Kida: The third chapter!
Tamahome: *Raises an eyebrow* You seem happy today.
Kida: I finally got some sleep last night...and I had a whole bag of M&Ms!
Tamahome: M-what?
Naruto: *Groans* We've told you no sugar! You know how you are!
Kida: *Pouts* It was only a small bag...I WANT MORE!
Hotohori: *Grabs Kida* No sugar for now.
Kida: *Blushes* O-okay, Hotohori.
Nuriko: *Glares* I hate her. First Aika now Kida. Kida Tenshi doesn't own Naruto or Fushigi Yuugi, thankfully, only her OC Aika Hitsubasa and possibly future OCs.
Kida: *Grins* Enjoy, loves!
Aika Hitsubasa was an ordinary Leaf Village civilian doing her best to open her own shop. One day at the library, a radiant red bird appeared and led her to a magical tome. The Book of the Universe of the Four Gods. After her friend Naruto joined her, she was transported to Ancient China through the book's spell. Then Lady Aika found herself in the Konan Empire and Naruto stayed in the present day library to follow the story as Lady Aika met Tamahome, a young man with the symbol of the Ogre. And they were both caught and thrown into prison by order of Hotohori, the Emperor.
"Then let it be proclaimed that here is the one we have waited for. She will be the savior of our Empire. The Priestess of Suzaku!" Hotohori announced.
"Thank you, Priestess for your wise council!" The courtiers said. And so it came to pass that Aika Hitsubasa was to be the Priestess of Suzaku. The Girl of Legend.
~0~
"On the night of her initiation, her first night as the Priestess of Suzaku, the girl had a dream."
~0~
"Aika? Aika, where are you?! Aika, can you hear me?! Aika!" A male's voice rang, creating echoes. Aika opened her eyes a bit.
"I-is that Naruto?" She then saw a young man with blond hair and blue eyes.
"Aika."
"Naruto!" Aika said reaching for his hand. "I wanna go home! Naruto, take me back to real life where everything is normal. Take me home, brother, please," Aika pleaded to the man she thought of as a brother.
"But you don't understand. I'm not your brother…"
"But I'm not your brother," Tamahome's voice said as Aika woke up. She saw she was holding Tamahome's hand as he stood there. She blushed a bit.
"Tamahome!" She exclaimed before turning away, embarrassed. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"
"Oh, that's real nice. I just came in to check on you and make sure you were all right," he said to her. Aika frowned with guilt and grabbed his hand.
"Sorry, I'm just embarrassed when people see me in my night clothes," she said to him. Tamahome smiled a bit showing it was okay.
"The Emperor's worried about you too," he said surprising her.
"Was he really?"
~0~
Hotohori was in his room and looked himself in the mirror. He then let out a sigh, his four courtiers behind him.
"I'm so beautiful it scares me," he said making them freak out.
~0~
"You were worried about me?" Aika asked Tamahome.
"Yeah," Tamahome replied.
"Oh."
"Everyone in the Empire's talking about you," he said as he sat down next to her on the bed.
"What about me?" Aika asked curious.
"They say that Suzaku has appeared and thanks to you I get to stay in this magnificent palace," Tamahome smiled. Aika sweat-dropped at that.
"Glad I can suddenly bring you so much leisure," she muttered before looking away. "Don't feel obliged to look after me just because of that. I'm not so lonely and fine on my own. After all, I've been alone most of my life-ah!" She was suddenly pulled into a hug by Tamahome which made her blush. He had an arm around her shoulders, his other hand laying gently on the back of her head.
"Don't keep it pent up. Cry if you feel like it," he said softly to her.
"I…I do," Aika whispered almost ashamed.
"You can consider me your brother if you want. I won't even charge you, how's that for a deal?" Tamahome asked with a small chuckle. Aika sighed softly and placed her hand on his chest before clenching the cloth in her hand.
'Being held like this…it feels nice,' Aika thought as she closed her eyes.
