Kida: Damn Nakago. He just has to go and ruin everything for Aika and Tamahome!
Tamahome: *Glaring at Kida*
Kida: Stop glaring at me.
Tamahome: *Still glaring at Kida*
Kida: I said stop it! It's not my fault Yuu Watase wrote it like this!
Tamahome: *Still glaring at Kida*
Kida: I, uh...I, Kida Tenshi do not own Naruto or Fushigi Yuugi. I only own Aika Hitsubasa and future OCs. Excuse me, I have to hide! *Runs away*
In an attempt to recover the Shinzahou, Lady Aika walked right into Nakago's trap. Burning with rage, Tamahome propelled a powerful blast from his life force directly at Nakago, wounding him and surprising them both. Tamahome then gently administers love and care to the traumatized Lady Aika whose heart is now deeply scarred.
~0~
Shikamaru looked away from the book.
'I can't tell them,' he thought sad and angered for Aika.
"This is it!" Naruto exclaimed making Shikamaru snap his head over while Sasuke looked at the blonde. "I found it! Sasuke, Shikamaru, we're out of here!" Naruto said standing and running out.
"W-wha-? Where are we going?" Shikamaru asked with a lazy mutter.
"To the Hidden Sand Village!" Naruto replied, confusing the Nara.
"Huh?!" Shikamaru exclaimed while Sasuke followed Naruto. He closed the book. "It's better this way. I can keep a lid on it for a while," he whispered before following the Uzumaki and Uchiha.
~0~
"I can't marry you now, Tamahome. How could I after this?" Aika murmured as she faced away from him.
"What…are you talking about?" Tamahome asked, not wanting to believe she said that.
"I'm sorry. After you proposed to me so honorably and….Go ahead and laugh if you want to. You can call me an idiot now because I really am one. Go on, laugh," Aika said with a sad chuckle.
"But don't you see that none of this was your fault?! If I had just been more careful and not lost sight of you-!"
"No! I knew what was going to happen!" Aika stated making Tamahome's eyes widen. "I thought that if I made love to Nakago I could weaken his life force and steal back the Shinzahou. I believed that fake Taiitsukun's lies, tricked everyone, and intentionally went there, but…what's that saying? You reap what you sow, right? And look what I've done, it's…" Aika sobbed softly while Tamahome looked hurt. "I never ever meant to betray you. Forgive me, Tamahome. Forgive me," she whispered softly as her whole body shook with sobs. Tamahome walked up to her and knelt down behind her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest which made her brown eyes widen.
"Your body…I wanna see it," Tamahome murmured before sitting her down, making her look at him.
"Tamahome…" Aika whispered. Tamahome removed his shirt from her shoulders, letting it fall down around her. He then opened his eyes and looked at her body that seemed flawless and soft in his eyes.
"You're beautiful. Nothing has changed since the day of the purification ceremony. No one could ever spoil you," Tamahome said truthfully and softly to her. He then gently pulled her to him. "So don't cry. I'm here for you. Even if you're not able to summon Suzaku now, I made a vow we would never ever part from each other again. I promised you that I would make you the happiest bride in the world, didn't I? I'll say it as many times as you wanna hear it. You're all that I have, you're everything to me," he said to her. Aika leaned into his warmth.
'Tamahome…' she thought until she yelped in pain. They pulled back and Tamahome saw her hurt hand. He held it gently in his hand.
"I may not have Mitsukake's powers, but…" he trailed off before softly kissing the back of her hand.
'Tamahome…' Aika thought before Tamahome kissed her lovingly which she responded to. 'Please…stop,' she added as she opened her eyes. Tamahome soon pulled back and wrapped his arms around her waist as his head rested on her chest. Aika had her arms around him, her nose buried in his blue hair. 'Stop being so nice to me….It hurts too much.' Later that night, while Tamahome was sleeping, Aika got dressed and ran away from the camp. She kept running. 'No, I can't stay here with Tamahome anymore and after this, how can I face any of the others? I let the Shinzahou be stolen and I let myself be tricked! I was so stupid! I had a feeling I shouldn't have trusted that Taiitsukun's words and I did anyway! I don't deserve Tamahome,' she thought with sadness and anger.
