Tamahome: I take it she hasn't come back yet.

Kido: Nope. She won't be coming back until Ashitare is gone.

Naruto: How is she supposed to update then?!

Kido: Simple. She sent it to me. She sent this too. 'I won't be coming back until Ashitare is dead. Unlike you idiots, I cherish my life and wish to live so I'm enjoying being in my own isolation for the moment.'

Hotohori: Hopefully she'll come back soon. Kida Tenshi does not own Naruto or Fushigi Yuugi. She only owns Aika Hitsubasa and future OCs. Enjoy!

Lady Aika, the Priestess of Suzaku, has arrived in the city of Turan in the Hokan Empire. There in search of the Shinzahou, an object which will allow her to summon Suzaku. In the center of the city, Lady Aika discovered an old monument engraved with ancient script and from a scholar who understood the script's meaning, Tamahome learned the location of the treasured Shinzahou. On his way back to tell the others, Tamahome encountered the Lady Yui, now the Priestess of Seiryuu.

'A character in a book?' Tamahome thought stunned. At that very moment, Lady Aika was discovered.

"I have found you!" Ashitare growled making Aika turn her head sharply. The beast man, Ashitare of the Seiryuu Seven, leaped to attack. "You die!" He growled. Aika glared and was ready to attack with a kunai she brought out until Nuriko tackled her to the ground, Ashitare injuring his arm in the process with his claws. Nuriko then rolled away.

"Nuriko!" Aika gasped looking at her friend.

"What is that thing?!"

"It's a monster!" Some of the villagers said as they looked at Ashitare. Ashitare back a man up to a wall before swiping his claws at him. It's then towns people ran away.

"Nuriko! Come on!" Aika said trying to wake him up. Her eyes widened at the sight of Ashitare. 'H-he's chewing on the man's arm!' She thought, a shiver of fright going through her. Nuriko stood as he held his arm.

"One of the Seiryuu Seven," Nuriko glared.

'Oh no, the sword! Where's Hotohori's holy sword?' Aika didn't see the sword on her person anymore. 'Oh no. I forget I left it in the luggage with Chichiri!' She thought panicked.

"Old mean never tasted good. Now for some young flesh," Ashitare smirked as he wiped his mouth off. Aika then got an idea and took out the flare.

"Nuriko!" She tossed it to him. He took it and nodded. He used that on Ashitare while Aika did the hand seals. "Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!" She said before fire blew out of her mouth at Ashitare. Ashitare screamed in pain and covered his eyes. He then jumped away from them. "We did it, Nuriko. He's running away," Aika said with a small smile of relief.

"It's a good thing we had these signal flares handy. Chiriko was right about his great idea. And thankfully now we don't have to worry about you not using your abilities to tell the others where we are," Nuriko smiled at her. He then winced with a groan as he held his arm.

"Nuriko, are you all right? Hang on," Aika said worried as she saw his arm. She took out some bandages and wrapped his arm to stop the bleeding. "It's all I can do for now until we get to an inn."

~0~

"The power of fire was enough to drive Ashitare off. Although Nuriko was wounded, the Priestess escaped unharmed. How troublesome. Naruto, Sasuke, this book you're reading is bad for my heart."

"You're not a lone there," Sasuke grumbled.

"Yeah, well, it's turning my hair white! Believe it!" Naruto told them.

~0~

"Are you okay?" Aika asked her friend after wrapping his wound.

"Yeah, it's nothing serious. Now I'm starting to wonder what's taking Tamahome so long," Nuriko sighed.

"Yeah, me too," Aika murmured, hoping Tamahome was all right.

~0~

"Hey! Wait! Come on!" Tamahome called chasing after Yui as they made it under the archway of a bridge. He caught her shoulder and turned her around.

"Let me go!" Yui shouted.

"Just tell me what you meant back there when you called me a 'character in a book'," he said to her. Yui turned away from him. "What are you trying to say?" He asked her. Yui remained silent, listening to the water from the stream. "Look, I don't understand what you said to me or what you think that I am, but I do know this; if you summon Seiryuu, you'll regret it. Besides, if I'm not what you want then it's really Aika you wanna get at, isn't it?" He asked before turning her so she was looking at him. "We've already discovered where the mysterious Shinzahou is hidden. Just forget all this business and get away from the Seiryuu Seven. There's still time," he said as she stared at him with shock. Suddenly a ball weapon came at him and Tamahome jumped out of the way.

