Chapter 1

Taira looked around in the books at the local library. She ran her index finger over the spines that stuck out of the shelves. The books were all lined neatly and made a smooth path for her fingers to travel on. Suddenly there was a bump. She stopped and turned to the book. This book looked almost old and hand written. It still looked in journal form like it had never been published yet there it stood in the library. She pulled the book out and looked at it curiously. 'Universe of the four gods…' she read to herself staring intently at the book. Her crystal blue eyes concentrated on the cover and she paused before she brought her other hand to the book to open it. She pushed back her long dark brown hair that also had black and red mixed in. Yes she really did have these colors naturally in her hair. Her hand opened the book and she slowly and carefully read the words inside.

"Taira are you alright? You look really absorbed into that book…just check it out already!" interrupted Kita one of Taira's friends that didn't appreciate books as much as she did. Kita's light brown hair fell delicately on her shoulders and her brown eyes had a completely bored look in them which was a surprise since they were usually so full of life and energy.

"Oh…yeah maybe I should," Taira said closing the book cover quickly that was a swift but gentle motion. There wasn't even sound of the pages moving as it gently closed and was held in her delicate hands. "Shall we be going?" She said with a smile to her friend who looked extremely bored with just the few minutes they had been there. Kita quickly nodded in agreement smiling. Taira got in line and soon checked out the book and then followed her friend out of the library.

They walked along the sidewalk slowly on their way to Taira's home. They entered the small home that seemed almost too empty. But the two were used to this felling since no one else lived there except Taira herself. Taira had actually had to move out on her own home a while ago because of her abusive parents. She would have gone to an orphanage if she hadn't run away and figured she was only one year from adult hood, making her seventeen the same age as Kita even if Kita was older by a few months. She had known Kita from school and they both got along quite well and was a little surprising since they were such opposite in personality. Kita entered and then quickly turned to look back at Taira who had like usual been silent the whole way home while Kita talked away. Taira was moving to a counter and gently place down the book then went to the fridge to grab something to drink. Kita smirked getting curious like usual.

"So what is this book about!" Kita asked running to the counter to grab the book and flip it open. She scanned the page and frowned. "This is one creepy book Taira!" She said after the pause. Taira turned around quickly and ran to her friend.

"Be careful with it! It looks old!" She added trying to get the book that Kita held and kept just barely out of reach.

"Turn the page and the story shall become reality?" Kita said in an almost mocking tone. So she turned the page…

Kita-

Kita stood in complete shock as she found her self standing next to a huge gate. The scenery looked like it had just jumped right of her history books. "What the hell just happened! We were not I repeat NOT just sucked into that book! Holy shit books don't always lie Taira! It's amazing! I should have actually listened to what they were telling me all these years! Oh my god! Where are we? Where are we!" Kita yelled already letting her senses go into panic mode. But who can really blame her? When she didn't even get a reply to any of her questions she looked around. Taira was not there. "OH SHIT!" She screamed now realizing either she was sucked in alone or she had lost her friend. "Oh shit! Shit-shit-shit!" She cried looking around desperately for her one and only friend terrified that she was now some where completely alone. She then gave up realizing that she was indeed alone. "What am I going to do!" She cried to herself not knowing what she would do she slumped to her knees.

There was then a snicker of a man's voice. Kita turned to look up quickly startled obviously. The man that had been snickering at her had an evil grin on his face that he didn't hide. "I heard ya looking for someone? It was Taira right? I saw her…she went in there…I'll take ya if ya wanna go see her?" The man said.

Kita starred. 'okay…creepy guy wants me to go with him…I should just say no. He's lying…but…what if he isn't?' She thought to herself. She stood and looked over the man. "Alright…if you say you know where she is…" She mumbled and walked with the man down an alley and just like she had thought he had lied to her and quickly came over to her and had the evil etched on his face. She didn't scream she didn't make a noise she was half thinking proudly that she was right and the other half of her was telling her to run like hell now! But neither of these thoughts were completely processed as she was tackled by the man. For her it felt like it took forever to hit the floor but when she finally did with it came a painful sting shooting up her back as she did hit the ground roughly with the man on top of her. His eyes scared the life right out of her as he looked like he had only one thing on his mind and she already knew what was going through his mind. "GET OFF!" She screamed now her body allowed her to fight back as she wrestled with the man to get him off her. Suddenly she hit something hard on his back. She grabbed the hard object and pulled on it as she suddenly noticed she had drawn out a hidden dagger, obviously this man was a bandit of some sort. She quickly processed this as she sent it into his back with as much force as she possible could. He yelled in pain feeling the object strike through him. He quickly got up and pulled the dagger out of his back as it now dripped with his crimson blood.

