Everything was being shut off at the library now that it was closing time. Someone walked upstairs to the reference room before walking in. They then took one of the books off the shelf….the book that changed Aika Hitsubasa's life forever.

~0~

"Aika! Come on! Hurry up or we'll leave you behind! Believe it!" Naruto called to his little sister figure who had done some shopping. The store was closing early and Naruto and Sasuke were planning on going with Aika and Tamahome to the Sand Village. Kurama was on Aika's head in his smaller form. Kiba and Akamaru would be joining them soon.

"I'm coming! Don't get your tails in a twist," Aika muttered before running over.

"Oh ha-ha, very funny," Naruto said sarcastically with a pout.

"She's got you there, Loser," Sasuke smirked.

"Shut up, Bastard!" Naruto shouted. Sasuke rolled his eyes at his best friend before looking over and sweat-dropping.

"If he keeps acting like that, I'm going to walk away saying I don't know any of you," he said bluntly. Tamahome was looking in awe at the thirteen year olds that were practicing jutsus not too far away at a training field.

"I can't believe it! Even kids can do that kind of thing?!" Tamahome exclaimed. "Aika, you've gotta see this!" Aika giggled at him.

"I have seen it before," she said to him.

"It's pretty normal here, Tamahome. Some can even do easier stuff like that at the age of seven. Believe it!" Naruto grinned.

"Oh, hehe," Tamahome let out a sheepish chuckle. Aika smiled at him before looking at Naruto and Sasuke.

"Yui said she wanted to come with us. She said her fever had gone down quite a bit too. It's actually why I had to do a little shopping. I got her some medicine," Aika said holding the bag that had the medicine.

"Yui always pushes herself too hard so you have to be firm with her," Kiba said walking up to them with Akamaru. Naruto smirked.

"Oh really? Did you tell her not to come along, tough guy?" He teased. Kiba blushed.

"Well, I, uh…" Kiba gave a nervous smile after stammering. Tamahome chuckled a bit and pet Akamaru who's tail was wagging happily.

"I told her she couldn't come into work today. Man, she's either helping me with the shop or working at the Academy as a history teacher," Aika sighed.

"She's always over doing it," Kurama stated.

'The seven of us were on our way to the Sand Village once more. This time, to visit Suzuno's grave,' Naruto thought as they left the village.

~0~

Toki stood after praying to the shrine, dressed as a monk. He then stood after he finished. He left the shrine and went into the house, grabbing an umbrella. It was raining in the Sand Village which happens very little. Most of the time it was considered a blessing because of the plants and such. Toki then left his home to make his way to the gate where he would meet up with Naruto, Sasuke, Aika, Tamahome, Kurama, Kiba, and Akamaru. Soon the group made it to the village gates and looked around for Toki. Aika soon saw Toki and smiled before waving. Toki smiled and waved back. Toki then led them to the gravesite while talking with Aika. He was pretty honored to have met the Priestess of Suzaku. After a bit, they soon made it to the gravesite where Toki began praying his grandmother while Sasuke held the umbrella for him. Aika shared an umbrella with Tamahome while Naruto shared one with Kiba and Akamaru.

"Please hear us as we pray," Toki said.

'Across time and space, Suzuno and Tatara died at the exact same moment. If Tamahome hadn't appeared in this world again to be with me, it's very likely that I would have ended up like Suzuno,' Aika thought with a soft smile as she glanced at Tamahome. Tamahome suddenly gasped and looked around quickly making Aika look at him with concern. "What? What's wrong, Tamahome?"

"You all right there, Kit?" Kurama asked from Aika's shoulder.

"Uh, nothing. I just thought for a second I heard somebody calling my name. Sorry, must have been my imagination," Tamahome said to her with a sheepish smile. They then heard Toki finish praying and looked over at him.

"While we're here, why don't we pay a visit to Tokiko's gravesite as well?" Toki smiled at them. Aika was a bit surprised then remembered what she had learned.

'Tokiko Okuta, the Priestess of Genbu,' Aika thought. She smiled and nodded.

"Oh yeah, Genbu girl," Kurama mused.

"Grandma's father and Tokiko's father, Einosuke Okuta, used to be very close friends," Toki said as he led them to the grave.

"Is that why you took care of Miss Suzuno these past few years?" Naruto asked him.

"Heh, yeah, even though we're not really related. My grandpa fell in love with Suzuno," Toki said to them.

"Hm?" Kiba blinked.

"I assume you mean your real grandfather, right?" Sasuke asked.

"Uh, yeah."

"And if you're here, that means he must have had kids too. So if he produced your dad, that means you have another grandma somewhere, doesn't it?" Sasuke asked him.

"It was a ridiculous real life love story," Toki chuckled a bit as they walked down some steps. Tamahome stopped on a step and looked to his left. Aika looked at him.