"Aika, no matter what happens, don't lose to them. I want you to be happy," Nuriko's voice rang through her mind.
"Nuriko…" Tears gather in her eyes. "Can you forgive me, Nuriko? Everyone, will you please forgive me?" Aika whispered.
~0~
Tamahome woke up and looked around slightly.
"Aika?" He asked before sitting up. He looked around as he stood, not seeing her. "Aika?" He called waking Niko up. "Why? Didn't we promise we'd never be apart again?!" He shouted hurt.
~0~
Aika kept running until some rock crumbled under her. She screamed as she fell into a dark canyon. She woke up and tried to move only to groan as she felt pain in her ankle.
"Great, I've hurt something," she muttered. She frowned deeply. "I've hurt something…my heart hurts, like it's been ripped out of me." She suddenly heard foots steps and saw a light.
"I've finally found you," a familiar voice said. She looked up to see blondish green hair and blue eyes. "Don't you move."
"S-Suboshi," Aika's eyes widened. She saw him draw a sword. She squeezed her eyes shut. 'I'm going to die and I can barely move to defend myself,' she thought.
"Get down!" 'Suboshi' yelled at her. Aika's eyes widened before she ducked when he threw the sword. He had a killed a large weasel who now had a sword in its head. The weasel then fell to the ground, dead. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" He asked Aika before she looked at the weasel. "It's a giant weasel that if you made any sudden movements, he would've attacked you."
'Suboshi?' Aika thought confused before the guy who she thought was Suboshi smiled and lent her a hand.
"Do you need help?" He asked.
"Why…are you…?" Aika went to ask until she fainted. The boy caught her before her head hit the ground.
"You-Miss, please! Miss, please speak to me!" the boy said trying to wake her up.
~0~
Nakago and Soi had made it to the camp now that it was night out. Soi had helped remove Nakago's armor and shirt before removing the bandage's to look at his burnt arm.
"I did some emergency treatment for it on the way, but he's still badly hurt," Soi said looking with worry.
"Then we should set up camp here and rest for a while," Yui said, worried as well.
"We don't have time for that. We need to get to Sairo without any more delay," Nakago said to the Priestess.
"No, not while you're this badly hurt! And that is an order!" Yui said firmly to him. Nakago was silent for a moment.
"As you wish, my Lady," he replied.
"Oh, it's practically melted. Who or what could have done that?" Suboshi asked as he looked at the shoulder. He crossed his arms behind his head and hid his grin. 'Although it serves him right for once.'
~0~
"Aika!" Tamahome called. He kept walking through the rocky area and Niko followed. "Hey, Aika! Aika!" He shouted before he fell to his knees, panting. "Aika, where'd you go? Why did you leave me like that again?" He asked with a look of hurt.
"I can't marry you now, Tamahome. How can I after this?" Aika had asked him before Tamahome then thought of Nakago. He punched a rock, making it crumble.
'What's the limit? How much pain and suffering does he have to cause us? My family…my friends…and now this. How much more of me do you have to destroy until you're satisfied, Nakago?!' He thought upset. He heard Niko meow and turned to see him nuzzled Tamahome's leg with flat ears. "I know, you miss her too," he murmured before picking the cat up. "I will find her, Niko. I promise. Somehow," he vowed. Niko meowed as if to say he would help. Aika raised Niko from a newborn kitten. Aika always took care of him and loved him and Tamahome could see that. Mainly with how worried the black cat looked. What they didn't know was that Tomo was watching them from a high cliff.
~0~
Aika felt like she was floating in water while she was unconscious.
"Aika…Aika," she heard. She opened her eyes and saw Tamahome who was smiling at her. "I love you, Aika."
"Tamahome," Aika smiled. It faded when she saw Nakago. "No…get away!" She shouted before screaming.
"Miss!" Aika heard before her eyes snapped open. "Are you all right?" She looked up and saw the boy who looked like Suboshi. "You're okay now, it was only a dream," he smiled at her. Aika sat up and looked around. "There's no need to be alarmed. This is my home in the village of Makan in Sairo. You slept for three days after you fainted. Your body must have been very weak, it's a good thing I came a long when I did." Aika looked down a bit as she remembered.