"Keep your hands off Lady Yui!" Suboshi shouted as he ran up, Tamahome landing a few feet away from them. Tamahome then ran away from them. "Come back here Tamahome!"

"Never mind!" Yui said catching Suboshi by the shoulder before he could go after the Suzaku Warrior. "Let him go."

"Lady Yui…" Suboshi said before Tamahome was out of sight. "You still love him, Lady Yui. I can tell. So why don't you-?"

"Why don't you mind your own business, Suboshi? I don't feel very well and I'm going back to the camp to see Nakago," Yui said before she started to walk away.

"But…" Suboshi frowned. Yui ignored him and thought of what Tamahome said.

"I do know this; if you summon Seiryuu, you'll regret it. There's still time," Tamahome had told her.

'There's still time,' Yui thought.

~0~

Nuriko fixed the collar of his shirt now that Aika was done looking at his wound.

"So thanks a lot for saving me," Aika said meaning when Ashitare was going to attack her, even though she was ready to attack him.

"What are you talking about? That's just what a Warrior of the Suzaku Seven does. I'll always be ready and willing to protect you with my life as long as I'm able," Nuriko said to her.

"Eh? You don't sound like your same sassy self. What's wrong? You're acting like a boy. Usually you have a sassy comment or something," Aika said surprised. She was so used to the sassy and spunky Nuriko.

"It may not sound like me, but it feels right. Like the real me I haven't paid much attention to," Nuriko said with a small smile.

"Because you're finally over your little sister's death?" Aika asked softly.

"That's part of it and maybe because of how strongly you've affected me," Nuriko said to her making Aika's eyes widen slightly.

"Me? But I didn't do anything," she said to him.

"Wanna know why?" Nuriko asked making Aika nod. "It was something that…"

"Something?" Aika asked, encouraging him to continue. Nuriko leaned closer until their foreheads were touching.

"That I won't say. Forget it, you don't really need to know any of the details," he smiled at her.

"Nuriko…" Aika pouted slightly.

"I said forget it," Nuriko told her before Aika pulled away.

"This means that you don't want to be a woman anymore and get Hotohori to love you, right?" Aika raised an eyebrow.

"Hey! That's right! I want his Highness to have the greatest happiness possible for any man to have. Oh, but it there any woman out there besides me who's as brilliant and beautiful, loyal and lithesome, loving and modest as me?" Nuriko asked dreamily.

"There's the Nuriko I know and love. I knew you hadn't really changed," Aika sweat-dropped.

~0~

It began snowing again as Tamahome ran, hoping to make sure he was far enough away. He stopped to see Suboshi wasn't following.

'He doesn't seem to be following me. Watch out, Suboshi.' Tamahome punched his fist into his hand. 'Next time, I'll make you sorry,' he thought as he started walking again. He walked through the town, making his way back to Aika and Nuriko. But the words Yui said echoed in his head.

"Who even cares about you anyway?! You're just a character in a story book!"

'What does that mean? Would Aika know? Is she hiding something she knows from me? Are Aika and I not meant for each other after all?' Tamahome thought to himself.

"Tamahome!" Aika called making him turn. He then saw nothing but a snowball come at him. It was then on the ground, with a giant snowball on him. "Nuriko, I think you killed him."

"Uh oh, I think I made the snowball a little too big," Nuriko noted.

"Yup," Aika agreed.

"Nuriko!" Tamahome burst out of the snow. Aika and Nuriko gave innocent smiles. "I was thinking! Now you made me lose my train of thought!"

"Sorry, sorry," Nuriko said sheepishly.

"I'm just glad you made it back here in one piece. I was getting worried. So, what did you find out? Anything about the Shinzahou?" Aika smiled at him. Tamahome looked at her and thought about what the Priestess of Seiryuu told him.

"If Aika doesn't summon Suzaku there's no way you could ever spend your life with her! You're just a character in a story book!" Yui's voice rang in his head again. Aika tilted her head.

"Tamahome?" She asked, snapping him out of it.

"Oh yeah, I found it. The writing said it's about two hundred leagues away from the city in some caves at the top of a mountain called Mount Koku. Getting it shouldn't be any trouble at all. We better tell Tasuki and the others right away. Where's the signal flare?" Tamahome asked.

"Yeah, about that…." Nuriko trailed off.

"Yeah…we kinda ran into some trouble. Warrior of the Seiryuu Seven kind of trouble," Aika muttered.

