Disclaimer: Please see the Prologue of Suzaku's Oracle for a blanket disclaimer.
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Warnings: Rated PG-13 or Fiction T.
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Notes: 4-1-16 In the chapter nineteen Notes, I mentioned I kept track of Aneko's dreams, premonitions, and visions. That's not all I kept track of! I have two folders full of miscellaneous documents like that. One such document is the official timeline for OFG. In it, I note what day a chapter starts on (first day of the story, second day of the story, etc.), what day a chapter ends on (which effectively tells me how many days have passed in the story), and even the season and calendar date. It might seem a little OCD, but it's not! Keeping a timeline meant I knew when seasons should change, the phase of the moon, how long it had been between events, and so much more. ~Sapphire
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Oracles of the Four Gods
"Suzaku's Oracle"
By: Sapphire
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Part Twenty-five ~ Saddened Hearts
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Aneko sat on the steps leading up from a courtyard to the massive pavilion of Taiitsukun's palace. Leaning her forehead against the smooth coldness of the stone banister, a few tears traced their way down her cheeks. She was in a state of shock.
Tasuki's teasing had amused her, and embarrassed her a little, but in a way it had been flattering. If Tasuki felt he could include her in his teasing of Chichiri, even as indirectly as he had, then he must be beginning to think of her as a friend. And that had pleased her.
Except, when she had looked up at the roguish bandit, she'd seen something she hadn't been prepared to see. There had been a shadow, just beyond the doorway behind Tasuki. A very familiar shadow, one that often came to mind whenever she thought of home, like a hazy memory. This time it wasn't in her head, and she thought this might be her chance to trigger the answers she was sure were locked in her head somewhere.
Then the shadow moved, and passed into the light spilling from the well-lit dining room. For one brief moment the shadow was brilliantly visible, and that was all it took. A flood of memories hit her all at once and sent her reeling with the onslaught. She'd actually fallen out of her chair. Aneko let out a little sob and leaned more heavily against the banister.
"How could I not remember him?" she asked herself, incredulous. Danno, the man she'd once promised to spend the rest of her life with, who had died. Tears came more freely now, the feelings of loss washing over her once again. It felt like losing him all over again, to remember like this. Had the shadow really been Danno? "How could it?" she reminded herself. "Danno is dead." Had it been a ghost? A figment of her imagination? She couldn't be sure. All she knew was that she remembered everything.
Aneko was suddenly angry at herself. Foremost in her thoughts were the memories of the realization she'd come to as she'd walked through those woods outside Morioka, near the Shizuku Ichi Village. Her heart had twisted at the sight of Danno, grief over his death making itself acutely felt, but it was guilt that suddenly consumed her now.
Looking back, it had been so easy to let herself believe she'd been in love with Danno. It was no lie that Danno had been the best friend she'd ever had. The things he had wanted in life, Aneko had truly wanted them, too. They would have married, had children, found joy in watching them grow up, and then grown old together spoiling their grandchildren. When he'd died she'd been grief stricken- that was no sham. She truly mourned his death, and the loss of all those beautiful dreams. She was ashamed now, because her lies had kept him from finding someone else, someone better suited, to share those dreams with while he'd had the chance.
Her tears trailed steadily down her cheeks, falling to the silvery fabric of her skirt as she allowed herself to despise her own being. The only thing that she could truly say for herself was that, though she hadn't loved Danno with the all-consuming passion that he'd felt for her, she truly had cared very deeply for him. In fact, she'd loved him more than anyone else she'd ever known, and that was no exaggeration.
Since the day they'd met, he'd been there for her, and she had desperately needed that. Danno had seen her and treated her as something very special. Was it any wonder she'd thought herself in love with him? She didn't think so, but she couldn't deny the fact he had deserved better than that.
"I'm so shameless," she thought bitterly, wishing for all the world she was there, in a past time, wrapped up in the safe embrace of Danno's arms. More tears added to the dampness on her face and skirt. Danno was gone, dead. Her wish was impossible, but she wished it anyway. They'd been happy in their ignorance and she wanted it back. Memories of those days brought her into a reverie, and she allowed herself to drift into a daydream world with all the comfort it brought to her troubled mind. She didn't think twice when two strong arms slowly slipped around her. Aneko turned, and leaned into the warm embrace offered her. "This is how it should be," she vaguely thought. She felt so safe, like nothing could hurt her.
