March 28, 2004

Title: Providence

Chapter: Meddling (4/?)

Author: Charlie (Lycthem)

Disclaimer: See part one.

    4.

There were four Oracles in heaven. And though they limited their presence to only those who they deemed worthy of possessing a bit of their knowledge, be it of the past or of the future, they tried to keep their influence to a minimum. Isolated by choice, they resided in a different plane reachable only to those they chose.

The Fates were an entity that differed from the Oracles, both their works were related, relying upon each other to exist, but never meeting, like two parallel lines. So close yet never to be together. The Fates were also very curious and experimental with the way things worked in the mortal plane. When the Oracles found out about any of the Fates little intrusions, their small rather unnoticeable interferences with the mortal plane, they frowned.

They had never liked the Fates' mischievous nature but there was nothing to be done about it. It wasn't the first time it had happened and it wouldn't be the last. And if Lady Luck would have it, maybe it wouldn't influence some greater evil. But then again, Luck held no true alliances, the Fates liked to have fun and the Oracles minded their own business.

***

Taichi had met Lady Luck once. Well, not really met, since he'd never spoken to her, but he had seen her once in a conference a few centuries back. It had been right around the time of the awakening of the fourth Oracle, and he had spotted her chatting quite amicably with Sora. Their eyes had met and she had smirked and winked at him. From that moment on he wondered if she started keeping tabs on him. Because there was no way all this was happening without her help.

The line into the public building was a long one, exceptionally long considering that water pellets were being thrown at them at an alarming rate from the skies. It was actually only rain, but it was pouring hard enough to pass by pellets anyway.

He could see that his place in line was only halfway into the building, and who knew how long the line was inside. Lowering his head so the rain wouldn't fall on his face, as it had been doing, and rather on his impermeable coat, Taichi jammed his hands into his pockets. It had taken a long time to set his documents as missing and he was sure it was going to take twice as long plus a few more hours to get them again.

"Hey move, will ya? The line's already gapping with ya there thinkin' your brain out." Came a rather cross voice from behind him. He stepped forward and sharpened his Sense, listening to the rather foul-mouthed man behind him rant about him in his mind. Taichi refrained from chuckling at the rather lucrative things he was coming up with, and stopped his intruding.

His headaches were becoming more frequent and at first he had been worried about the fact. Angels weren't prone to sickness or any of the other maladies mortals suffered from. It was definitely a perk; he couldn't imagine himself in bed for days because of some stupid flu. Then he remembered something he'd learned when he smaller and still in his training.

//"Guardian Angels are connected to their charges in such a way that they almost become dependent of them. No Jean, not dependent in the sense that Guardian Angels can't exist without them, after all one Guardian Angel can have more than one charge in their time." The High Angel clarified. "But," she continued. "They share a bond that helps the angel survive in the mortal plane. A plane that differs from here in that there is no balance of emotions and feelings, therefore causing instability in the angel's mind."

When she saw most of her students, save a few who were the exception, stared at her with a blank face, she smiled.

"In other words, no charge equals big headache."//

***

Taichi was bored.

It had been half and hour since he had been scolded for not keeping up with the line, and he found that there really was nothing to do. Listening to the other people's mind had lost its allure after the first tried had only brought forth more complaining, and he didn't want to engage the man behind him in any type of conversation. He knew he was supposed to be helpful to mortals, but he needed to draw the line somewhere. Besides he was still a long way from entering the building and it was getting to him.

"Excuse me, Miss?" Taichi asked the woman in front of him. She looked to be in her mid-twenties he noticed as she turned to look at Taichi in confusion.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Lovely day we're having, huh?"

It hadn't stopped raining completely but it had lessened considerably. Still it was in no way a lovely day.

She looked at him a bit oddly and was starting to turn around when he stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, don't turn around! I'm bored." He said quickly.

The woman –Dina, he Sensed- ignored him and walked up to her new place now the line had moved.

He frowned at her dismissal and then walked up the few steps so the man behind him wouldn't become altered. 

"What do you want me to do about your boredom?" He heard her say without turning around.

"I don't know. Tell me about how you lost/misplaced/or had your documents stolen."  He said promptly. He could've just as easily taken that information from her mind, but Taichi found it was better to ask the person. Besides he found he was quite charming and it was nice to talk to people about whatever came to mind. They said things differently.

"I didn't lose my documents." She said puzzled and turned to look at him. "I'm here to renew them."

"Re-... This isn't the... This is..."

At his broken sentences her eyes widened in understanding. "Oh, I'm sorry. Lost or stolen documents is that line over there." She pointed at the shortest line in the place. "I know this because I had to come with my sister a few months back after her purse was stolen."

Taichi nodded a bit dazedly and thanked her.

As he walked towards the short line which was clearly marked 'Lost/Stolen Documents', Taichi couldn't help but reaffirm his belief that he was the source of amusement of more than one deity up above.

He opened the door and saw that he wasn't wrong when he thought the line continued inside. Curled in a spiral shape was a line – or was it coil? - that arrived to his destination, and it was filled with more than just three people. Taichi could only laugh.

***

It was late in the afternoon by the time Taichi arrived to his apartment, and he was cursing the mortal way of organizing things. Or rather, cursing their lack of organizational skills. Things were definitely more efficient up above, and that was without the help of what the mortals like to refer to as magic.