~0~

"Hm, so the beast man's weakness is fire. You have the nerve to come crawling back here after you failed so miserably?" Nakago asked Ashitare as he snapped his whip. "Do you have any idea of what I can do with this, Ashitare?"

"Nakago, Ashitare's been badly burned. That rope hurt too much," Soi said trying to not have him injure Ashitare any further.

"Who was it that saved you from that village in certain death? When they had you surrounded in the woods of Kutou?" Nakago asked before snapping his whip making the beast man flinch. "Shall I make you remember?" He asked snapping his whip again. He then started whipping him making Ashitare scream in pain.

~0~

The three of them made it to an inn to get some rest for the night. Aika stood at the window, watching the snow.

"The snow, it's not letting up," she sighed a bit before closing the window. She then sat at the table with Tamahome. Nuriko came over and poured them some tea.

"Lucky for us we were able to get this room," he said.

"No, I'd say that it was lucky for us that you two got away safely from the bruiser described," Tamahome retorted.

"No lucky about it. I'm a Suzaku Warrior too, remember? And Aika's practically a ninja," Nuriko told him.

"Exactly, we fought him off and Nuriko protected me," Aika smiled before gently blowing on her hot tea to cool it.

"I see," Tamahome simply replied. He picked up his tea and looked at Aika. She saw him staring and blinked.

"What?" She asked him.

"Tamahome, what-?/Are you hiding-?" The two asked at the same time as they set their cups down, staring at each other. It was silent as Nuriko sipped his tea. All that was heard was his slurping.

"This tea sure is good," he commented. Tamahome finally let up.

"How did…how exactly did you get into this world?" Tamahome asked Aika. Aika looked at him, a bit taken back. Tamahome stood. "Oh never mind. I'm going downstairs to get something stronger to drink," he said leaving the room.

'Tamahome, what's all that about?' Aika thought frowning. 'Why would he ask about how I came here? Now, after all this time….'

~0~

Ashitare panted as drops of blood fell from the marks on his skin that were left from the whipping he got.

"I went easy on you this time around. Fail me again and I won't be so forgiving," Nakago smirked until he saw Yui and Suboshi walk in.

"Well, we're back from Turan," Suboshi stated.

"Suboshi, did you find the Shinzahou?" Nakago asked.

"There were complications," Suboshi replied.

"Yes, it seems we have found it," Yui said surprising the younger Warrior.

"If you summon Seiryuu, you'll regret it," Tamahome's voice rang through her mind.

'I know. I know, but…' she thought. "Tamahome told me they have discovered the Shinzahou's hiding place," she stated. 'I…I can't turn back now. I can't.'

~0~

Tamahome had left the room and was now at a pub where he got a warm meal and something to drink. He put his drink down after he drank it.

'Boy I'm pathetic, letting what she said get to me. I wonder if Aika knows something I don't. What did she mean I'm a character in a book?' He thought to himself.

"Tamakins," Nuriko said flicking the back of the Ogre Warrior's head making him face plant his food. Nuriko sweat dropped and laughed nervously. "That's funny. I just meant to give you a little tap on the head!"

"Yeah! But for you, a little tap on the head is a full blown punch compared to any normal person!" Tamahome said stand.

"Whoa, settle down! What's really on your mind, Tamakins?" Nuriko asked.

"Ah shut up," Tamahome groaned as he sat back down. Nuriko sat beside him.

"Yeesh, don't throw a tantrum. You blow up so fast, you're like a little kid," he said.

"Don't even start," Tamahome muttered.

"Hey, mister. Mix up one part paichu, three parts raochu, one part shokushu, and an order of wantans and chansai too," Nuriko ordered.

"Sure thing," the cook replied. Nuriko offered some alcohol to Tamahome.

"Oh, thanks," Tamahome said before Nuriko poured some. Tamahome than drank it.

"What's going on?" Nuriko asked.

"What do you mean?" Tamahome asked confused.

"It sounded like you wanted to Aika something, but you walked out instead. If you keep acting this fickle, Aika's love will get swept away by somebody else," Nuriko stated making Tamahome looked at him, slightly surprised.

"Here you go," the cook said giving Nuriko his drink. "Paichu, raochu, and shokushu."

"Thanks a lot," Nuriko smiled at him.

"W-what is that stuff?" Tamahome asked.

"A Nuriko Special. Wanna taste it?" Nuriko asked.

"Okay, sure," Tamahome replied as he was handed the drink. "What did you mean 'swept away'?" He asked before taking a sip of the drink. Nuriko folding his fingers and rested his chin on them.

