Path to the Truth [Oracle]

[Hanajima Satori]

It was with caution that Satori made his way to the structure that stood before him. However, this was a journey that he had to make.

The Angels in Heaven called it "The House that darkened the Light of Heaven". It was something from a ghost tale, a child's tale, and yet it was the only lead that Satori had. The children's tale of a Heavenly being protected by the abilities of the Shijin. The one that would take you in your sleep if you were bad, and not even your parents would be able to stop it. Not even the Kings.

The Oracle. The Wrath of the Shijin incarnated.

But he was the only one who would know anything about Tsubasa. The only one who had been discriminated by her for no reason. The only one with enough information about her for him to really tell if she was good or evil, if she was trying to do what was right for Heaven.

Shuddering on the inside, he knocked on the door.

[Oracle]

Oracle appeared behind the stranger, and watched him as he attempted to knock on the door to his abandoned home. It seemed that he was not here on his own free will, otherwise he would not have been trembling as much.
He smiled.
Oracle used the power of his void magic to glide behind the intruder undetected. The grin stayed on his face as he bent his head over, bringing his mouth close to the perpetrators neck. He silently smelled its crawling flesh and instantly figured that it was a male at his door. He licked his lips as he glanced at the man's left cheek soaked in sweat.
<Well,> he thought to himself. <This should be interesting.>

[Hanajima Satori]

He felt a small, breathy pull at the hairs on the nape of his neck, the hairs standing straight because of his state of panic. He froze, not knowing what to do at all. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know what it was that was behind him. He knocked again, his hand shaking this time.

Behind you, he heard Aura, his spirit, in his mind. He didn't want to , but he swallowed hard, palms wet and shaking, forcing himself to action.

Turning around suddenly, he wasn't sure what to expect.

[Oracle]

Oracle smiled as he looked at the man, knowing that the stranger would not be able to see within his hood. He could see the terror on the man's face. His long black bane covered the forming sweat beads on his forehead. He could see his glasses slowly start to slip off his nose. Even though he could easily tell that he was not here on his own free will, he did notice one unique aspect of the intriguing intruder.
He was cute, especially when he's frightened.
"Can I help you, sir?" he said somewhat sensually.

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori was relieved, in part, at this stranger's politeness. He sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose, and allowed himself to answer, his voice much more calm than before but still on edge. This being before him looked almost...celestial; the records about him were very vague about his appearance, and from what Satori could both with his spiritual and normal vision was that he did not have wings of any kind, which was odd for any sort of angel. He supposed however, that The Oracle would look however the Shijin had meant him to look.

The thing that frightened him most of all, however, had been The Oracle's voice; it sounded...persuasive, as though he was trying to get Satori to agree to something that had not yet been laid out on the table. It felt...like he was being pressured about nothing. And the only other person who had ever made him feel this way was the Sanada Tomoyo--the memory of her voice only served to frighten him more, but Satori held himself under control. He only wanted to ask about Tsubasa and his past experiences with her. To find out how she had treated the others in Heaven before her death...

"I...are you The Oracle?" he bowed deeply, in the way that a being created directly by the Shijin deserved. "...I have...s-something to ask of you..." Bringing up the arm of a long sleeve, he wiped his brow, feeling the sweat that had gathered there.

[Oracle]

Oracle looked at the man with the glasses and almost sighed. There was a radiance about this questionable person that Oracle seemed to like. Beside the fact that he already found the man cute, especially with the round glasses perked on his nose, there was an innocence to him; an innocence that seemed almost calming to him because Oracle was not used to.
And just because of this, Oracle found him interesting.

Oracle used his power over the void and created a napkin within his left hand. As he used the napkin to dab the man's brow, he smiled as he thought about how far he could take this.
"My goodness," he said as he continued to gently pet the perspiration off the man's forehead. "You are sweating something awful now, aren't you?"
He smiled as he drew closer.
"Yes, I am Oracle," he said quietly. "What was it that you wanted to ask me?"

