willing to help us anyway."
"Hey." I mumbled. Hiroshi's gaze shot down at me in surprised, as if he just remembered I was there. "I really don't want to be a bother to everyone but I think it's best if you let us leave. We're in a hurry to get somewhere and-" I choked and shook violently as sweat dripped off my face.
"We'll stay." Kazama grumbled.
"What?!" I gasped.
"Just for tonight." Kazama confirmed, glancing down at me.
"Follow us, we'll show you where we are hiding." The old man instructed then turned to Hiroshi. "Hiroshi, keep a look out and make sure none of those creatures are tracking us." Hiroshi nodded.
After some time the villagers guided us into a large room in a safe house.
"Everyone here is all that's left of our community, there are no other survivors." The old man murmured to Kazama who didn't seem interested.
"So you're saying that those creatures killed most of the people in this village?" I asked.
"That's right." Hiroshi answered. "There's twelve of them, minus the five that he killed." He briefly jerked his head towards Kazama. "And they seem to have an uncontrollable hunger for blood."
"Why won't you all leave this place then?" I inquired.
"We can't leave our homes and everything we own." Hiroshi argued. "So we've been waiting for a warrior to come and save us." Hiroshi glanced at Kazama who wasn't even paying any attention to anyone.
"I'm so sorry that this happened to you all, I wish there was something I could do for you." I sighed. Hiroshi smiled at me.
"Don't worry about it. I appreciate your concern for us but I just want you to focus on getting better, okay?" Hiroshi said, patting my head then he sighed heavily. "Why has this happened to our people, it's all because of that bastard Kodo Yukimura."
Kazama's gaze immediately shot towards Hiroshi.
"Kodo Yukimura?" He grunted.
"He's the one that started all of this." Hiroshi asserted.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Some time ago a small army dressed in western clothes passed through here and demanded that we let them stay in our homes during the day time. Their leader was an old man named Kodo Yukimura and he introduced himself to the men of our village. Ever since he showed up people have begun to vanish mysteriously. He seemed to be experimenting with some potion. He eventually persuaded a dozen men to drink this strange liquid out of a small bottle, promising powers and rewards to those who drank it. He even offered it to me but I refused; it just didn't look safe to drink." Hiroshi explained.
"Hey, did the bottles look like this." I questioned, pulling out the generation X bottle from my clothes. Kazama glared at me.
"Yes! It looked exactly…wait what is that mark? Is it an X?" Hiroshi stuttered.
"Oh, yeah." I mumbled, feeling Kazama's spiteful eyes on me. I quickly concealed the bottle in my garments, responding to Kazama's vexed demeanor.
"The liquid was black and ink-like. I can't believe some people even drank the stuff. Anyway, Kodo Yukimura kept on talking about how he wanted his men to be able to walk and operate in the sunlight, whatever that met. The first person that drank this stuff immediately transformed into a very powerful being, though he still looked human. Just his eyes and hair changed color. He suddenly was able to jump over ten feet in the air. Everyone was impressed and wanted some of the elixir for themselves. A total of twelve men drank this potion and obtained the same powers and were able to roam in the daylight but…"
"Go on." Kazama urged.
Hiroshi glanced at him silently.
"Tell us what happened next." I pleaded.
"Everything seemed to be fine until some kid fell and scraped his knee on the street and at that moment the clouds blocked the sun." Hiroshi began turning to me. "Right after that, all twelve men suddenly went under another transformation; a more horrifying and powerful one than before. Their backs became hunched and their skin turned grey and all of their teeth sharped. It was disgusting. Soon the village was overrun by these blood sucking beasts. Only a few survived the blood bath. However, once the sun shined through the clouds the monsters vanished. They seem to only come out when the rays of the sun are blocked."
"Just as I suspected; these things are merely deformed furies, failures. What happened to Kodo Yukimura?" Kazama inquired.
"He and his army vanished. No one knows where he went." Hiroshi remarked.
"But why would he make these monsters." I uttered.
"Well he did mention something about restoring a Yukimura clan and making some kind of advanced human race or a new world of devils. The guy was nuts." Hiroshi sighed.
"A new world of devils?" Kazama snickered. "So, that rat decided to betray demon kind, how blasphemous. How dare he tarnish the Yukimura name." He growled to himself. I glanced over at him, not having a clue of what he was saying.
"By the way, what is your name?" Hiroshi asked, leaning in close to me.
"It's Kaori." I affirmed.
"Kaori! What a beautiful name. What brings you here?" Hiroshi stuttered.
"That is none of your business." Kazama growled. "Your people said you have medicine. Quit wasting her time and give her the medicine." He chided.
"What!" Hiroshi stuttered, clenching his fist.
A man suddenly shoved Hiroshi to the side.