"You little bitch!" He yelled as he pointed the knife at her. "You'll die for that!" He screamed madly as he lunged at her with the sword. She quickly dodged rolling away and stood up. The man went to lunge at her again but suddenly she saw the man be knocked out and he slumped down to the ground before her. As the man before fell there was another that stood much younger who had a smirk on his face. He had unbelievable red hair and hazel eyes that she found were gorgeous and couldn't take her eyes from him until he approached her. She hadn't realized she was shaking uncontrollably.

"Are ya okay?" He asked concerned putting one arm around the girl in a comforting manner.

'Am I okay?' She thought the thought almost seemed to laugh at her. She suddenly went to her knees and began sobbing her hands covering her pretty face. The man looked alarmed at the girl and now had an 'aw crap' face on as he knelt down next to her.

"It's okay he wont ever touch ya again…but I have ta say it was pretty amazing that ya fought back like that." He said with a grin.

Kita was surprised to hear him speak to her again and he seemed to have the slightest amount of concern in his voice. "I-I…" she started but her body wouldn't let her function anymore as her exhaustion and anxiety took over her to make her collapse.

Taira-

Taira found her self staring at a lake. It was peaceful and quiet except for a few chirping birds and the sound of one of the small streams joining the lake. She looked around her for Kita. "Kita…" She said in a hushed tone that was full of worry. "Oh no…" She thought realizing what must have happened. The book had split them up. "What will I do? I have to find her but I don't even know where to look…let alone that I don't know where I am…" She whispered as she sat down on the luscious green grass beneath her.

The sun was setting making colors dance across the water and a gentle breeze went across the water making a few tiny ripples appear across it. She looked around hoping to at lease see somebody…anybody so that she knew she wasn't in this world alone. She then laughed at that thought. "I was always alone…" She whispered to herself almost chuckling at how she had thought if she saw someone she wouldn't be alone. Kita…was the only person who came even close to making her not feel alone…but not even Kita took away the feeling.

She watched the ribbon of colors perform across the shining surface of the water until the dark night had made them bow and disappear for the night to now take over the sky. She now sat alone in a place she had no idea where she was. She had been thinking carefully through everything. Trying to discover what had happened to her and Kita and what she would do. Many ideas came to her but she didn't follow any of them through she wanted to think of every possible idea she could before she just rushed into this to find trouble.

Something across the lake suddenly lit up. This made Taira stare intently at the light for a moment before she concluded that it was a fire. Some one…was there….across the lake. She watched the small blaze of a fire that was quite a distance off being one of the few light sources in the night as she brought her thoughts together trying to tie up as many loose ends as she could. 'The book….is the universe of the four gods…yes…that's it. The legend about the priestess and her seven seishi…I know that tale. So…I am in the story? And what roles…do Kita and I play?' She thought to herself. She then heard some cheerful voices across the lake.

"Kaya be careful you don't want to fall in the lake…" came a young man's voice.

"I won't fall in! You worry too much," Laughed the girl.

"Didn't it say…that a warrior was here?" Came another man's voice.

"Yeah…that's why were here!" Laughed another girl suddenly there was silence as Taira saw the first girl stand before the edge of the lake looking directly at her with an oh my god kind of shock expressed on her face. Taira didn't move.

'Is she looking at me? She couldn't possibly be looking at me! It's too dark to see me over here? Right?' She thought to herself pretty sure that the girl was staring straight at her.

"What is it Kaya…" Asked the other girl joining the first girl at the edge of the lake and looked out across it in the direction she stood. "W-who is that? I-is that another Sieryu spy!" She asked alarmed and putting her arm out in front of Kaya in a protective manner.

"I-I don't think so…" Kaya said moving her hand away. "I think…oh my god! She's from my world!" The girl yelled out in shock now seeing Taira's attire. Man she has good eyes for her to see her attire so clearly across a lake in the night. The girl then went running to go around the lake.

'Oh crap she did see me!' Taira thought almost panicking. She stood up quickly and swiftly with out making a noise she turned to run before the girl would get to her but suddenly a man grabbed her. 'OH NO' was her very first reaction as the man held her tightly. She didn't scream although she was completely terrified, she hadn't screamed since the first time her father hit her…after that she never screamed when both her parents would beat her with out mercy because of their drunken state.

She looked up at the man that held her. His hair was dark brown and short. His eyes were easy to see as a dark mahogany color. At any other point in time she would have taken the time to consider how his eyes came to be that way but at this particular moment she didn't feel like investigating into it. He was in excellent shape and was light toned in color. His face wasn't really smiling but it did seem to hint just a little bit of pleasure at catching her. He was dressed in warriors clothing the colors of black and red. He looked either the same age as her or a year older. The girl was dressed in the same attire as she came around the bend but it was a dress. Her hair was long and jet black pulled into a high ponytail. Her eyes shone a deep blue as they twinkled with excitement at finding that she hadn't lost the girl.