'That's right. Then I…' she thought before looking at him "Then you're not Suboshi or are you? Why did you help me?" She asked him confused.
"Well, I, uh…"
"What's wrong, Kaika?" A man asked making the boy look over to see his adoptive parents. "Oh, I see you're finally awake now, Miss."
"Do your injuries still hurt you?" The woman asked.
"Oh, now that you mention it, no," Aika said with a bit of surprise.
"I thought so. Thanks to the juice of these forgetfulness leaves. They're brewed into a potion by the best shaman in the village. It made you forget about your pain. Although the wrong dosage can make this a pretty dangerous medicine to use because it packs a powerful punch," Kaika winked with a smile.
"You should continue to rest and relax for a while," Kaika's father said.
"Yes and Kaika, you could play a song on your flute for her," Kaika's mother suggested.
"Sure," Kaika said as he took his flute out.
'Flute?' Aika thought with furrowed eyebrows. Her eyes widened slightly when she suddenly saw the flute. It's then Kaika began playing the flute. The tune made Aika's eyes widen. 'Amiboshi? It's Amiboshi! This song, it has to be. Amiboshi of the Seiryuu Seven, Suboshi's twin brother, the one who tricked us, the one we thought had been swept away and drowned in the river. But he's alive and they call him Kaika now. Amnesia? I ran right into one of the Seiryuu Seven, one of that man's friends,' she thought as she thought of Nakago.
~0~
Nakago looked up from his table.
"What happened, Nakago? It's very unusual for you to get wounded," Tomo said as he walked into Nakago's yurt.
"Tomo."
"Everything is falling into place now that the Priestess of Suzaku is no longer a virgin. All that remains for us to do now is collect the Shinzahou in Sairo," Tomo said as he walked over.
"The Priestess of Suzaku is still a virgin," Nakago stated.
"She is nothing now that-," Tomo stopped as he realized what Nakago just said. He leaned over. "What did you just say?"
"I wasn't able to couple with the Priestess of Suzaku. When I tried, a bright red life force leapt from the Priestess' body. Performed a shield that kept me from even touching her. The power hidden in that girl was completely impenetrable," Nakago explained as he remembered that glowing red shield around Aika.
"But surely you could have easily conquered a young girl's defenses!" Tomo said shocked.
"She's a formidable Priestess. Besides, sex with unconscious women holds no interest for me," Nakago said to him.
"What are you saying? A chance like that and…" Tomo stated.
"I am certain the girl is now convinced that I abused her and took away her virginity. Just as Lady Yui believed she was raped so in the end I've achieved the same goal," Nakago said to him. Tomo stood straight.
"In that case, leave the Priestess of Suzaku to my devices. But first, I shall take care of Tamahome," Tomo said before walking to the flap, opening it to reveal the female Seiryuu Warrior. "I will need Soi's powers."
"As you wish," Nakago said as he held his bandaged shoulder. "Only, put those crippled sparrows out of their misery, no matter what you have to do to them."
~0~
"All right now, Aika. You need to eat to regain your strength," Kaika's mother said.
"I think you're right. A little food is probably what I need," Aika smiled, her stomach growling a bit. She blushed and covered her stomach while Kaika chuckled. Aika was dressed in a pale pink dress with a pink jacket. Her hair had two pink ribbons in it on each side in a braid, one of them holding her bangs back.
"It has been a few days since you've eaten," he said to her.
"Almost a week I think," Aika mused to herself, trying to remember the last time she ate.
"Eh?! That's a while ago," Kaika's father said with some worry.
"Well, with what's been going on lately, it was kind of hard to sit down and have a good meal," Aika said to them, remembering Nuriko's death, meeting the Genbu Seven, losing the Shinzahou, dealing with Nakago, then running away from Tamahome.
"By the way, Aika, were you on your way somewhere special when you feel?" Kaika's father asked.
"Will you be traveling once your leg heals?" Kaika's mother asked. Aika thought to herself and frowned a bit.
