Kida: Happy New Year, people!
Naruto: Happy New what now?
Kida: Happy New Year, it's a holiday.
Tamahome: You have a holiday just to celebrate a new year?
Kida: Duh. It's a day to make New Years Resolution! I...currently can't think of one...
Naruto: Okay then...Kida Tenshi doesn't own Naruto or Fushigi Yuugi. She only owns Aika Hitsubasa and future OCs. Believe it!
Suboshi, a young Warrior of the Seiryuu Seven, was devastated by the death of his twin brother, Amiboshi, and savagely murdered Tamahome's family in a fit of retaliation. Tamahome transformed into an angry demon of vengeance.
'I have something to protect also. I swear that I will summon Suzaku. I will redeem Tamahome and save all the people of this land,' Aika silently made her promise. With this purpose in mind, the Lady Aika renewed her vows as the Priestess of Suzaku and set out for the Hokan Empire, the Land of Genbu, to find the Shinzahou. Aika listened to the waves of the sea as she messed with her bangs only for a piece to fall off like ashes.
~0~
Sasuke held the piece of burnt hair and suddenly it fell like ashes making him blink. He let out a small sound of shock with Naruto.
~0~
Aika heard that small sound of shock and blinked.
"Sasuke? Naruto?"
~0~
Sasuke's eyes widened a bit.
"Aika?" Sasuke asked while Naruto smiled.
"You and Aika are connected by the hair she left behind. The same way she and I are connect through our kunais," Naruto said holding up the engraved kunai. Sasuke was surprised then nodded before they both looked at the book.
"We have got to find out about this book," he stated.
"But from who?" Sakura asked.
"Who's the smartest person we know?" Sasuke hinted before the others' eyes widened.
"Shikamaru!" They all said before getting up. They all then made their way to look for the Nara. After a bit of looking, they didn't find him.
"There's only one place we haven't checked," Sai said.
"His cloud watching spot," Hinata agreed before they went to find Shikamaru there. And there he was, laying on the ground looking at the sky.
"Yo! Shikamaru! We need to barrow your brain for a bit!" Naruto said as they walked over.
"What a drag…." Shikamaru sighed as he sat up. "What do you want?" He asked lazily.
"Well…this is going to be hard to believe, but don't say anything until after we've told you," Naruto said earning a nod from the lazy ninja. With that, Naruto told him everything: about how he and Aika found the good, how Aika was sucked in, about her meeting Tamahome and Hotohori then Nuriko after becoming the Priestess of Suzaku, then mentioning the injuries and incidents, then Yui showing up, Aika falling in love with Tamahome, then how Aika and Yui seemed to have switched places, then Aika going back after what was like three months in the book, meeting up with the three Warriors again, meeting Chichiri after meeting Tamahome's family, then Yui and Aika being reunited until Yui willingly became the Priestess of Seiryuu in Kutou, then the arrival of Kurama, Aika and Tamahome declaring their love for each other, Tamahome disappearing to keep Konan safe by going to Kutou, Yui being in love with Tamahome, Aika gathering the Suzaku Warriors such as Tasuki, Mitsukake, and 'Chiriko' as well as explaining how they were gathered, then the incident of trying to get Tamahome back to Konan only for Aika to be hurt, Aika trying to commit suicide and Hotohori declaring his love for her, Tamahome finally coming back and broken of the spell, getting the scroll back, doing the Suzaku summoning ritual that was ruined by Amiboshi, Amiboshi's death, Chiriko's appearance, Taiitsukun appearing and talking with Aika, then Aika turning down Tamahome's proposal, the Star Festival, Tamahome learning about what Taiitsukun told Aika and promising to make Aika a happy bride once it was all over, the death of Tamahome's family then his transformation, then lastly, how they set sail for Hokan.
"What?! Aika got sucked up into that book?!" Shikamaru asked, shocked and disbelieving. Though the story they told was very convincing considering how long it was.
"Yup," Naruto nodded.
"Come on, Naruto, who do you think you're trying to kid, huh?" Shikamaru asked annoyed.
"I'm serious about this! Aika is inside this book The Universe of the Four Gods! Believe it!" Naruto said opening the book. "And she's stuck there living as the Priestess of Suzaku. When she gathered the Seven Warriors, she was supposed to summon Suzaku and have her wishes granted, but she failed. On top of that, our best friend Yui was also taken into the book and now the two of them are bitter enemies!"
"Tamahome…" Aika whispered after they first kissed, unknown to them that Yui was watching.
"Don't you realize the reason I wanna protect you so badly is because I'm in love with you?" Tamahome asked her.