"Listen. I was just thinking," Tamahome pulled back and placed his hands on her shoulders. "If you really wanna get back to your own world, you should try to fulfill the prophecy right away. You'll be given the supreme power of Suzaku and once you have that you can wish yourself home, right?" Tamahome asked. Aika smiled.
"Yeah, it makes sense," she agreed. "Now, I need you to get out so I can change," she said to him.
"I get it. It's so sad, I don't get to see just how beautiful you are under those clothes," Tamahome feigned sadness.
"Oh, you flirt," Aika said with a small blush.
"And don't you forget it!" Tamahome said leaving. Aika laughed a bit before getting dressed. She walked out of the room then.
"Come on! Let's go!" Aika smiled brightly at him before running off to Hotohori's room.
"Aika!" Tamahome called.
"Hotohori!" Aika called instead. She ran into his room and accidentally tripped.
"Aika," Hotohori said, a little surprised she tripped.
"Hotohori!" Aika blushed in embarrassment from having him see her like that. "Uh, I mean, Emperor," she smiled nervously.
"Good to see that you're well," Hotohori smiled. "Sorry that I've been too busy to come and stay with you," he said as Aika got up.
"You don't have to be sorry," Aika gave him a smile as Tamahome stood next to her.
"And now you're…" Hotohori trailed off.
"Well…actually, I'd like you to tell me what I have to do to obtain the real power of Suzaku," Aika said.
"So we've come to that," Hotohori mused before lifting an open scroll up. "It's written in this scroll," he added. Aika gasped a little when she saw it. "Do you recognize it?"
"Yeah, I think I do," she replied remembering the book was similar to it.
"The Universe of the Four Gods," Hotohori stated.
"That's the one," Aika nodded.
"The one what?" Tamahome asked confused.
"Taiso," Hotohori said.
"Who's Taiso?" Aika asked him.
"The first Emperor was given this prophetic volume by Taiitsukun, the one who controls this world," Hotohori stated.
"Amazing," Aika mused as she listened.
"We divide by four. The twenty-eight regions in the Heavens. That's seven constellations for each cardinal point and these points are the four Gods. Suzaku is the general term given for the seven constellations found in the Southern Heavens. The members in the realm of this constellation are Chichiri, Tamahome, Nuriko, Hotohori, Chiriko, Tasuki, and Mitsukake. These are the Suzaku Seven," Hotohori said.
"Then you must carry a mark, Hotohori. Just as Tamahome does," Aika figured, earning a smile from Hotohori.
"You are a very quick learner, Aika. I am impressed," Hotohori said. Aika then saw Hotohori move his collar to reveal his symbol on his neck. "I am Hotohori, the Sea Snake. Tamahome, you are the Crab, one of the Seven Warriors. You must guard the Priestess and you must bring her power. The Universe of the Four Gods says 'this is the story of a girl who gathered the Seven Celestial Warriors of Suzaku and made her dreams come true'," Hotohori stated.
"That means if we find the five other people with the signs of the planets on their bodies…" Tamahome started.
"Then I can make my dreams come true," Aika finished.
"You've got to find the others on your own. The power of Suzaku is not granted until the Seven Warriors gather together," Hotohori told her.
"Tamahome, did you know?" Aika asked, wanting to be sure.
"Know what?" Tamahome asked her.
"That you have been named from one of those constellations?" Aika clarified.
"Yeah."
"Hotoho-I mean, you're majesty, you too?"
"Of course I knew," Hotohori replied. Aika sighed to herself.
'I knew it. That's why they've both been so sweet to me,' she thought almost sadly.
"Why? Does that disappoint you?" Tamahome asked her. Aika looked at him slightly surprised he would ask that. She gave a small smile.
"No, not at all," she replied. "Anyways, let's go find those five other warriors," she smiled.
"Search the Empire and gather all who excel in martial and literary arts!" Hotohori had ordered his men. Soon they were in the courtyard and Aika sweat-dropped.