"Danno," she sighed, hugging him to her. Suddenly something was very wrong. The arms holding her stiffened, and she knew she'd made a terrible mistake. Danno was dead. Whoever was there with her... was not him. She drew away and looked up into the stunned face of Chichiri. "I- I'm so sorry, Chichiri. I- I didn't know what I was saying..." she trailed off, sensing she'd hurt him in some way with that single word.
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That name again. Chichiri had heard it before, and had wondered. Now he knew. The contented sigh she'd breathed while she slipped into his arms was evidence enough. This mysterious Danno was the man she loved. Why this knowledge disturbed him so much, made him freeze up, was beyond his conscious reasoning.
Aneko pulled away and looked at him with a stunned expression. She started to say something, but he couldn't make his brain comprehend. All he knew was she was distressed. Without wasting another moment, he forced a reassuring smile to his masked face.
"What's wrong?" Chichiri managed to ask. "Are you okay, no da?" Tears sprang anew to her eyes for no apparent reason. Chichiri watched her fight to control them, and calm herself.
"I'm so s- sorry," she stumbled over her words. "I should have known it wasn't... He's dead and I know- Chichiri, please forgive me." Suddenly she stood and ran up the steps, headed back into the palace. She didn't look back as Chichiri watched her go. He wondered why it hurt so much watching her run away.
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"Another minute, and then I'll chance it," Danno decided. Several minutes had passed since anyone set food in the corridor. He couldn't wait around forever. He'd barely finished the thought when Aneko came running back inside the palace. She didn't notice him through her tears as she ran right toward him, and then past. That was it. Danno couldn't take it any longer.
Heedless of being caught, Danno ran after Aneko. He temporarily lost her when she rounded a corner ahead of him and was nowhere in sight by the time he turned it, too. The slam of a door announced where she had gone. Danno cautiously approached the door and carefully leaned against it, listening for any signs of life within. What he heard was muffled, but there was no mistake that Aneko was still crying. More than anything, Danno wanted to open that door and go to her, but he realized he couldn't. Taiitsukun would be furious if he did. Dejected, he shoved his hands in his pockets and reluctantly stepped away from her door.
His fingers brushed against a smooth, convex object. Puzzled, he withdrew the object from his pocket, having no recollection of putting anything in it. His skin suddenly tingled on his lower right hip.
"Tomo?" he whispered, surprised, under his breath. "Then this must be…" Danno quickly looked up and down the corridor. It was empty. He slipped into the room next to Aneko's and took a cursory glance around. Relieved the room was not being used by any of Taiitsukun's guests, he shut the door quietly behind him. He carefully set the small shell on a stool and sat down in front of it. Danno reached for the shell, then hesitated. Taking a steadying breath, Danno opened the shell. He watched in awe as the open shell glowed with a faint, bluish light. A face appeared, gazing back at him, black eyes set behind a thick layer of makeup.
"I am Tomo, one of the Seiryu Seven," the translucent face in the shell said. "Are you the one who opened my shell, which I call Shin?" Danno nodded, dumbfounded. "Who are you?" Tomo asked him.
"Tomo is dead," Danno managed to get out. He'd thought nothing in this world would surprise him anymore. Strange things were always happening to him here.
"I am merely an illusion," Tomo said. "Who are you?" he repeated. Danno ignored him. He was too busy being surprised at himself for contemplating what he was very likely about to do. Could he do it, though? Aneko could use her power; there wasn't any reason he couldn't use his, he reasoned. But should he? Should he attempt what he'd been thinking since realizing he had a shin in his possession?
"I'm Seiryu no Orakuru," he told Tomo, making his decision. "I wish to use your power."
"The use of illusion can be tricky. Do you think you're up to it?" the illusion of Tomo inquired in a patronizing way.
"I can handle it," Danno replied with confidence. Tomo's smile had him narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the illusion. He wasn't sure he should fully trust this false Tomo. "Let's get one thing straight," Danno said firmly, "You aren't real. The face that I see is only an illusion of the real Tomo's making. I don't take orders from you. You listen to me."
"Of course..." Tomo responded obligingly. Danno's eyebrows raised dubiously. His instincts were telling him not to trust Tomo, or his illusion. His desperate desire to see Aneko subdued those instincts.
"Here's what I want to do..." Danno began, and proceeded to explain precisely what he had in mind.
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To be continued…
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End Note: This chapter and the next have undergone some major revision from my original posts. As I wrote in the End Notes for chapter eighteen, developing Danno has been a struggle. My big mistake with Danno was not taking the time to focus on his journey as the Oracle of Seiryu. I never illustrated the feelings and motives that drove him. That was very neglectful of me because Danno has such a huge influence on both the story and the characters. ~Sapphire
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