"Please, Hiroshi, don't start an argument with the great warrior." He said.
"Great warrior?" I mumbled.
The man kneeled down beside me and handed me some medicine off a tray he was holding.
"Here take this and you'll feel better in no time." He smiled at me.
"Thank you!" I chirped, bowing to him.
The man then turned to Kazama and bowed.
"Great Warrior Kazama, we have prepared two rooms for you. Please follow me." He asserted, beginning to guide us down a hall.
"Kaori, sleep well!" Hiroshi called out to me.
"Okay, thank you." I hollered back at Hiroshi.
We were directed down a hallway with two rooms on the left side.
"We didn't know if you two were lovers or not so we prepared two rooms for you. The room down the hall is for the girl." Our guide instructed. "Have a nice rest." He bowed to Kazama then treaded out of the hallway. Kazama and I were alone together again.
I glanced up at his face and waited for a moment for him to say something but he just gave me a blank look.
"Good night." I shrugged, advancing down the hall toward the room. I felt his crimson eyes on me. I glanced over my shoulder at him and watched him step in front of the entrance of his room. I suddenly felt a little awkward since Kazama wasn't saying anything. I sighed then opened the sliding door to my room.
"Hey," Kazama grunted. I spun around and faced him.
"Yes!" I cheered.
"Why didn't you tell me you were feeling ill?"
"Um…"
"Do you want to slow me down?" He questioned.
"No! Never!" I asserted, feeling a bit guilty.
"I should have forced you to go back to Sen's." He scolded.
"I'm fine! Don't worry; it's just a small cold. I'll be ready to go to Koufu Castle as soon as we are able tomorrow." I argued then coughed into my hands.
"Do you take me for a fool?" He growled.
"No! Of course not!"
"You look so pathetic. Hn, it amazes me how you weak humans never fail to prove just how worthless you all are." He criticized, opening the door to his room. "If you don't recover in time tomorrow, I'm leaving you behind."
"What?!" I gasped. "You…Kazama you would really leave me in a place like this?" I cried, heartbroken.
"You should have gone back to Sen's residence when you had the chance. If you perish here you'll have your own foolishness to blame for not listening to me." He lectured then entered his room and shut the door behind him.
"But Kazama…I thought you were finally," I coughed. "…my friend."
I pouted for a moment then staggered into the room and shut the door behind me. There was a sleeping yukata beside the bed. I changed quickly and crawled under the covers. Kazama's hurtful voice rang through my consciousness as I slowly began drifting to sleep.
"I'm leaving you behind…If you perish here you'll have your own foolishness to blame."
I pulled the covers up to my face. My body cringed as I gagged countless times. My face was sweltering with heat, my cheeks felt like they were on fire. I tried to resist the urge to cough and tears spilled from the corners of my eyes from the intense pressure. I turned around a couple of times trying to get comfortable, until I had no strength to move. My last thoughts were of the demon sleeping in the room next to me.
Kazama, would you really leave me in a place like this where I could get eaten by monsters? Do you still hate me?
The whole world was dark except for two small holes my eyes were looking through. I was shivering on an empty field outside under the night sky. I felt something heavy weighing my face down. When I lifted my hands to touch my cheeks I felt a cold rough surface of something other than my skin. My hands traced the object on my face to the back of my head where I found the ribbon that bound this thing to my head. I quickly united it and the heavy thing on my face clanked onto the grass.
"What is this thing?!" I yelped.
I kneeled down beside the object and turned it around and immediately threw myself backwards from the remembrance of a ghoul from a previous nightmare. The object was the same pale pink mask of a devil's face the child in my nightmares wore. I wondered why it was confined to my face before an uproarious twister swarmed throughout the field. When the storm passed I saw a giant about ten feet tall with long white hair and glowing blood red eyes standing a distance away from me. At its feet were ten men dressed in blue haori coats.
"The Shinsengumi?!" I screeched then recalled Sen's words.
"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."
"Get out of there! Don't fight it!" I hollered at the men.
"What an ugly bastard." One of the men joked.
"You could say that again." The shortest Shinsengumi warrior said.
"No! Run away!" I warned.
My eyes grew wide at the sight of a warrior pulling his sword from its sheath with his left hand. He then charged at the beast with no hesitation followed by a man with a spear. The giant Rasetsu lifted its sword and swung down toward the ten captains of the Shinsengumi, slicing through each one. I croaked in horror as their blood sprayed out from their necks and lost limbs.
"No!" I cried shutting my eyes and hugging myself tightly. I wanted to run but felt too afraid to move. I peeked at the gruesome scene through teary eyes. "So, is this…" I trembled. "The generation X Rasetsu?"
"Fake dog." Grunted a deep and erotic voice.