"Of course I know that. That's the whole reason I came back from my world, I couldn't forget about you. I knew that no matter what, I had to be with you and that's why I left you. I couldn't bear you risking your life to protect me," Aika said before Tamahome pulled her into his arms.
Then when Yui took her to the Shrine of Seiryuu. Aika fell to her hands and knees in pain.
"I-I feel numb…this can't be…"
"Does it hurt? This place is a Shrine of Seiryuu in case you were wondering. Now your beloved Tamahome won't be able to help you."
"I-it's a trick. Yui, what are you doing? How could you?" Aika chocked out before groaning when Yui grabbed her hair in a tight fist to make her look up.
"You tricked me, didn't you?! You didn't come back here for me! It's only your desire for Tamahome that made you return! Isn't that right? You've had it easy from the beginning! You had someone who cared about you! For me it was just the opposite! Do you have any idea of what I went through when I first got to this nightmare world?!" Yui asked as tears flood down her cheeks. "What kind of pain I went through?!" She asked as a drop landed on Aika's cheek. Aika opened her eyes to see the tears.
"Yui…"
"Everything that happened to me was your fault!" Yui shouted before throwing her down, Aika's head hitting the ground. "I love Tamahome far more than you do, Aika! And now, I'm going to take him for myself!" She said before Aika grunted as she got up, trying to ignore the pain.
"Tamahome…" Aika whispered in her sleep. He got up and walked over to the bed. He bent down and softly kissed Aika on the lips.
"Aika," Tamahome whispered, his lavender eyes looking at her lovingly and sadly. 'I'm sorry, Kurama…I have to do this to keep her safe,' he thought before sneaking out. He jumped up to the top of the wall and looked back. "Stay well, my love," he said before jumping down only to run into two black masked figures.
"Are you Master Tamahome?" One of them asked. Tamahome stood with narrowed eyes.
"So the Emperor of Kutou is promising to end this war if I come along with you?" He asked them.
"That is the promise, yes. You can take that horse," the man replied.
"Aika, look out!" Kurama shouted before Tamahome smirked and pushed her away.
"I missed you so much!" Tamahome sneered before going to attack the stunned Aika with his weapon. It hit her in the arm, drawing blood which made her go back in to the table. Aika winced and held her arm.
"You son of a bitch!" Kurama growled at Tamahome as he stood in front of Aika.
"What makes you think you had the right to speak to me that way, obnoxious brat?!" Tamahome snarled at Aika.
"Tamahome," she whispered thinking of the man she loved. "They've either died or abandoned me or I won't be able to see them again…it hurts so much," Aika choked out. She walked into the water and kept walking until she was underneath.
Hotohori dove into the water and began searching for her. He suddenly found her trapped in seaweed and went to get her out.
'Aika! Don't give up! You must not die!' He thought as he held the woman he loved close. 'Suzaku, give me strength!' He prayed until his symbol started glowing. 'I care not what happens to me! But Aika must not die!'He said before his symbol shined brightly in the water. "AIKA!" He screamed before there was an explosion in the water. The other saw the glowing light from the water. A glowing orb came out of the water. In the orb was Hotohori carrying Aika.
Aika ran and made it to a corner. She then gasped as she saw them. She saw Tamahome run over to Hotohori and jumped up, his sword over his head to strike.
"Die!" Tamahome shouted. Aika's eyes widened and she ran over to them.
"NO!" She screamed surprising Tamahome. Hotohori used that chance and stabbed Tamahome through the side. Aika stood there, frozen. Kurama ran over and was shocked to see it as well. Tamahome was wide eyed as he fell back to the ground.
"I see. It's finally time," Nakago replied.
"How can he know about that?" Yui asked Nakago.
"It's all been a part of my strategy," Nakago answered.
"Strategy?"
"That's right. Sometime ago we sent out a spy and now this informant is hiding in Konan," Nakago informed.
"And what about this message on his arm?" Yui asked.
"They say twins aren't at all like normal siblings. They shared and exceptionally strong bond in both body and mind," Nakago stated.
"Do you mean to say the spy we have hiding in Konan is…"
"My twin brother's there. Amiboshi," Suboshi stated.
~0~
"Then this group called the Seiryuu Seven showed up in the story and things started getting a lot more dangerous after that," Naruto said as he looked at the book. While telling him all this, they had all made it to the library. Shikamaru walked back with a book.
"Found it. The Encyclopedia of Ancient Civilization," Shikamaru said showing them a blue book. Sakura and Hinata came over with coffees while Shikamaru looked over the book. "Let's see…four God, four Gods, four Gods, four Gods, oh! Here it is," he mused until he saw the coffee. "Thanks a lot," he said to Sakura as he was handed his. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai thanked the girls for theirs before they all took their seats.