"Akao….don't hold her so tightly," She said while suppressing a giggle. Taira just starred at a complete loss of what to do.

"Sorry she was trying to run…" He mumbled releasing Taira to stumble back a few steps.

"So you're from my world?" Kaya said playfully. She acted very content a lot like Kita but lacked the fiery temper she had. The girl also appeared to be a year or two younger than her self making her fifteen or sixteen.

"Um…." Taira mumbled not really sure how to answer that. Suddenly a twig snapped. This made them all turn in its direction. "The fire's out…" Taira whispered having the eerie feeling that something horrible was about to happen. She was right about both things as a man clothed in all black fell to the ground doing a flip and landed perfectly poised on his feet.

"It is time for you to die…Genbu no miko…" He said coarsely through his clenched teeth. He then pulled out some kind of star shaped object that glistened in the moonlight. He went to throw it at the girl name Kaya but the man who had stood behind her was quick to grab Kaya and pull her to safety with it just grazing his own skin. Taira didn't know what to do. She leaned down picked up a rock and hurled it at the man's head. She was shocked when her hit was direct on which was probably for the first time in her life…her aim sucked with the exception of this one and glorious moment.

The man turned and his eyes showed that he was pissed. They then turned to laughter, "So…you have finally come…I suppose they've been looking for you," He said noting the girl's attire of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Not that I was aware of," Taira said confidently her posture unshaken. Her crystal blue eyes did not betray any emotion she felt which made the man ponder what she was thinking.

"Well…it's a shame they won't be able to summon Genbu if their warrior is killed." He snickered.

"Yeah that would be a shame," She hissed back not liking the man at all.

"So I guess I have to kill you then," He said laughing. "It's not like you have already established your powers…" He said tauntingly as he came at her.

She was swift to dodge the attack but things began to click in her head now, 'I'm a warrior!' She realized that was why he was attacking her and why she was here. He came for her again but she ran with a plan in mind. He was quick to follow. Suddenly she leapt when they neared a tree. She grabbed the branch and swung around to end up kicking him square in the back for him to stumble forward. She let go of the branch and fell to the ground to land on her feet gracefully. "It's amazing that I only did gymnastics for a year and here I am using it to save my life," she chuckled softly to herself as she thought of how the scene had worked. She forgot the one little detail she soon regretted, he wasn't knocked out or dead yet. So she then found her self flat on the floor as he had grabbed her foot and pulled her down.

"You witch what were you thinking!" He snarled out of anger.

"Name calling will get you no where." She stated plainly and he just let out an aggravated snort as he then went to punch her full force. The only problem was that she rolled and his hand contacted the ground. She wasn't as quick to dodge the second punch so she then felt the tingle of pain in her stomach where the punch had smacked her. She was now receiving an onslaught of punches but then the man stopped. She had covered her face the best she could and now peered through her fingers trying to see what had caused him to stop. The answer now came clear as dead eyes stared back at her to then slump to the ground. A hand was then offered out to her. She accepted the hand before she saw who it was. It was a new face she didn't see earlier. His hair was black and long. His eyes were of a brown so deep they almost looked black. She now stood with some cuts and bruises her body ached immensely but she tried not to show it although the damage was easy to see.

"Are you okay?" Called the girl named Kaya her eyes full of worry as she looked over her new warrior seeing the bruises and various other wounds.

"Never better," She smirked slightly letting some of Kita rub off on her. The girl nodded slightly but her eyes still showed worry. Taira turned to look at the dead man who had attacked her. Right there it was easy to see. Cause of death….being stabbed…straight through. She turned her head quickly having a hard time dealing with the thought that the man had just been alive and now lay dead at her feet.

"Guys what happened! Who-who is this? Is this the girl that we saw from across the lake?" Asked another girl her hair was a maple color and was pulled half back. Her green eyes sparkled at the thought of seeing another warrior. "My name is Kamlyn! Can I ask yours?" She asked looking over the beaten girl.

"I-I'm Taira." Taira said giving them all her small smile. Kamlyn nodded and then walked over to her.

"You look beat. You should come back to camp with us and you can rest a little," Kamlyn said smiling placing her arm around the girls shoulders. "Let's go!" Was all she said not waiting for a reply as they brought her to the other end of the lake with supplies already laid out on the ground. Akao the first man she had met showed her a tent where the girls stayed and Kaya set up quickly another bed.

"Guys let her get some rest. She can talk to us tomorrow." Kaya said leaving the tent and Taira alone. Taira sighed what an eventful day she was having. She laid on the bed and as soon as her head hit the pillow she collapsed. Although it looked more like sleeping she was more knocked out.