"Dammit…these are a lot of guys. It'll be like finding a needle in a stack of needles!" She exclaimed.
"Sire, Priestess, as you ordered; the best in their fields throughout the entire Empire," the courtier told him. Hotohori was sitting in a chair while Aika was standing close by Tamahome who sat on the steps.
"Well done, thank you," Hotohori said. Aika sighed.
"Well, knowing from experience, the marks won't appear out of sheer will power. Also, they're bound not to know they even carry a mark," Aika mused as she remembered Naruto not knowing about the seal on his stomach. At least until it became visible that is.
"That's right, Aika," Tamahome smiled, impressed. He then grinned as he jumped down, cracking his knuckles. "Stand back and let me show ya how to put 'em to the test. Personally, I'm hoping the other five will be beautiful women," Tamahome grinned more with glee. Aika anime fell before standing with a sweat-drop.
"Well, personally, I'm hoping the other five will be handsome men," she mimicked before sticking her tongue out at him cutely.
"Ready?" Tamahome asked the men before he attacked all the men. Soon the men were all on the ground.
"Tamahome…" Aika groaned.
"Uh oh," Tamahome hummed seeing all the men on the ground.
"I see…that we're getting absolutely nowhere with this," Hotohori sighed. Aika smiled.
"I guess it's up to me to discover who the Seven Warriors of Suzaku are," she said.
"Yeah, but how?" Tamahome asked her.
"As the old saying goes 'strong dogs never bark' and that's the secret to our success. True warriors would never stoop to fight with girls-unless ninjas. Let's see what they do," Aika said tightening her sash bow.
~0~
"We should go back now, Lady Kourin. If he finds out you're here, he'll have you punished," one of the maids said to a woman with purple hair and brown eyes.
"Is that the Suzaku of Legend I've heard about?" Kourin asked her.
"Yes, ma'am."
"They look cozy, but she's not the legal wife. Who's that other guy that's there?" Kourin asked her.
"His name is Tamahome. He's one of Suzaku's Seven Warriors."
"Tamahome…"
~0~
"Okay, let's see what you got, boys. I'm ready for you," Aika smiled at the soldiers.
"No warrior with half a soul would think to do battle with a little girl," one of the soldiers said.
"Okay, let's get one thing straight. I'm not a little girl. Sure, I'm younger than you, but I'm not little!" Aika said. She hated being called a little girl. She was practically a woman for Sage of the Six Paths' sake! "Anyways, I learned some fighting techniques back home. Techniques called Taijutsu that has to do with hand-to-hand combat. I learned it from the master of Taijutsu-Rock Lee! So you don't have to worry about hurting me!" Aika smiled proudly.'At least I hope don't have to worry….' She thought. She got into her fighting position. "Come on, boys! Show me what you're made of!" She called. The men then went to attack her. "Well, it looks like they're not the ones we're looking for," she muttered. She fought and dodged their attacks and ran to the pagoda. One of the soldiers threw his hammer, hitting one of the pillars hard.
"Stop it right now! Didn't you learn not to fight with girls?!" Tamahome growled as he attacked the men. He saw the pagoda going to collapse and gasped.
"Aika! Get away from there now!" Hotohori shouted.
"No!" Tamahome shouted that it was going to fall. Unfortunately, it did. "Aika!" Tamahome shouted.
~0~
"The Priestess could not escape in time and found themselves trapped under the collapsing building," Naruto read. He suddenly felt something. "Huh?" He moved the book and saw some red on his pants, like he was bleeding. "W-what's going on here?"
~0~
'Ah, my leg! It's hurts so much I know I'm still alive,' Aika thought. She opened her eyes to see Tamahome on top of her, holding the stone roof up with his back. He was grunting in pain, his lavender eyes squeezed shut.