"Well, let's say for example, if I-," Nuriko started before Tamahome did a spit take. Tamahome coughed while Nuriko gently patted his back. "There, there. What made you choke?" Nuriko asked as Aika appeared on the balcony that overlooked the pub.

'Nuriko said to leave it to him, but I'm too nervous to stay in that room,' she thought as she watched the two quietly. Tamahome laughed a bit.

"You, huh? I thought you said you loved his Highness Hotohori and were determined to make him love you back," he said to his friend.

"Well, that's the womanly part of me," Nuriko said making Tamahome look at him curiously. "It's strange, ya know. Why should cutting your hair make you feel this different? Earlier today, I was ready to give up my life to save Aika. Since my hair cut, I have definitely felt myself becoming more and more like a man in the way I think and feel and behave. What happened was that today, for the first time I realized it and as a man, I think I've always loved Aika," Nuriko confessed making Aika's eyes widen a bit.

"Something I won't say," Nuriko said, their foreheads touching.

"Was that it?" Aika whispered to herself.

"Nuriko…" Tamahome trailed off.

"You don't have to worry about me. Nothing has changed between us. I love you too, Tamahome and I love his Majesty Hotohori and Tasuki, and Kurama, and everybody. I think of it this way: I'm so proud to have been born one of the Suzaku Seven of chosen to fight for the cause. It is an honor and the reason I've stopped trying to be my sister and accept who I am. I'm glad I was born a Warrior and destined to protect and defend the Priestess of Suzaku because if I hadn't, I would have never met you or Aika or any of the others," Nuriko said.

"Here you go," the cook said giving Nuriko his food.

"Oh, thanks," Nuriko replied. "Anyway," he placed a hand on Tamahome's shoulder. "I want you to try and get your act together and be more of a man yourself because if Aika does decide to stay in this world, you two are destined to be together forever," he smiled while Tamahome looked at him surprised. "Sorry, Kurama and I eavesdropped on you the other day. I want Aika's life to be a very happy one and yours too, so I'll be keeping you both in my sights and watching out for you. Always," he promise, his pointer fingers up as if to show his promise.

"This is weird, but I'd swear you sound more like a big brother giving advice to me than you do like a woman right now," Tamahome smiled.

"Hey, you're right and it's true. I am older than you, aren't I? Well then, Tamakins, talk to your big brother. Did something happen between you two?" Nuriko asked meaning Tamahome and Aika.

"No. Thanks, I feel better now. Huh, you're right. Protect Aika, that's what I have to concentrate on now and just be proud to be a Warrior of the Suzaku Seven," Tamahome said determined.

"All right! That's the spirit! So, you wanna have a pre victory celebration for recovering the Shinzahou?" Nuriko asked him.

"What's that drink called again?" Tamahome asked.

"A Nuriko Special," Nuriko replied.

"Get me one of those," Tamahome said.

"I don't know. It might be too strong for a pup like you," Nuriko teased. Aika smiled as she listened to them.

'Thank you, Nuriko. I'll never forget how much you care about us. It seems here, I have a real family, one I deeply treasure. Sure, I love my friends back home, but here I really feel special, needed…I love these guys so much.'

~0~

Aika smiled as she stretched a bit, looking at the beautiful white winter scenery.

"It's all cleared up and sparkly," she mused as she looked at the snow. She heard the horses walk up and saw that Tamahome and Nuriko were walking over with horses.

"Ugh, my head is killing me," Tamahome groaned, his hand holding his head. Nuriko chuckled.

"Not surprised, you were throwing back some pretty strong bug juice last night. Right?" Nuriko smiled at Aika. Aika blushed slightly and looked away.

"R-right," she said with a small smile. 'I can't let them know I overheard,' she thought to herself before looking at the two again.

"Anyway, the problem now is finding Chichiri and the others. We're gonna have to look until we find them. I don't want you using your powers in case that Seiryuu Warrior comes back," Tamahome said to Aika who nodded in understanding.

"But we also have to get to the Shinzahou as soon as we can. We can't procrastinate," Aika stated. She didn't want to risk the Seiryuu Warriors getting it. Tamahome and Nuriko seemed to agree.

"Okay, you and Nuriko stay here in town and look for Chichiri and the others. I'll start out ahead of you for Mount Koku for the Shinzahou," Tamahome said. Nuriko pinched Tamahome's ear and pulled it making him spaz out.