Before heading to his room where he was sure he would plop on the bed to never rise, Taichi made a quick stop to the kitchen where the only functioning phone in the house was located. The answering machine stated that there were ten new messages, and he pressed the play button while starting on making a sandwich. It was something easy, and he had fallen in love with them back when most people had no idea what they were.

Beep.

--Taichi, it's me Kari. You haven't forgotten Iori's initiation, have you? Hm, it's the next new moon. Try to be there on time. --

Whirl. Beep.

--Tai, I left my palm back in your coffee table. Can you orb it back up...? You know what? Never mind. I'll flash by tomorrow and get it. --

Whirl. Beep.

--Hah! Sora got in touch with me, and guess what? I have prospect charges for you, my dear friend. So come by and pick them up or I'm orbing them to you.  And don't think I'm not mad, because I am. The last time you came by you left just as soon as you'd read the charges notebook. Sheesh, can you be a bit ruder? I always knew you had no manners. Anyway, I think --

Whirl. Beep.

Taichi chuckled as he imagined the smaller woman's expression at being cut off by a machine. If he knew her at all, he was sure the other messages were from her as well. As he mounted layer upon layer of cheese, lettuce and whatever else he could think of putting on his sandwich, he saw that he was almost right.

The last one was most definitely not her voice.

--Hi, Mr. Yagami. Er, this is embarrassing. My niece seems to have taken something that belongs to you, a wallet. Um, I don't know whether to take it or if you have to come for it... I'll leave you my number anyway. --

Taichi heard the youthful voice state his address and telephone and the message ended. The youth's innocence bothered him. Didn't the kid know he could be a murderer or a rapist and just as easily go kill him now that he had been given his address? He was also restraining the frustrated scream that wanted to make its way out.

What had he done do deserve such teasing from all deities? They loved toying with him. And after he went through all that trouble getting new documents so he wouldn't get in trouble with them.

Hearing the machine state in its robotic monotone that there were no more messages, he gave it a lingering glare and took his rather large sandwich with him to his room. Outside the sun was only beginning to set.

His room was in the same mess he'd left it to be for the last week. He had never been a neat person, and these days there was little that motivated him to have a clean bedroom. At least when Koushirou was staying over said angel became exasperated enough that he didn't have to do all the cleaning himself. His sister was also a neat freak as well, but her cleaning came with girly music and general insults in his direction. Then again, it was odd that he see his sister, so he didn't mind her quirks.

He let himself fall on his bed and waited for the blonde angel that was sure to orb in at any moment with the list of prospect charges. Maybe getting a new charge would help shake off the incredible pounding in his head.

***

//"See the ripples, petit? See how they crash with each other, how some cancel each other out, and how sometimes they become bigger ripples?"

The young girl looked down from her spot in the edge of the bridge to see said ripples in the water. The wind and a little duck were causing them and she was quick to point it out to her papa.

"Yes, it's true." He chuckled picking her up and placing her atop his shoulders. She giggled and he continued with his prior path of conversation. "You are a good ripple, Clarisse."

Upon hearing her name, something her father rarely used as he showered her with every pet name he could think of she looked at the top of his head. "You're a good ripple too, papa."

Invisible to them both, though the little girl felt his presence, Taichi smiled. He could tell she wasn't following her father's path of thinking, she was too young to completely understand, but her mind had understood part of what her father meant. He always knew she was a bright one.

"Guess whose birthday is coming up soon." Clarisse heard her papa say while he walked away from the bridge. She jumped a bit on his shoulder excited at his words and quickly responded 'mine!'

When her papa lowered her to the ground, both guardians, one mortal the other one immortal, watched her spin around in obvious glee, and smiled. //

He had been dreaming about her more lately.

They were bittersweet dreams because, though pertaining to happy moments, he knew the inevitable outcome. And the sweet image was marred by the knowledge of what came next.

With troubled thoughts and dreams of a little girl's laughter, Taichi continued to sleep.

***

He woke up the next day to find that the list of charges had been left on his bedside table; yet the first thing Taichi decided to do was take a shower. He had neglected to do so the night before and he was planning on leaving as early as possible to finish some errands.

The shower was a quick one, most days he enjoyed spending more time than was healthy inside the water-sprouting device, but he kept feeling as if something important was to happen.

The sky was clear that morning, the sun up and shining as if yesterday's rain had been nothing more than a passing problem, not to be thought of anymore. As Taichi made his way to the address he had been given the day before, he hummed a song he had been hearing quite a lot in the radio. Traffic was slow, his steps were light, and as he made his way closer to the home of the holder of his wallet, the apprehension he had been feeling earlier grew to an unmistakable sense of impending doom.

Takeru lived in a small house in the outer parts of the district. A small house with a garden that immediately brought the image of a wife and children to Taichi's mind. But he couldn't Sense the feeling those two things produced. In fact, if his Sense was in the right, Takeru lived here alone.

Taichi made his way through the steps and was about to ring the doorbell when he sensed someone's presence in the garden on the other side of the house. It was a presence that was welcomed by the surroundings, so he made his way down the steps and followed the path that led to the garden to see if this was the Takeru he was looking for.

What greeted him was a sight he was not expecting.

Yamato Ishida was kneeling on the ground carefully pulling out bad weeds from the garden.

A strangled sound left Taichi's throat before he was able to restrain it, and startling blue eyes turned to meet his.

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To Be Continued…

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