~0~
"C-could it be true? The Priestess' clothes were stained deep red with blood from the deep cut in her leg," Naruto read. He gasped a bit. "As I read this book, what happens to the Priestess of Suzaku happens to me too!"
~0~
"Pull those columns away, quickly!" Hotohori ordered, worried for Aika.
"Please stay back, Sire. It's dangerous!" One of the courtiers said.
"This isn't a time to worry about me!" Hotohori told him.
"It's too heavy! The warriors are still out cold!" One of the courtiers said.
"And we can't punch this rubble!"
"I can handle this. Step away!" Hotohori ordered.
"Sire!" Aika looked up at the pained Tamahome.
"Stop before you hurt yourself! It's too much!" Aika said to him, worried. Suddenly the mark on his forehead glowed and he opened his eyes.
"Idiot, I told you I would take care of you and I meant it. So any time you need me, I'm there to protect you," Tamahome vowed. Aika was touched to hear it and it made her heart skip a beat. She focused on bringing chakra to her hands and arms then placed her hands on the pillar that being supported by Tamahome. "What are you doing?"
"What I can to help," Aika replied as she used the chakra to help her.
"Aika! Tamahome!" Hotohori shouted as he got down to dig them out. "The Gods preserve them." A woman then walked up.
"I can do that, Sire."
"Huh?" Hotohori turned to see the woman. Tamahome was sweating down and looking more pained and struggled.
"Dammit…I can't…" he groaned. He started slipping, a drop of sweat landed on Aika's cheek and he was bring brought down closer to Aika, their lips inches apart as he gritted his teeth. Suddenly the roof was lifted off them by one hand from the women with purple hair and brown eyes-Kourin. The woman was easily picking up and tossing the rubble. Hotohori was surprised at her strength. Kourin lifted up the pillar and saw Aika and Tamahome.
"Oh, they're still alive," Kourin said tossing the pillar away. "You have the devil's luck."
'Who's she?' Aika asked as Tamahome stayed like he was. Kourin dusted her sleeves off.
"Aika, are you alright?" Hotohori asked as Aika was helped out and sat down.
"Yeah, take care of Tamahome first. I'll be okay," Aika assured. She looked at her bleeding leg and was given some cloth to clean it off. She was careful about doing so. "It's time like this I'm Sakura taught a little healing jutsu," she smiled a bit as her hand glower green, placing it on her wound. Hotohori and Tamahome were surprised to see it, but knew that would come in handy when they saw the wound healed faster.
"Are you alright?" Hotohori ask Tamahome as they were both helped out.
"No, Sire…I've been hurt," Tamahome replied. As the two sat down.
"Tamahome, you have proven yourself as Suzaku's protector," Hotohori smiled a bit.
"What's the pay?" Tamahome asked jokingly.
"You scared me half to death! I thought you were going to die in there all because of some silly oath!" Aika said with worry. Tamahome chuckled. "Well? Is that why?" She asked. He smiled at her.
"I have a mind of my own, you know. And I do what I feel like doing, but you are going to pay me back someday for this, Aika," he said to her friend. Aika blushed a bit and looked down
"Thanks for saving me," she said
"That's no-ngh!" Tamahome groaned in pain making Aika look at him with worry. "Ow, that hurts!"
"Stay still," the healer told him.
'Tamahome, while you were protecting me under the rubble, it was breaking my heart,' Aika thought as she looked at the young man.
"Ah! That hurts!" Tamahome said as his forehead wound was being cleaned a little.
'You hurt yourself to save my life. Is that just because I'm the Priestess of Suzaku? Or maybe…'
"Are you one of the chosen women in my imperial harem?" Hotohori asked Kourin.
"Yes, Sire," Kourin replied.
"How did you come by that great strength of yours?" Hotohori asked. He looked at her collar bone and saw a part of a mark. He went to pull some of the cloth back until Kourin back up, covering that area.
"What are you doing, your Highness?" Kourin asked. Aika sighed a bit.