"Well?" Sai asked.
"Okay. Four Gods, the twenty-eight constellations, according to ancient astrology, in order to fix the positions of the constellations the Heavens, the sky's divided into twenty-eight regions. These regions are then divided up among the four cardinal sectors; north, east, south, and west. Each contain seven of the constellations with one of four Beast Gods associated as ruler of each sector," Shikamaru read before taking a drink of his coffee. "So if that's the case. The Suzaku Aika's become Priestess for is the Beast God of the seven southern constellations."
"Yeah, and it sounds like the ancient civilization were quick to blame anything weird or catastrophic on the constellations," Sakura mused as Shikamaru picked up the ancient book.
"So then it was perfectly normal for them to have believed in stuff like the Universe of the Four Gods," Shikamaru said as he looked at the book and read something out of it. "Guys, who's this Einosuke Okuta guy they mention here?"
"Hm? I don't know," Naruto replied looking at the book. The others gave their voiced agreements.
"Let me go check something," Hinata said getting up. She walked away for a moment and brought over another book. "What was that name again?" She asked.
"Einosuke Okuta," Shikamaru replied.
"Okuta…Okuta…." Hinata skimmed the book. "Ah, here we go. Religion. I believe that's on the third floor," she said to them. With that they went up to the third floor of the library to look for the book. Naruto began looking through the shelves.
"Okuta….Okuta…Okuta…ah-got it!" He said picking the book up. He looked through the book. "Huh, a professor from the Religion of Taishou Era," he read as the others walked over.
"Let me look at that," Shikamaru said looking at the books. "Taishou, huh? That was over seventy years ago. Discovered in an ancient book titled The Universe of the Four Gods in the Hidden Sand, returned with it to the Hidden Leaf…." Shikamaru trailed off.
"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.
"It says here that according to the Treades (?), the legends of the great rivers of the Hidden Sand, in 1923 he committed suicide after first killing his only daughter Takiko," he read before looking at Naruto. Naruto looked at the red book.
"Einosuke Okuta brought this book back to the Hidden Leaf then killed his daughter. What the hell is going on here?" Naruto asked.
~0~
"Somehow Sasuke and I are connected by that piece of my hair. Great, now I have Sasuke and Naruto in my head. Maybe he and Naruto are at the library right now reading The Universe of the Four Gods," Aika mused as she made her way to Tamahome's room with a tray of food. She knocked on his door. "Tamahome?" She called. She got no answer. "I'm coming in," she warned. She opened the door to find him sleeping in his bed. She saw that his blanket was mostly off the bed. "Man he's sloppy. What a mess," she said with an amused smile. She put the tray down on the table. "Oh well, he doesn't even notice. I bet he hasn't slept at all in two or three days," she mused quietly as she picked the blanket up and tried to cover him with is again. Tamahome suddenly grabbed her in his sleep. "T-Tamahome!" Aika exclaimed with a blush. She saw he was still sleeping. 'I guess it's okay to touch while he's not awake,' she smiled a bit, letting her head rest on his shoulder. 'Maybe if we were back in the real world and Tamahome was a regular civilian or a ninja, we could love each other without anything getting in the way,' she thought to herself as she closed her eyes. Tamahome slowly woke up.
"Huh?" He hummed before looking to see Aika's read on his shoulder. Aika opened her eyes, widening.
"I-I was just-!" Aika blushed.
"Pervert," Tamahome muttered as he got up with her. Aika sweat-dropped. "Aika, you were molesting me in my sleep, weren't you?! Taking advantage of me!"
"No I was not! Get your head out of the gutter! You were the one who started it! I just came in here to bring you your breakfast and you started sleep hugging me!" Aika said, in each other's faces.
"Wow, well, if that's true, I should have made more out of this situation then when I had the opportunity. Rats!" Tamahome said to himself. Aika punching him the head, a tick mark on her temple.
"What do you mean 'rats', huh?" She hissed. She soon saw a pelican fly by. "Still, I'm glad."
"About what?" Tamahome asked her.
"That you're feeling better," Aika smiled a bit.
"I overheard Nuriko whispering earlier. Everyone's been real careful around me, but I-I'm okay now," Tamahome said to her.
"Are you sure?" Aika asked softly.
"Yeah, you're here with me. If you weren't, I don't think I'd be able to recover."
~0~
"The Priestess of Suzaku watched lovingly as Tamahome ate the breakfast she had prepared," Shikamaru read. Naruto groaned, his head on the table.