"Mother and I would love it if you stayed here with us in Makan Village and become Kaika's bride," Kaika's father said making Kaika and Aika do a spit take out of shock.
"Father, she just woke up!" Kaika exclaimed with a blush.
"But you're almost the right age for it and now that you've killed that giant weasel that was terrorizing the village…" Kaika's mother's voice faded as Aika sat there in shock.
'Bride?' She thought before she remembered when Tamahome proposed to her.
"Aika, I'll make you the happiest bride in the world," he promised. Kaika's parents gasped as they looked at Aika. Kaika looked at her and his eyes widened. Aika had tears flowing down her cheeks. Kaika stood and gently took her hand making her look at him.
"Why don't we go outside?" He smiled at her. He then picked her up so she didn't have to walk on her hurt ankle. "The weather's really nice today and staying cooped up in the house isn't healthy," he said as he carried her out. Soon they were away from the house and Kaika had taken her to a shaded tree, sitting down with her. "Sorry for carrying you away from the table like that. I'm not going to ask what happened to you, but you shouldn't keep things bottled up inside. After one little mistake or thing goes wrong, people have a tendency to think everything about them is bad. They start to believe that and soon they are bad and they lose all hope. It's tragic and I don't want that to happen to you."
"That's easy for you to say. After you've forgotten everything that happened to you, it isn't fair, Amiboshi! I've lost the person I love most in the world. My dear friends and everyone close to me. All that's left is pain and sadness. I'll never forget it, it hurts too much. It isn't fair. You live in a peaceful village with nice people as your family now and you're happy. You don't remember anything you did before you came here. What you did to us. It was because of you so many bad things have happened in the first place! And you just forgot all of it!" Aika told him before her eyes widened a bit. She looked away. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for yelling at you. I know you're not Amiboshi, I made a mistake. After all that's come to pass, I don't know what to do. I'm so confused inside. Don't pay attention to anything I said just now," she murmured as she pulled her knees to her chest. Kaika sighed slightly before taking out his flute. He then began playing it making Aika's eyes widen a bit as she looked at him. 'That song.' Kaika stopped with a smile.
"I hope it gives you strength and courage," he said to her before he went back to playing. Aika smiled a bit as she listened.
"Thank you, Kaika," she said to him before going back to listening. What they didn't know was that Kaika's mother was watching them.
~0~
Chichiri walked into a room.
"Oh, Chichiri, you're just in time!" Tasuki said as he sat at the table. "Another feast fit for a king. Check it out."
"Where are Kurama, Mitsukake, and Chiriko?" Chichiri asked.
"Oh, those three won't even have a drink with me. Chiriko's cooped up in the library downstairs, Mitsukake's wrapped up in researching all sorts of great herbs for his medicine, and Kurama…well, he's been moody so I don't bother him," Tasuki informed. It's then a man with long black hair walked in.
"Sir, would you like anything else? Some sake perhaps?" He asked. Tasuki smiled brightly with a sheepish laugh.
"If it's not too much trouble for ya, sure I would! Thanks!" He replied before the man left. "What a hostess, eh? She's gone out of her way to make us comfortable, including letting us stay in this great house. Who would have thought a big city like Sairo would be so friendly?"
"Yeah…I don't know, maybe. Aika and Tamahome still haven't arrived, ya know. I wanna update his Majesty about our progress so far, but something's interfering with spells and transmissions. I'm worried, ya know," Chichiri said to him before seeing Tasuki with bowls on his ears.
"Look at this, elephant ears!" Tasuki said before putting them on his eyes and two bottles on his arms. "Mega fly!"
"That's the last time I try to talk seriously to you," Chichiri said to him.
"Breasts!" Tasuki said putting the bowls to his chest. The illusion faded, but not from their eyes. He then put the 'bottles' on his head. "Ah, Kurama's ears all over the place!" From afar, Tomo and Soi saw them.
"Through the agency of my shell Shin, the Warriors of Suzaku are being shown an irresistible illusion of Sairo. By the day, the sun scorches them and at night the temperature falls fast. They're drying out and dying in this desert," Tomo said to Soi.
"Well then, what do you need me for?" Soi asked.