"There's a mark right under your collar bone. He was trying to get a closer look at it," she said having seen it.
"Oh, you mean this," Kourin smiled revealing her mark.
"The Willow," Hotohori murmured.
"I am known as Kourin, but my given name is Nuriko, Sire," Nuriko smiled as she covered her mark again.
"I have never noticed you as a warrior before," Hotohori stated before Aika walked up to Hotohori.
"Well, it looks like we've found our third of the Seven Warriors," Aika smiled. Tamahome let out a chuckle.
"What are you smiling about, Tamahome?" Hotohori asked.
"Oh, not a thing," Tamahome said innocently. Aika smiled kindly as she walked up to Nuriko.
"It was worth all of that to find the third Star Warrior so quickly. Thank you for saving our lives, by the way. I'm Aika Hitsubasa," she said holding her hand out. Nuriko looked at the hand before going over to Tamahome.
"The person I was really trying to save was this fellow here," Nuriko smiled. She cupped Tamahome's face before kissing him. Tamahome was stunned while Aika blinked in surprised.
"W-what the-?"
~0~
"The Priestess washed the stains from her clothing," Naruto read as the blood disappeared from his pants."And pondered the day's events."
~0~
Aika brought up her wet dark purple short kimono with a smile.
"Like new again. I didn't think that blood would ever come out," she said before looking at her leg. It only looked like a scratch seeing as it wasn't fully healed. "She may have saved us, but lady gets on my nerves big time," she muttered. 'Why did she kiss him like that? Ugh! She bugs me! Still she is one of the Seven Warriors and I'm going to need her help. The only way to get home is to gather the Seven Warriors of Suzaku and be granted Suzaku's power and wishes. So like it or not I'm gonna have to get alone with Nuriko. But how? How can I make it a little easier to be friends with her?' Aika thought aggravated. She started undoing her bra. 'Okay, when I'm done with my wash I'll go and see her. And maybe I can-."
"Aika!" Tamahome burst through the door. Both he and Aika blushed when it came to her being almost completely naked aside from her panties.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking, you jerk?!" Aika scream as she covered her chest.
"Yes! No! I can't! I'm running away and I need a place to hide for a while!" Tamahome shouted as he looked away. Suddenly his ankles were tied with bandages and he fell face first. It was Nuriko.
"Nuriko?!" Aika asked.
"Oh! Won't you excuse us there, girlie-girl? We're playing a little game and it's Tamakins' turn to be tied up!" Nuriko laughed. "Come on, Tama, that's a good boy," Nuriko said pulling him out of the room. Aika sighed.
'She may be annoying already…why the hell am I annoyed in the first place?! It's not like I like Tamahome that way….right? Well, I'll just have to be the bigger person about this. I won't let Nuriko show she's annoying me. I need her to get him so I'll just act like she doesn't both me!' Aika stated before getting cleaned up and dressed again. She then went to go see Nuriko. "Look, I want us to be friends. But right now, I'm going to be blunt. I don't like you," she stated surprising Nuriko. "But for the sake of Suzaku and my possibility of getting home, I'm going to be the bigger person and not let you bother me. I just need you and the others so I can be granted the power of Suzaku, get my wish, and go home. Then I'll be out of your hair," Aika said stated crossing her arms.
"Seems fair enough. Why did you even feel the need to say this to me?" Nuriko asked her.
"I needed to get it off my chest. Besides, I don't plan on making any real friends here. What's the point when I'm just going to lose them when I leave? It's not like you'll ever see me again when this is over," Aika stated. Tamahome was struggling as he was being sit on by Nuriko. But as soon as he heard Aika, he stopped and frowned.
"Aika…"
"I told you I would take care of you and I meant it. So any time you need me, I'm there to protect you," Tamahome vowed. Aika looked at Tamahome with a frown.
"If you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my way," she said before leaving the room.
"Wait! Aika!" Tamahome shouted trying to get away from Nuriko who was surprised to hear the raven haired girl say that.