"I don't care about that stuff!" He said before grabbing Shikamaru by the vest. "Why did Einosuke Okuta kill his only daughter and then commit suicide! That's what we need to find out about! Believe it!" Naruto told him.
"You know better than to yell in the library!" A young woman snapped at them. Naruto and Shikamaru gave nervous looks while the others were giving them looks. The woman walked away and they all saw the disapproving looks of everyone else. The two shyly looked away and Shikamaru grabbed another book.
"Hm…hey," Shikamaru said getting Naruto's attention.
"Hm? What's that?" Sasuke asked from the other side of Shikamaru.
"Faith and the Four Gods," Shikamaru read the cover of the book he was holding. He opened it. "Listen to what I just read here. There is a heretical subsect in the four Gods' faith known as Shizinhism. They believe in the place where Heaven meets Earth and good meets evil, the Beast Gods will materialize. Summoned by ceremonies in each of the four regions on earth representing the twenty-eight constellations."
"That sounds just like what Aika and the others did. Give me that!" Naruto said taking the book. "The believers collected all the incantations and spells used for summoning the four Beast Gods together to compile into one source. This written scripture they assembled is known as the Universe of the Four Gods and it was regarded as pagan heresy. A young girl in each region would be chosen as their Priestess. She then would be required to read the spell and afterwards serve as a sacrifice to bring forth the Beast deity!" Naruto read, his eyes widened in disbelief. He remained staring at the book in shock as the others were just as shocked. Shikamaru was frowning, having read it before he did.
"Naruto," Shikamaru said. Sasuke quickly opened the book.
"Aika! Aika, can you hear me?" Sasuke asked urgently.
~0~
Aika looked up when she suddenly heard Sasuke's voice.
"Sasuke?" She asked.
"Hm?" Tamahome stopped eating and looked at her.
"Can you hear me, Aika?!" Sasuke asked.
'My friend-Sasuke?!' Aika thought shocked. Nuriko walked in with Tasuki and Kurama.
"What happened?" Nuriko asked.
"I don't know. She just suddenly…"
~0~
"Aika! Get back here to our world right away! The Universe of the Four Gods isn't some ordinary story!" Sasuke stated.
~0~
"If I'm right about this, it could become extremely dangerous there for both you and Yui! And if you're not careful, you might be killed!" Sasuke told her.
"Listen to what he says, Aika! He's telling the truth! Believe it!" Naruto told her.
'Killed?' Aika's eyes widened.
~0~
Chichiri was near the ledge of the boat, sitting cross legged as he watched the ocean. He heard footsteps then.
"What's going on, Chiriko?" He called over the sound of the waves.
"Aika is acting kind of strangely," Chiriko said to him.
"But Aika always acts strangely, ya know!" Chichiri said to him. He suddenly sensed something and looked back at the ocean.
"What is it, Chichiri?" Chiriko asked.
"I sense a life force. An evil presence luring a head of us, ya know. Getting closer and closer!"
~0~
"You hear me, Aika?! I know you can because we're still connected through this hair and you and Naruto are connected through your kunais! Ask the Celestial Warriors with you for their help have them send you back here!" Sasuke said. Shikamaru was holding the librarian back.
"What do you think you're doing, young man?! Shouting in the library like that?!" She asked.
"Oh no! Just calm down!" Shikamaru said to her.
"Come back home, Aika!" Naruto said.
~0~
"I can't go back," Aika stated to Naruto and Sasuke.
"You must not attempt to summon Suzaku! Something terrible will happen to you! I can feel it!" Naruto told her.
"Something terrible?" Aika asked as she walked passed the Warriors and Kurama.
"Aika, you okay? You catch a cold or eat bad meat or fish or something?" Nuriko asked.
"I think you have her confused for Kurama," Tasuki said to him.
"Watch it," Kurama growled.
"COME BACK!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted.
"Leave everyone?" Aika whispered as she looked out the window.
"Would you rather die, Aika?!" Sasuke asked her. Aika looked at Tamahome to see his concerned face.
"Aika?" he asked. Aika reached to the necklace Yuiren made her, hidden under her shirt.
"Yuiren…." She whispered. "I can't leave yet," she stated. She ripped a couple pieces of her bangs out.
"Aika, what are you doing? Why do you need to burn your hair…wait a minute, you're linked to Sasuke through it, aren't you?" Kurama asked earning a nod from Aika. "Great, the last thing you need is an Uchiha in your head. Burn it quickly!" He said to her.
"Way ahead of you, Kurama," Aika replied. She closed her hand and focused her chakra into it. 'I'm sorry Sasuke,' Aika thought. A small flame appeared in her hand for a second before it disappeared.
