Disclaimer: Please see the Prologue of Suzaku's Oracle for a blanket disclaimer.

.

Warnings: Rated PG-13 or Fiction T.

.

Notes: 3-17-14 Chapter five ended with some unexplained new characters. As promised, they're back! Along with them, another character I can't believe I waited thirteen chapters to reintroduce. Yes, re-introduce. This character appeared in the prologue. ~Sapphire

.

.

.

Oracles of the Four Gods

"Suzaku's Oracle"

By: Sapphire

.

Part Thirteen ~ Absent

.

…...

.

"Good, I'm glad the three of you could come so quickly," Taiitsukun said, addressing the young men and young woman before her. "I must speak with you on a matter concerning Suzaku no Orakuru."

"Has she finally come to Mt. Daikyouku?" the blond woman asked, excitement sparkling in her blue eyes as she flashed a grin at the hopeful young man opposite her.

"No, Kaori. She is still in Konankoku," Taiitsukun answered.

"Why is she still there?" Taiitsukun turned to the speaker, Wataru, Genbu no Orakuru. "Aneko was brought to this world more than a week ago. Shouldn't she be here? With us?"

This young man was by far Taiitsukun's favorite of the oracles. Often silent, he tended toward watching what went on around him, mulling things over in his mind. His occasional observations were often right on the mark, illustrating the intelligence behind his green eyes. This instance was no exception. Wataru had pinpointed the mystical one's exact reason for gathering them together.

"That is precisely the problem," Taiitsukun affirmed.

"Is Aneko all right?" Taiitsukun sighed inwardly as she turned to the other young man before her. Worry lines lightly creased his forehead, his emerald eyes searching her ancient, craggy face for reassurance. Danno, Seiryu no Orakuru, was Taiitsukun's least favorite of the oracles. As far as Taiitsukun could tell, he excelled only at moping about, longing for his Aneko. How irritating. Now it seemed she would have to put up with it longer than she'd anticipated.

"Suzaku no Orakuru is safe within the confines of the Imperial Palace in Konan's capitol," Taiitsukun answered him. Danno visibly relaxed, and Taiitsukun knew she would have his undivided attention for the time being.

"Why is she there?" Kaori asked, perplexed. "Does it have anything to do with the Suzaku Warrior we saw when Wataru and I went to retrieve her?"

"Chichiri of the Suzaku Seven did bring her to the Imperial Palace," Taiitsukun told her, "though it isn't his doing that Aneko has not journeyed to my mountain."

"Was I right that someone else was keeping Kaori and I from Aneko?" Wataru queried.

"Yes," Taiitsukun confirmed. "It was the beast god Suzaku who barred you from her."

"Suzaku!" all three oracles exclaimed.

"But… Why?" Danno asked. Taiitsukun heaved a heavy sigh.

"As each of you were brought into this world by your respective gods, the part of you that makes you an oracle was awakened, and then you were left to my care. It is up to me to ensure you understand the importance of your roles here, and prepare you for it," Taiitsukun explained. "For some reason unknown to me, Suzaku has interfered directly with the way in which things are supposed to be done. The beast god deliberately placed Aneko in Chichiri's path, making certain he found her.

"What you are unaware of is that if any of the Shichiseishi live at the time of an oracle's coming, the gods are to keep them separated until the oracle has obtained the powers promised to him or her by the gods," Taiitsukun continued. "Why Suzaku would choose to alter the order of things is unclear. What is clear is that Suzaku did intentionally interfere. I know, because while Chichiri brought Aneko to the Imperial Palace, Tasuki was making his way toward the Imperial Capital as Suzaku's urging where he would also meet Suzaku no Orakuru."

"But why?" Wataru asked thoughtfully. "Why would Suzaku alter what he and the other gods had laid out for us?"

"That is the question," Taiitsukun agreed. "What's more, Suzaku has spoken directly with the two Seishi, and Aneko."

"But you said we shouldn't expect to communicate with our guardian god again until we were ready for our task!" Kaori exclaimed.

"That is the way it's supposed to be," Taiitsukun replied. "The trouble is, the longer Aneko is in this world, the more things concerning her are as they shouldn't be."

"It can't be Aneko's fault," Danno defended Suzaku no Orakuru. "How could she know what's expected of her if no one told her?"

"Settle down," Taiitsukun commanded him. "I do not place any blame on Aneko. This is Suzaku's doing. Suzaku has made certain that I am unable to make contact with Aneko, though I have tried repeatedly." This news stunned her audience. Two pairs of green eyes and one pair of blue stared at her in disbelief. To them, she seemed all-powerful. Taiitsukun sighed to herself. It simply wasn't so. Her power stemmed from the four gods. Ultimately, it was they who controlled this world.