'She has some guts, I'll give her that,' Nuriko thought to herself. Aika made it out to a gazebo and looked out at the scenery.
'I just want to go home. The last thing I wanted to do was burden people. I've always worked for what I wanted alone,' she thought. "Why can't I just do this myself?" She asked looking up at the sky. She sighed. "When it comes to things like this, I wish I could talk with you, Naruto," she whispered. She missed Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Yui, and Kakashi a lot. 'Maybe they'll find a way to get me home,' she added.
Tamahome looked at Nuriko with a firm look.
"Nuriko, get off of me now," he demanded.
"W-what? Why?" Nuriko asked.
"I need to talk with Aika," Tamahome stated.
"Why are you so upset with me, my Tamakins?"
"It's just that I hate it when you-!"
"You hate me?" Nuriko whimpered. "You really do hate me," she said with tears in her eyes. "You prefer that girl to me and wish I'd never been born at all, don't you?"
"Wait a minute, I didn't say anything like that. I-I…" Tamahome sweat-dropped.
"Really, Tamakins? You mean you don't hate me?" Nuriko asked hoping.
"No," Tamahome groaned.
"Oh! I'm so happy! Oh, I knew it! You love me!" Nuriko said as Tamahome tried to tell her no. Nuriko then hugged him. Soon she dragged him to the kitchen where she began complaining to the chef.
'Finally! I can get away from her!' Tamahome smirked as he started crawling away. He started looking for Aika and soon found her, looking out at the scenery with sad brown eyes. Aika suddenly heard his grunts from when he was moving and looked over.
"Tamahome," she smiled a bit before frowning and helping him out of the bandage binds.. "I thought you were supposed to be having drinks with her royal pain," she said.
"While she was complaining to the chef, I snuck out of there," Tamahome said now free from the bandages.
"You must feel like a lucky guy to have impressed such a beautiful woman," Aika said looking away from him. "You make a beautiful couple."
"Do you know what you're saying?" Tamahome asked surprising her. "How could even think I'd be happy in a relationship like that?" Aika just stared straight ahead.
"Idiot, I know nothing about relationships. I've never been in one so how the hell would I know?" She asked. Tamahome walked up to her and placed a hand on her head.
"I've never been in a relationship either…maybe you were jealous?" He smiled a bit. Aika blushed slightly and avoided his gaze.
"Jealous of what?" She muttered making Tamahome chuckle.
"Just know that I don't like Nuriko that way, okay?" He asked her. Aika smiled a little.
"Okay," she replied. She then thought about what she said earlier. "And I'm sorry about what I said. Honestly, I already thought of you as a friend even though I know I shouldn't."
"Why do you say that, Aika?" Tamahome frowned.
"It'll be painful when I leave. After all, this isn't my world," Aika stated. Tamahome lifted her chin up to look at him.
"Even when you leave, I would still like to be friends with you," he said sincerely to her. Aika was surprised to hear it until she smiled a bit and rested her head on his chest. Tamahome smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her in a friendly way.
~0~
"Tamahome stayed by her side and held her. He promised he would always be there for her as a friend. His concern was genuine and in such earnest, the Priestess of Suzaku knew he would look after her," Naruto read. He smiled a bit. "You better take great care of her, Tamahome. Or I'm going to beat you into the ground. Believe it!"
~0~
"I promise, Aika. I'll always be there for you like a friend should," Tamahome said as he held her. Aika smiled.
"Okay."
Nuriko: *Eye twitches* Aika gets all the hot guys.
Kida: *Glares* Shut the hell up. You're a dude, live with it.
Nuriko: *Blinks* H-how did you know?
Kida: Because I'm not an idiot.
Naruto: You're crabby. Is your sugar high over with?
Kida: *Grumbles* I wish so I could fall asleep. You all better have liked it or I'll send Shukaku after you! Favorite and Review!