~0~
A small cloud of smoke came from the book making Naruto and Sasuke jumped back a bit.
"What are you burning in there?!" The librarian asked.
"What a drag. Calm down, troublesome woman!" Shikamaru said to her.
"No! I will not calm down!" She replied. Sasuke slammed his fist down with a growl.
"What is she thinking?! She burned the only link she had to me and to home!" He exclaimed.
"I can't communicate with her either. She must have taken the kunai out of her pouch," Naruto said frustrated.
~0~
'Now I can't hear Sasuke anymore…or Naruto,' Aika thought as she looked at the kunai on the table.
"Aika, you could have gone back to your world?" Tamahome asked.
"It's okay. There's no way for me to leave now. I'm going to stay here with you and fight," Aika smiled at them. Suddenly there was a loud strike of lightning and the currents were rough in the water.
~0~
Chichiri screamed a bit when he saw the lightning got the sail that was now burning. Everyone ran up and Tamahome ran over to the monk.
"Chichiri! What's happening?!" He asked.
"I think and enormous enemy's powers are approaching us head on creating the storm front! They're attacking with lightning!" Chichiri replied. Aika's eyes widened.
"Lightning? Could it be Soi?" She asked looking up at the sky. A wave hit the boat making everyone hang onto something. Then lightning hit the boat.
~0~
"That lightning will pursue your ship forever until it is completely destroyed. You shall become wreckage upon the sea long before you ever reach Hokan," Soi smirked as she watched.
~0~
Another wave came at the ship.
"A little water won't beat us! It can't stand up to my might flame! Rekka-!" Tasuki is then washed away over the boat.
"Tasuki!" Aika shouted.
"Help! I can't swim!" Tasuki shouted. Aika then dove into the water.
"Aika!" Kurama and Tamahome shouted. Aika started trying to swim over to Tasuki.
"Numbskull! You don't swim well enough to save someone else!" Tamahome shouted.
"At least I'm trying!" Aika shouted at him. Tamahome then dove into the water.
"Hang on! I'll throw a line out to you guys!" Nuriko shouted as he got the rope. He then threw one end to them. Tasuki caught the rope while Tamahome got Aika.
"Go on, Tasuki! You go first!" Tamahome said to the red head.
"Thanks, man," Tasuki replied before Nuriko pulled him up. Another wave came and that one made Nuriko fall into the water.
"Hi, you guys," Nuriko smiled.
"Oh no, Nuriko! You fell in too?!" Tamahome asked. A wave came at them and they screamed.
"Aika! Tamahome! Nuriko!" Tasuki shouted from the rope. Tears ran down his cheeks. "I swear to you your deaths will not be in vein!"
"We're still alive, you moron!" Tamahome shouted at him.
"They're just farther away!" Kurama growled.
"They're being swept out to sea!" Mitsukake said over the wind and waves.
"We have to go out there and rescue them!" Chiriko said to them.
"If any lightning strikes now, they'll be electrocuted, ya know!" Chichiri stated.
"Don't jinx it, you idiot!" Kurama snapped at him. Back in the water, Tamahome kept a hold on Aika.
"Aika, hang in there!" Tamahome said seeing that she was beginning to look like she might pass out. Nuriko looked over before looking around.
"Hey! Over this way, you guys! Get up on this rock!" He shouted as he swam over. He then climbed onto the rock. "Aika!" He shouted reaching his hand out to her. Aika went to get it until a wave came at her and Tamahome, separating the two.
"God dammit!" Aika breathed. 'The only swimming I did was in a stream, not an ocean! This is much harder than I thought it would be,' she thought as she floated back while trying to swim forward. That's when Tamahome appeared and grabbed her. "Tamahome…"
"Tamahome, hurry! Get out of the water before the lightning strikes!" Nuriko shouted holding his hand out to them. Tamahome began swimming over, holding Aika who helped him to try and get their faster. "Hurry up, Tamahome!"
"Nuriko, take her!" Tamahome shouted before Nuriko grabbed Aika and brought her up.
"Come on, you've got to get out of the water right now!" Nuriko shouted.
"Tamahome, hurry!" Aika said to him. Tamahome started to get out until lightning struck and he was electrocuted making him scream. "Tamahome!" She shouted. It seemed to get worse with his screams of pain. "TAMAHOME!"
Kida: Shocking!
Tamahome: That freaking hurt, ya know! And you're making jokes?!
Kida:...I'm entertained when people get hurt.
Tamahome: You're one sick woman.
Kida: *Grins* Thank you!
Tamahome: *Sweat-drops* That wasn't a compliment!
Kida: *Ignores him* I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Please favorite and comment!