"Another thing that troubles me is Aneko's ability to tap into her power as oracle has come on her at full potential," Taiitsukun informed them. "It is expected, after being awakened, that some of your powers should begin to manifest at lower levels, such as Danno's emerging control of his life force, Kaori's ability to transport herself from place to place, and Wataru's ability to move the wind. Aneko, however, has already demonstrated she can use the full force of the Celestial Warrior Tamahome's power."

"How?" Danno asked, incredulous, his worry evident. "You told us it would take time to develop the ability to use the Shichiseishis' powers. Wouldn't that hurt her?"

"Using your god-given power wouldn't harm any of you," Taiitsukun replied calmly. For once, she'd gotten a sensible question out of Seiryu no Orakuru. "It does, however, require a tremendous amount of energy which none of you are accustomed to using. At worst, it would exhaust you, making you sleep for days, which is precisely what happened to Aneko." Taiitsukun let Danno, Wataru, and Kaori mull that over for a moment before continuing. "I do not believe the demonstration was a conscious effort on Aneko's part. I believe the dire circumstances of the situation she was in at the time triggered her power, and the strain of her intense emotions were the driving force behind her power. She was lucky her power was so effective against her attackers."

"Attackers?!" Danno exclaimed, jumping up, a blue symbol flaring as it appeared on his forehead. "If someone hurt her..."

"Sit down at once!" Taiitsukun barked. "Calm yourself. The situation has been dealt with." She steadied an intense gaze on the young man until he pulled himself together and sat back down on the blue cushion, ready to pay attention again. "I already told you that Aneko is, at this moment, safe inside Konan's Imperial Palace. See to it that you remember that for the remainder of this conversation." Danno nodded, his face pale at the reprimand. "I have one last thing to discuss with the three of you."

"More?" Kaori was beginning to look overwhelmed.

"When Suzaku spoke to Seishi and Orakuru, I was allowed to know only one thing that transpired between them," Taiitsukun related. "Suzaku warned them of a great evil that has descended upon this world. I, too, have felt this evil, and believe it may very well be the reason for Suzaku's interference."

"What kind of evil?" Wataru wanted to know. "I'm guessing it's going to have something to do with us, too."

"You are right to think the responsibility of this will fall to your shoulders," Taiitsukun said, pleased with his assessment. "As to the entity itself," Taiitsukun continued, "there is only one thing I can tell you for certain. From the time I was first aware of its presence, it appears to have grown in power, and it continues to grow."

"It's getting stronger?" Kaori asked fearfully.

"What can we do to stop it?" Danno asked, exchanging a wary look with Wataru. "Can we stop it?" he asked, turning to Taiitsukun. The ancient one sighed.

"We don't know enough about this evil and what it's capable of," she told them. "For now, we must watch and wait. The nature of evil is destructive. It will not hide forever. It will show itself in time."

.

…...

.

Taiitsukun dismissed Danno, Kaori, and Wataru, but not until after she bid them remain at her palace for the time being and had Nyan-Nyan show them to their rooms. Danno had no interest in the room's appointments and went straight to the window. Leaning down, he resting his elbows on the windowsill and stared out across the mystical mountain. He was so disappointed.

After arriving in this world more than a month ago, and being brought to Mt. Daikyouku that first time, he had been looking forward to reuniting with Aneko. Taiitsukun had promised him that she would come, and they would be together again. Aneko's eventual arrival had made him so happy, and he'd waited excitedly while Kaori and Wataru were sent to retrieve her. Danno had tried to be patient at the unexpected delay when his fellow oracles returned to the mountain without her.

A week later and she was still far out of his reach. This latest news, that Taiitsukun had no way of bringing her here, was hard to take. Danno missed her!

Looking back, he wished he'd called her that night, told her he would be late. Instead he'd missed his last chance to speak with her before he'd disappeared from that world altogether. Aneko must have been worried sick. More so when he inevitably turned up missing. Danno felt he owed her an apology for that, even if he'd had no control over his coming to this world.

Danno heaved a depressed sigh. With a fervent prayer, he asked Seiryu to please keep her safe. Danno could wait an eternity for her, if he had to, so long as he knew she was all right.

.

…...

.

.

To be continued…

.

End Note: Now you know who the four oracles are. This shouldn't have come as a surprise to you. This story is called "Oracles of the Four Gods" after all. In the world inside the book of the Universe of the Four Gods, a lot of importance was placed on prophesies and legends. Taiitsukun herself seems to place a lot of store in them. It made a lot of sense to me that there would be prophesies and legends surrounding the existence of the oracles, though those stories wouldn't necessarily be common knowledge. Not even the priestesses and celestial warriors know them, though I think it entirely possible Chichiri could have come across mention of them during his years on Mt. Daikyouku. That doesn't mean he took any particular note of them, though. Also, it would be possible that other records of oracle legends might exist elsewhere in that world, though they would most likely be rare. ~Sapphire

.