"Tamahome?" She asked, wanting to know what was going on.

"I heard it again, calling me," Tamahome said to her.

"Are you all right? Maybe the heat has disoriented you," Aika said concerned. Tamahome gave an embarrassed smile.

"Of course."

"He had too much fun on the way here," Naruto teased.

"Don't tease him," Aika scolded her elder brother figure.

"Watch out, Naruto. You're getting scolded by a younger girl," Kiba teased.

"Watch it, Kiba. Or you'll be the next to get scolded by a younger girl," Aika retorted making Tamahome and Kurama chuckle. They soon made it to the grave that read 'Tokiko Okuta' on it.

"Here it is," Toki said.

"This is Tokiko Okuta's grave?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, along with her father, Einosuke," Toki said as Aika ran up. Tamahome then started his way over again. Tamahome suddenly stopped with a gasp.

"I am the Priestess of Genbu," a woman's voice said making Tamahome's eyes widen. "Help me. Please. Won't you help me? Before I disappear completely."

"Priestess of Genbu? But why?" Tamahome murmured. He then dropped his umbrella making everyone look over. Aika's eyes then widened a bit as Tamahome was suddenly glowing red. She knew that red light all too well. She dropped her umbrella and started running over to Tamahome who reached out a hand to her.

"Aika! Wait!" Kurama shouted.

"No! Please! Tamahome!" She called as she reached her hand out to him. Suddenly the area around Tamahome glowed red. "NO!"

~0~

"Yeah, he just vanished. It was that red light again. Uh huh, we're on our way back now. Everyone is so upset. I wish I could do something," Kiba said in the phone. He soon came to the gate to see Naruto holding Aika in his arms, bridal style. Sasuke was looking at Aika with some sympathy while Akamaru was letting out quiet whimpers. Kurama gently nuzzled Aika's head. They all then took off through the trees back to the Leaf Village. "Naruto, Yui came to the same conclusion. We may not know the reason why, but Tamahome's back in the book."

"I'll get into that room as soon as I can and I'll have that book by the end of today," Sasuke said to Naruto.

"But by the time we get back it'll be closed. It's late already," Naruto said seeing the sun had set.

"Leave this to me. You do remember I happen to be a ninja, right? I can get the book," Sasuke assured. What they didn't know was that a small fire broke in the Leaf Village Library's Important Documents Reference room that morning. Once they got home, Naruto had taken Aika to her house and put her in bed. He covered her with the blankets before seeing the pictures. One of the Suzaku group and the other was a picture of Aika, Tamahome, Naruto, Kiba, Yui, and Akamaru. He sighed softly and left the room to let her sleep. The next day he had left some food for her and she didn't eat.

"Not eating? Aika isn't eating?" Yui asked surprised.

"She wondered around in the rain for two hours looking for him. It was painful to watch," Kiba frowned, sitting on the floor while Yui was on the couch next to him. Akamaru's head was resting in her lap as she pet him. Sasuke was sitting on the couch as well while Naruto got some drinks. Kurama frowned.

"Here," Naruto said tossing Kiba and Sasuke their drinks. The two caught them. Naruto sat in a chair and opened his drink before drinking some.

"Let's go over what we know. First of all, the book didn't burn up in the fire," Naruto said pointing to the newspaper they had gotten today.

"Right. Okuta wrote that he tried his best to burn it back then, but couldn't. That's why he asked for it to be sealed away," Sasuke remembered.

"I'm sure he did more than try to burn it. I bet he tried everything he could to try to destroy that book," Yui said to them. Kiba opened his can only for some to spill out at him, using his sleeve to wipe his face.

"So someone probably stole it and then set the place on fire," Naruto mused.

"It happened this morning. That's not a coincidence," Kurama stated to his former host. Naruto sighed and leaned back in the chair.

"But if they were only after the book, they wouldn't have had to set a fire, would they?" He asked.

"I wonder if anyone else knows about the Four Gods book too," Yui said. Naruto started gulping his drink.

"And if they opened it up, will they pulled into the book like you and Aika were initially?" Sasuke asked. Naruto's eyes widened as he did a spit take.

"Gross!" Kiba growled and Naruto stood quickly.

"I gotta use the phone! I have to call Toki right away! Believe it!" Naruto said before running to the phone.

"Okay! Okay! Go ahead! You didn't have to spit beer all over us, Loser!" Sasuke snapped. Yui's eyes suddenly widened as did Kurama's.

"Could there be a fifth Priestess?" She asked.

"I was wondering the same thing, Kit."

~0~

"Yeah, I was thinking of calling you about that too," Toki said over the phone.

"So what do you think?" Naruto asked. "What about the records on Tokiko? Is there anything that showed she even existed?"

"I'll check them out again tomorrow morning along with that grave." What they didn't know was that Aika was nowhere to be found in her room and her door was open.

