Disclaimer: Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play was created by Yu Watase, who has real claim to it, along with people at Pioneer Entertainment, Viz Media, Shogakukan, Flower Comics, Bandai, Studio Pierrot, TV Tokyo, and anyone else on this seemingly endless list that I forgot to mention. Fushigi Yugi characters were used without permission. This story was created for other Fushigi Yugi fans to enjoy. No money is being made from this fan fiction.
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Warnings: Rated PG-13 or Fiction T. Language (Tasuki's a main character, what do you expect?), minor violence, and adult situations.
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Notes: 7-11-13 Hi! I'm Sapphire. This is my writing debut! (Or, at least, it was, once upon a time.) You are about to read my story called "Suzaku's Oracle." It is the first 'book' in a trilogy I call "Oracles of the Four Gods." I originally began uploading this story while I was in college, back in 2002 under the title "Suzaku's Orakuru." Draconsis suggested I not mix English and Japanese in the title, and after thinking about it, I agreed with her. Now, in 2013, I've begun re-uploading all the chapters because they've undergone some major revisions in the last eleven years. I took reader reviews into consideration, as well as my own ideas and thoughts, and meticulously went through the entire completed three book manuscript. I sincerely hope you enjoy my efforts! ~Sapphire
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Introduction: When Yui and Miaka sealed away Suzaku and Seiryu, it created a rift in the balance of the Universe of the Four Gods. From that rift came a dark evil. For three years that evil has gone unnoticed and been allowed to grow. Now it threatens to destroy the very gods themselves. With Suzaku no Miko and Seiryu no Miko unable to return through the book to that world, there seems to be nothing that can stand in the way of the evil's power. Meanwhile, the stars of the Four Gods are about to align, an event that only comes once every 500 years. With this cosmic event, another danger exists, but in this there lies hope…
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Oracles of the Four Gods
"Suzaku's Oracle"
By: Sapphire
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Prologue ~ Cataclysm
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"I am so late," Danno Toya muttered to himself as he silently tried to will the stoplight to turn green. "Aneko is going to be irate." He impatiently drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the rapid swiping of the windshield wipers on the rain-spattered windshield. "This is the third time this week," he let the car roll forward a bit, "and I cancelled on her twice last week." He groaned. "Why did I have to go into advertising? Why couldn't I have a normal job, nine to five..." he trailed off as the stoplight finally turned green. "It's about time..." he mumbled.
The tires squealed as he hit the gas and sped across the empty intersection. As he raced along the street, pushing the speed of his car well past the posted limit, a strange blue light shot out of the center of the road. "What the hell?!" he shouted, cranking the wheel to the side, trying to avoid whatever was making the light. The tires did not respond well on the rain-slicked pavement, and the car slid sideways right onto the source of the light emanating from the ground. His eyes opened wide in terror as he saw his car careen toward a streetlight pole. He never felt the impact.
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An old, ancient face turned to an enormous, ornate mirror. She sensed a surge of power in the balance of the world. The surge had felt almost… elemental to her. The reflective glass of the mirror shimmered with the aftershock of the surge.
"Show me the origins of the disturbance," she commanded the mirror. The glass glimmered a moment, and a scene began to appear before her, revealing a dank, dirty, and deserted city alley. Well, almost deserted, she mentally noted. Lying in the damp gutter was a young man. He was a tall and lanky young man with dark blue-green hair and strange other world clothes. The old woman nodded to herself. "So the third has arrived," she mumbled, "Seiryu has finally called you."
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Unexpectedly there was a tremor in the very air he breathed. Chichiri looked around the council chamber, cautious not to let his agitation show. This was not the first time he had sensed something like this. He had felt something similar twice before, and each time his senses picked it up more sharply. He thought, perhaps, this was because he was coming to expect these tremors.
It was clear, after a moment, that the cause was not an immediate threat to himself or those around him. He settled back in his seat and turned his attention to the council. He noticed the Empress watching him, despite the outward appearance of the focus of her eyes. He shot her an apologetic look then turned to listen to what the Empress' chief advisor was saying.
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Tasuki looked around the camp. Men lay haphazardly around the fire, sleeping off the celebratory drinking that had taken place the night before. His eyes darted automatically to the inconspicuous supply crates that contained the loot they had taken the day before. All looked normal, though his Seishi senses alerted him to...something. He didn't know what it could be if it wasn't the obvious possibilities. The camp was secure; all the guards still stood at their posts. Nothing was amiss. And yet... Tasuki felt an indescribable urge to be moving. He didn't want to be where he was anymore.
"Maybe I'm just paranoid about the loot," Tasuki thought to himself. "I'll feel better when we get it safe up on Mt. Leikaku." It was time to wake up some lazy asses.