"Kazama!" I gasped as he manifested in front of me on the field. I almost felt relieved for a moment until Sen's revelation crept into my mind.
"This legendary monster was the most powerful Rasetsu ever created and it even possessed strengths and abilities that surpassed the average demon."
"Kazama, no! I think this fury is the generation X monster from history. We have to run!" I begged as he lowered himself into a fighting stance.
Kazama charged in for the kill. Right before he was able to pierce the heart of the beast it grabbed his face with one of its huge hands then drew its sword straight through Kazama's heart. The generation X monster tossed Kazama's lifeless corpse onto the grass and advanced toward me. I shook violently from the sight.
"Kazama!" I cried in pure agony.
I collapsed to my knees as the monster's shadow towered over me under the sickly amethyst light of the moon. I heard a metallic noise in front of me and realized the Rasetsu dropped its sword on the grass besides me.
"Split your gut." It ordered in a roaring tone. "You were the one who was supposed to die."
Haunted by guilt, I clenched the handle of the steel in front of me.
"I know." My voice cracked. "I'm so sorry!"
My eyes sprang open as I threw the covers off my body and placed my hands on my abdomen.
"It…was only a dream." I whispered.
I rested my hand on the side of the bed then felt something wet tickle the tips of my fingers. I glanced around and noticed that my bed was damp with sweat. I pressed my hand against my forehead and realized my fever had gone down.
I wondered how long I slept since it was still night. Suddenly I heard a howl from outside my window and tugged the covers over my head, terrified. I imagined the monster from my nightmare standing in my room and became frustrated with fear. Haunting images of those deformed furies free in the streets penetrated my thoughts causing me to lose tranquility and enter a very anxious and paranoid state.
I was afraid of the mystery behind generation X; the incubus in my head; the dangerous furies outside; and most of all, being alone to face such horrors. I struggled to comfort myself but my efforts were wasted because of how pessimistic I was.
What if one of those monsters outside try to get me while I'm sleeping by myself?
What if I have another nightmare with that evil fiend again?
I lifted the covers from my face and scanned the room. Every shadow was a place where those furies could be hiding and every noise sounded like them drawing closer and closer to feast on my flesh. Then my mind played a cruel trick on me. I turned my head to the side and thought I saw that mask of a devil's face on the floor beside my head. I thrashed around in my covers before realizing that the mask was actually my kimono neatly folded beside my bed.
"I'm scared." I whimpered. That's when I realized how much I hated being alone with these fears and anxieties and pondered on what to do to free myself from them.
"Kazama…" I mumbled. "I could go to your room," I blushed just thinking about it. I wondered if he would even let me share a room with him and if he was fast asleep already. One thing was for sure, I couldn't stand another minute in the room I was in. I stumbled to my feet and cautiously opened the siding door to my room and glanced down the hall. I was intimidated to step out of the room for a moment, being overly suspicious of my own safety. I eventually tip toed out of the room and then dashed to the entrance of Kazama's room. I blindly studded my toe against the hard floor on the way to the door.
"Ouch!" I squeaked, standing in front of his door.
The air in the hallway had an eerie silence that made me shiver. I hesitated to open the door for several seconds.
Would it be okay if I just snuck in there? Is he already asleep?
I ran over scenarios in my mind over his possible reactions to my presence in his room. I sighed heavily holding onto my shaky body. I was afraid going in his room unannounced would anger him and I was even more fearful of waking the blonde demon up. Most of all I was scared that my actions would cause him to leave me.
"You look so pathetic. Hn, it amazes me how you weak humans never fail to prove just how worthless you all are."
I leaned my body against the entrance to his room. My left cheek pressed against the door as my ears tried to capture a sign of his presence inside, wondering if he was awake. I closed my eyes after sometime, and recollected my time with Kazama, fearing the end of our alliance.
I desperately didn't want to be separated from Kazama, to face the cold ominous world alone. I began to weep hysterically. I heard Kazama let out a big sigh.
"Do not disobey me again." Kazama said.
"Do you mean," I sniffed. "I can...?"
"We shouldn't waste any more time, the boat is leaving soon." He turned from me and began advancing down the street.
Even though to him I was just a burden, that he couldn't seem to break free from, he was to me, my solace and comfort. I had no idea what to expect from our travels through the vast ocean but we embarked on this new adventure, together.
A smile stretched across my tired face and at that moment I yearned for him with a great voracity to have his protection, guidance, and comfort. As I leaned on the door collecting these thoughts brought ease and amenity to my apprehensive self. I was finally able to relax.
"What are you doing?" Kazama grunted from inside the room. My eyes sprang open as he suddenly opened the sliding door I was leaning against. I lost my balance and fell into the chest I once slept safely and peacefully on, under the stars.
To Be Continued…
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