~0~

"What's it….what's it mean?" Sasuke asked with narrowed eyes.

"All four Priestesses have already appeared in the book, right? So that put an end to the story of the Universe of the Four Gods, didn't it?" Kiba asked. He had been caught up on the whole thing, from the time Aika was sucked into the book up until he had caught Yui during that battle. Kurama growled and jumped off the couch, walking over to the window.

"This isn't king of the mountain where whoever wants to take a stab at it can scuffle and scrap to be on top. 'Outta my way, I'm the new Priestess!' Why does poor Takiko have to disappear?" Kurama asked as his tails swished. They suddenly stopped. "Unless…unless as new Priestesses enter the book, others are pulled back in!" He exclaimed as his tails swished angrily.

"It'll happen to Yui and me too," a girl said. Naruto's eyes widened and bit and he turned to see Aika standing at the door.

~0~

Tamahome groaned a bit as he slowly woke up. He then found himself in an alleyway.

'Where am I?' He asked as he slowly got up. He looked around a bit. 'Konan? Then I've returned, to the world of the book! But why?' He thought. He began walking through the streets of Konan, ignoring the looks he was getting from everyone considering what he was wearing. 'Aika must be worrying about me. I better try to get back there, fast. But why did I come back here? And did the others come with me?' He thought. He then looked over at someone. "Um, excuse me…." People turned away from him. He looked in another direction. "Could you-?" More people looked away from him. He then realized what he was wearing. "Of course. I'm dressed like a foreigner." 'Aika, is this what is was like for you when you first arrived?'

"Rekka Shinen!" He heard a kid say making him snap his head over. He then saw two kids playing.

"I'm Tasuki!" Another kid laughed as they played.

'They're pretending to be Tasuki. Chichiri. His Highness,' Tamahome thought. He then smiled. 'Of course! Empress Houki! At the palace!' He thought. He then started running to the said place. Once there, he told the guards who he was.

"One of the Suzaku Seven you say?" One asked.

"Yeah. I wanna see Empress Houki and Emperor Hotohori's son," Tamahome said to them.

"Emperor Hotohori's son? Are you talking Emperor Boshin?" A guard asked.

"I'm Tamahome. Hotohori's-one of Emperor Saihitei's companions," Tamahome stated. Soon it was being said around the palace about Tamahome's arrival.

"He says he's Tamahome."

"Tamahome? Of the legendary Suzaku Seven?"

"He's returned from the other world!"

"The Prime Minister's bringing him now."

"Inform the prince and be quick about it!" It was then Tamahome was taken to meet the said prince.

"He is here, your Highness. As you requested," the soldier said kneeling. It's then a young boy got off his thrown.

"You are welcomed here, honored sir. Come in. Closer. Come closer," the young teenage prince said as he walked down the stairs. Tamahome walked up.

"Prince Gyoushiku," one of the councilors tried to stop him from going up. The prince almost looked exactly like Hotohori.

"Let me be," Gyoushiku ordered before running up to Tamahome who kneeled. Gyoushiku smiled. "Great Warrior, I've heard all about how the Suzaku Seven saved Konan and how Tamahome journeyed into the other world as well. You look exactly like all the great legends said you would!"

"Your Highness, we still don't know for certain that this man really is-."

"Silence! You don't trust my judgement?" Gyoushiku asked the councilor. Tamahome smiled a bit.

"Emperor Boshin," he whispered.

"Celestial Warrior, my name is Gyoushiku, Boshin's grandson," Gyoushiku smiled.

"Grandson?"

"Yes. You see, the Celestial Warrior Hotohori, Emperor Saihitei, was my great-grandfather."

"Great-grandfather?! That much time has past? Your Highness, how long has it been since then?" Tamahome asked shocked.

"Emperor Saihitei died fifty years ago," Gyoushiku replied. He soon led Tamahome to a room.

"The Shrine of Suzaku?" Tamahome asked him.

"Yes, this is where we keep the holy relics of the Suzaku Seven. Even the one from the Priestess's animal companion! There's no better place to tell me about all the adventures you had up to this point, Lord Tamahome. Come on! Hurry!" Gyoushiku said excited as he ran ahead.

"Your Highness, you mustn't run on ahead," the councilor said while Tamahome was amused. "I haven't seen Prince Gyoushiku this excited in a very long time. Maybe ever. It's because of you, honored Celestial Warrior," the councilor smiled a bit. Tamahome smiled, feeling honored by that. They made it to the shrine and Tamahome saw the old relics his fellow Warriors and Kurama once used.

"See? They're all in here! The holy relics of the Suzaku Seven!" Gyoushiku said running into the shrine.