"Because you are familiar with Bochujutsu. You can control an opponent through intercourse. You know that Nakago's wound was caused by Tamahome. It proves he has grown much stronger. Therefore, I want you to weaken his life force with your skills."
~0~
"Welcome back, Aika," Kaika's mother smiled. Aika smiled back as she sat on the bed.
"Oh, hello, ma'am," she greeted. "Sorry I started crying like that before."
"Oh, it's all right, dear. Here, drink this soup. It will make you feel better," Kaika's mother said offering her the soup.
"Thank you," Aika said taking the bowl. She then sipped the soup. She smiled. "This is really good," she said before her eyes widened. "What the-? I feel…strange…" she said before fainting, the bowl falling to the floor. Kaika's mother covered her mouth in shock as her son walked into the room.
"Aika!" Kaika exclaimed before they got her into bed. Kaika's mother explained what happened to her husband and son.
"You gave her the forgetfulness leaves? Why would you do that?" Kaika's father asked while his wife cried.
"I-I wanted her to forget about Kaika's past, that's all. I had thought that if she helped you remember too much of your earlier life, you might go away and leave us. I didn't realized I had gotten the dosage wrong, I swear! Please forgive me," she sobbed.
"Of course, mother, but you mustn't worry so much about me. You and father rescued me from the river when I was more than half dead. I would never leave you after you saved my life. I'll stay here for a while and look after Aika, father. You do what you can to calm mother down," Kaika said to them.
"Right," his father agreed before helping his wife up and leading her out. "There, there," he said soothingly to his weeping wife. Kaika felt Aika's forehead.
"Not good, she's burning up. If I don't do something…"
"Tamahome…" Aika murmured making Kaika's eyes widen a bit.
~0~
Tamahome snapped his head around with slightly wide eyes.
"I thought I heard someone calling my name. Maybe the heat's getting to me," Tamahome sighed until he heard Niko meow. He walked over to the cat. "What is it, Niko? Did you find something, boy?" He asked as he looked at the cat. He suddenly looked over and his eyes widened. "Aika."
"Tamahome," Aika said walking over.
"Aika!" Tamahome smiled as he held her in his arms. "I'm so glad you're all right. I've been looking for you."
~0~
Kaika removed his jacket, sash, shirt and shoes before getting on the bed by Aika.
"I don't know if this'll lower her fever or not, but I have to try," he murmured before he hugged Aika, hoping for her to sweat the fever out.
~0~
"Don't-please don't ever do this to me again, Aika," Tamahome said as he held her. At least, he was Aika in his eyes. It was really Soi disguised as Aika, using Tomo's illusion shell Shin.
"Yes, Soi, Tamahome is now under my spell's control. He sees you only as the Priestess of Suzaku finally in his arms. At least I'm considerate enough to let him believe he's holding the woman he loves so much," Tomo cackled. Soi pulled back, both she and Tamahome smiling at each other before they kissed.
~0~
'So warm. I feel it flowing through my whole body. Is this life force…?' Aika thought as she opened her eyes to see Kaika.
~0~
"Why are we here? I thought you said we had to go to the Hidden Sand Village," Shikamaru said as they made it to the Uchiha Compound.
"We will, but I wanna check something out here first. Sasuke, your dad use to run the Uchiha police investigation team, right?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah," Sasuke nodded.
"Why? Do you need to know where Okuta lives?" Shikamaru asked not seeing where this was going for once.
"There's a section in this," Naruto said before tossing him a book. Shikamaru rose an eyebrow and looked at the book.
"The Criminal Records of the Taishou Era?" He read out loud.
"About the murder investigation of Takiko Okuta," Naruto stated.
"I see, you want to look through the records at the Uchiha police station to see if there are any from that period," Sasuke said making Naruto nod.
"I have a good feeling it's there."
~0~
"Can't you stay here and live with me?" Kaika asked making Aika's eyes widen.
Kida: Oh...my...fudgy lumpkins.
Kido: Did he just...?
Kida: *Nods* Uh huh.
Kido: Tamahome's gonna kill you.
Kida: *Pales and gulps* Oh shit...
Kido: While she gets over the shock, please favorite and comment!