"Idiot, I've told you nothing's changed between us. Don't you remember? What the heck are you thinking anyway? You and Aika look for Chichiri and the gang. I'll go ahead to the Shinzahou," Nuriko said letting him go. He then got on his horse. "Those caves are the very top of the mountain, isn't that what they told you?"

"Yup," Tamahome smiled.

"Well, on your mark, get set, and away we go!" Nuriko smiled before he started riding his horse to the mountain.

"Be careful!" Aika told him.

"Don't you worry about me, I'll be okay," Nuriko waved. He then gently kicked the side of the horse "Hya!" He said getting his horse to run. Aika then started following Tamahome to look for the others. She then thought to herself.

'I wonder what happened while Tamahome was getting information on the monument. Could the man's father have told something else too? Maybe the man wasn't to be trusted like the old woman said. Maybe that's why I was worried about Tamahome, that guy was kind of shady. Tamahome's just seemed so distracted,' she thought.

"You okay there, Aika?" Tamahome asked snapping her out of it.

"Hm? Oh, I'm okay. Just thinking," Aika smiled rubbing the back of her neck.

"Are you getting a bad feeling again?" He asked her worried.

"No, no, not yet anyways. I was just thinking….you seem distracted. I mean, you don't have to tell me why, but I was just curious," she said to him with a small shrug. Tamahome was now even more tempted to ask her about the 'character out of a book' comment he had heard.

~0~

Nuriko rode his running horse down the trail, making his way to the Mount Koku. On a hill, Ashitare appeared and sniffed.

"That's the way," he said catching a scent. He then began running after it.

"Is that clear, Ashitare? Follow the Suzaku Seven when they leave the city and head out into the hills in search of the Shinzahou and then, kill them," Nakago smirked.

'Even if he didn't tell me to, I'd remember the scent of the one who did this to me and hunt them down!' He thought.

~0~

Aika was gently petting the horse as it drank some water. Tamahome was leaning against the post to tie a horse up on.

"I didn't wanna tell you this, but now I think I should. I…ran into Yui yesterday. Suboshi showed up not long after so we didn't have much time to talk. I tried to convince her to leave the Seiryuu and come back with me, but she wouldn't listen," Tamahome explained to her.

"I see. So that's what happened," Aika said meaning why he was so distracted. "Did Yui look okay? Healthy and everything? What did she have to say?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Tamahome murmured.

"Oh…." Aika sighed. 'Yui, we seem to be drifting further and further apart. I want to fight against the Seiryuu Seven, but I don't want to fight against Yui,' Aika sighed before looking up at the sky. 'I've decided to stay and make my life here once I've summoned Suzaku, but I have to get Yui back our old world. I have to.'

~0~

'I wonder if Tamahome and Aika have found Chichiri yet,' Nuriko thought as he rode through the snow then through the water. He soon started riding uphill until he saw the mountain. He got off the horse and started climbing up through the snow. 'Aika, if Kourin had lived, would that have happened to me? Would I have hung my heart on every gesture and deed of my beloved? All my happiness and sorrow determined by the whim of their mood?' he thought to himself as he climbed through the snow. He soon made it to the top of the mountain and saw a red door. "Is this it? Is this where we'll find the Shinzahou?" He asked until he saw the door was metal. "That monster door is a definite message to keep out. Well, we've sent the right man for the job," he said walking up to the door. He sensed something and turned to see Ashitare. "It's you again," he snarled.

"You are mine now. I've got you!" Ashitare growled.

~0~

"On Mount Koku, inside the sealed door leading to the Shinzahou, Ashitare of the Seiryuu Seven challenged Nuriko of the Suzaku Seven and their death match began," Shikamaru read.

~0~

"Thank you for leading me to the Shinzahou. And now I'm going to enjoy myself as I kill you and savor all your frigid flesh and I won't stop till I devour all the Suzaku and taste the tender tissue of the Priestess of Suzaku!" Ashitare said.

"Huh, yeah, that'll be the day. I'm not letting a hairy gargoyle like you lick your little finger on Aika or any of my friends!" Nuriko said as his bracelets turned into armbands. "I'm taking you down! Come on!"

Kido: If Kida were here, she'd be telling Nuriko to kick his ass.

Tamahome: Sounds like her.

Naruto: Still not back yet?

Kido: Nope...and I'm tempted to drag her ass back here.

Ashitari: Do it!

Kido: BACK OFF, YA HAIRY APE! Anyways, we hope you enjoyed the chapter. Favorite and comment.