"It's all here," Tamahome murmured with shock. He saw the staff that belonged to Chichiri, the fan that belonged to Tasuki, the jar of holy water that belonged to Mitsukake, the scroll that belonged to Chiriko, the bracelets that belonged to Nuriko, the holy sword that belonged to Hotohori, and the collar that belonged to Kurama. Tamahome smiled a bit before he started walking up the steps to the shrine. Suddenly a red light came and hit Tamahome, throwing to the ground making Gyoushiku's eyes widen. Tamahome sat up with a grunt. "W-what was that? What happened?"

"Who are you?! You used the Suzaku name! You impostor!" Gyoushiku yelled with tears in his eyes.

"Impostor? M-me?" Tamahome asked with wide eyes. The lances came up to him, surprising him. "Wait! Please! I'm telling the truth!"

"Silence! The Shine would know a real Suzaku Warrior! If the holy light of Suzaku blocks you from it then you're an impostor! Take him away! Take him away from here! Far away from the holy shrine and get him out of my sight at once!" Gyoushiku ordered through his tears.

~0~

Tamahome grunted as he was hit by the whip.

"Again," a soldier ordered before Tamahome was hit again. "Strike harder!" The man ordered and Tamahome let out cries of pain as he was whipped harder and more so. "Trifle this into his body so he'll never try such a stupid trick again! Do you know how serious your offence is? How dare you build up his Highness' hopes and then dash him away like that?! I'll make sure your body pays for your crimes!" He said before Tamahome was whipped again.

'No…I swear…I'm one of the Suzaku Seven! I am Tamahome!' Tamahome thought before he was whipped again.

~0~

Tamahome was thrown down off the horse before the soldiers stopped to look at him.

"You should be grateful we weren't given orders to kill you! Idiot! Trying to impersonate one of the Suzaku Seven! All right, let's go!" A soldier said to the other.

"Right!" A soldier agreed before rode off back to Konan. Tamahome laid there in the grass, in pain.

'Why? I don't understand,' he thought before slowly turning over onto his back. He peaked an eye open weakly to look up at the sky as the sun set. "Someone…explain it to me…'

~0~

Aika sat on a bench as she watched the ninjas look over the part of the library that had been on fire.

"There you are, you slacker," Yui said from behind Aika. Aika looked over her shoulder at her best friend.

"Oh, it's you…"

"I've been looking for you. I asked Naruto were you were and he told me you went to work this morning," Yui said as she walked around and sat on the bench by Aika. "But I couldn't find you at the shop and I looked around everywhere."

"I'm sorry. Yui…my voice won't reach to him, even with this ring," Aika said as she looked at her gold ring that had a ruby and amethyst. Tears pricked her eyes. "Tamahome has one just like it and I tried over and over to call him, but he doesn't answer."

"Come on, what was the point of that whole adventure? It was good for us and made us a lot stronger, didn't it?" Yui asked trying to make her feel better.

"For what? All the sad times and the terrible times…they don't matter to me. I can handle them. Right now, I can remember it, but I'm scared of disappearing. Not just me, but everyone. Tamahome and Hotohori and all the things they've done for me. And Nuriko…I'm afraid everyone will just vanish from my memory!" Aika said as tears streamed down her face. Yui pulled her close as she softly sobbed.

"Silly goose, you should concentrate on your happiness. It'll be all right. Everything will be all right," Yui said soothingly to her.

~0~

Tamahome walked under the blazing son, his blue vest off as he held it over his shoulder. Once night came, he was in a forest with a fire in front of him, using his vest to help keep him warm. He looked to see a spring then remembered the journey he had taken with Aika, Nuriko, and Hotohori to get Aika home. That time he first saw her in the spring when he 'saved her life'. It made him smile a bit as he remembered her.

~0~

"Okay….Yeah, right….If you find out anything else, let me know right away, okay? Say 'hi' to Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru, and Toki for me. Oh, and Naruto? Thanks, thanks a lot. Goodnight," Aika said before hanging up the phone while she sat in her living room.

~0~

Yui was sleeping in her bed, groaning and moaning from the bad dream she was having. Her head turned to reveal the blue ring she got from Nakago.

~0~

The winds blew harshly in the night as Tamahome walked.

"Taiitsukun! Show yourself! Taiitsukun!" He shouted to the top of his lungs. "Isn't she here? This is the right place, isn't it?"

"If an evil hearted person should come here, all they'd see is a walking mountain," Taiitsukun had once said. Tamahome looked behind him to see a silhouette of a woman.

"Taiitsukun?" Tamahome asked. He then saw a young woman who had pink hair and dark blue eyes.

"I've been waiting for you…Nakago," she smiled while Tamahome looked at her with wide eyes.

"I'm not Nakago," Tamahome denied. He was suddenly in a room and saw a mirror. His eyes widened again as his symbol was replaced, glowing blue and…it was Nakago's symbol. The girl walked up and placed the blue cloak on his shoulders.

"Your cloak, Sire," she said before smiling. "My Lord, it suits you quite well."