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Yoshi Toya looked at his sobbing wife as he hung up the phone. She knew. He sighed with a heavy heart, feeling mostly numb. The voice at the back of his head told him he ought to reach out to his wife. He took her up in his arms, crushing her to him, held her close. She buried her face in the collar of his shirt and continued to weep. Yoshi thought he should do something, say something, react somehow, but he had no desire to do so. He was empty of all feeling.
"Kuri," he mumbled soothingly. "Kuri." There were no other words to be said. What could one say if one tried? She already knew. That was enough to deal with for now. Details could be related later. He could figure out his own absent emotions later. There were things that needed to be done. Things that needed to be taken care of. But first, he had to comfort his wife. "Kuri." he said again, hugging her to him, rocking back and forth soothing her. "Kuri."
"He's gone," she sobbed. "Our son. My boy. Gone." Yoshi suddenly felt a wave of grief hit him. So powerful was the wave that he burst out into his own relentless sobs. The words, the simple truth of her words had brought it all home to him.
"Danno's gone," he replied through his own tears. "He's dead."
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Danno was late. He'd been late before, but not this late. It just wasn't like him, especially without word. Normally he would call, say he would be late. But not this time. And she was so worried. She had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if her internal organs were twisted into knots. What could have happened to him?
Aneko hated being worried sick like this. She decided she had to do something or she would go crazy. She reached for her phone and pressed the speed dial for his apartment. The other end of the line rang. Then it rang again. After the third ring, the answering machine picked up. "Moshi-moshi. Toya Danno here. I'm not home right now, as usual, so leave a message." There was a beep and then silence. She placed the handset back into the cradle. She didn't feel much like leaving a message. Staring out her apartment window at the street below, she thought a moment about what to do next. With an agitated sigh, she picked up the phone again, selecting a second number on her speed dial. She waited while the call went through and the phone on the other end rang.
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"Moshi-moshi. Toya Yoshi here," Yoshi glanced at his wife. They had both cried themselves out for the moment. They had debated leaving the phone to ring, but Yoshi had decided it might be the police again with more information. He waited for an answer, dread like a lump in his throat.
"Father Yoshi," a familiar but worried feminine voice replied nervously.
"Aneko." He thought he felt dread before he knew who was on the line. This was far worse. Kuri looked at him, tears welling up in her eyes anew. "Aneko, you sound troubled," Yoshi managed to say without sounding too upset.
"Father Yoshi, I'm worried, about Danno." The young woman sounded extremely agitated. "He's late, and he hasn't called. I don't know where he is. Have you heard from him at all?" She waited with nervous impatience for him to answer. The reply was long in coming.
"Aneko, you know that Mother Kuri and I love you like our own daughter, don't you?" he asked. There was a moment of silence on the other end.
"Of course," she said, then paused again. The silence was deafening to Yoshi. "What- what happened," Aneko said, fear foremost in her voice. "What's wrong? What happened to Danno?" She was almost desperate now.
"Aneko," Yoshi said, tears springing to his own eyes. He hated to be the bearer of bad news, and over the telephone as well. "Danno was in a crash," he said.
"What!" the woman was frantic. "Where is he? Is he okay? What hospital-"
"Aneko!" Yoshi was afraid she would never cease her tirade if he did not quell her rising anxiety immediately. She fell silent. "Aneko, I'm afraid it's bad," he said.
"How bad?" she managed to squeak back.
"He didn't make it," Yoshi said, emotion raw in his voice. He sniffed back the sobs that threatened to overtake him again. His wife lay a comforting hand on his arm. He could not look at her right then, afraid if he saw her tears he would break down once again, when Aneko needed him to be strong for her.
"Didn't...make...it?" she stumbled over the words in disbelief.
"He died instantly," Yoshi managed to relay over the cold, lifeless, and unfeeling telephone. He hated that thing right then.
"Died?" the word was barely a whisper.
"Yes," Yoshi said. "Aneko?" There was no reply, only silence, for a very long time. He waited patiently, until the silence dragged on far too long for his own comfort. "Aneko?" Yoshi felt nothing but compassion for the young woman on the other end of the line, sitting there all alone. There was still silence. He was beginning to become very worried when all of a sudden a faint whimper carried across the city through the wire. There was a loud clatter as the phone was undoubtedly dropped to the floor. Heart wrenching sobs followed, but there was nothing he could do. He could not reach out to her as he had his wife. She was alone. More than he really knew, she was alone.
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To be continued…
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End Note: Okay, I'm guessing you're thinking, "Who the heck are some of these people?" As you will soon learn, all will be answered in due time. More in chapter one. ~Sapphire
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