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori felt uncomfortable; he was sweating far too much; he should have not been this nervous with such a kind person. He should not have jumped to conclusions about anything. The Oracle being a vicious being was, apparently, nothing but a child's bedtime story, and therefore it was not true. The Oracle seemed to be--

What it now...I'm not sure what he is capable of... Aura said.

He thought back to her, masking his thoughts from his host as he did so, I was no expecting you to be able to read him; he's the product of the Shijin--they would not be the type to make his purpose clear.

Deciding that his being nervous was in fact, ridiculous, Satori, briefly tilted his hands upward in a sharp motion, and a gust of air fell over him, drying his sweat and making him feel much better. There was no need for the napkin now, though he still thanked his host for the offer.

Knowing that Tsubasa was a matter that should not be discussed outside under any circumstances, Satori said politely, "I am an Elder from the First of Heaven. Please, as the matter of discussion is very delicate, allow me to step inside."

[Oracle]

Oracle smiled a little, seeing as if it would be the only part of his face the man would be able to see as long as his hood stayed over his head. The fact that he asked him into his old home had him thinking many thoughts at the same time. But weirdly, out of all the thoughts racing through Oracle's mind, the thought of running Oracle's fingers through the man's hair was the one that stuck with him the most. And for a minute, he honestly wanted to know what it felt like.

Oracle reached with his right hand toward the man. His hand slowly headed toward him, but he did not reach for his hair. Instead, his hand started to head toward the man's left side of his waist. When he approached it, his hand seemed to feel it a bit, until it went past him and grabbed the door knob to the entrance to his home. He stood a little closer to the long-haired man, keeping his smile on his face and looking at him within the darkness of his hood.
"Sure you can come in," he said. "So you know about me; what's your name?"

[Hanajima Satori]

The Oracle definitely reminded him of Tomoyo. The way that he spoke; the way that he seemed to imply unscrupulous action with every word. However, that compared the possibility of being killed by The Oracle for his insolence was something that Satori could and would appreciate--and so he did not complain.

The Oracle opened the door, and the question slipped out without thought, "...do you know the Sanada Tomoyo?" It was only after he said it that he realized that The Oracle had asked him for his name at the same moment.

Sighing with an embarassed flush, he said, "I am Hanajima Satori. You may remember that my sister, Hanajima Osaka, served with Tsubasa during her Kingship...? I am her older sibling."

[Oracle]

Oracle huffed as the man named Satori mentioned the name "Tsubasa". It was such a long time since he heard that name uttered from anyone's lips, especially ones as gentle looking as his.
Hmm, he thought to himself. I wonder what they taste like?

He opened the door to his house and waited until Satori entered after him to close the door. He then took his attention off the door knob and back at his unexpected guest. But before allowing anything else to escape the boundaries of his own lips, Oracle gently, yet seductively, licked his lips as he prepared his mouth for the words about to escape it.

"It has been a while since I heard of Tsubasa; I presumed she was dead by now," Oracle explained. "The last thing I remember about her was that I was carrying out... errands for her." He then walked toward Satori.

"And to answer your question," he said as he slowly walked toward his guest, "I have known Tomo for quite a while. We were lovers for a good while before he married." Oracle almost didn't want to get into detail about his situation with his ex-lover now turned best friend. But when he saw the blush from Satori's face when he asked the question, Oracle seemed to once again fall under his spell of innocence that made him want him.

He smiled. "I fell in love with his male form," Oracle replied. "Since our first engagement, he would approach me in his male form ever since, even to this day." He chuckled. "I must say it was a very stimulating experience."

Oracle then finally took advantage of this moment once he became close enough to Satori to perform physical contact. He raised his hand and swayed Satori's black hair away from his eyes, allowing him a chance to feel his hair. After a sudden pause, he couldnt help but to stroke it down the path of his neck. He smiled, liking the texture of his hair.
"It's good to meet you, Satori," he said with a warmness in his name.

Oracle sat on a couch behind the two, and gestured for Satori to accompany him. "So, Satori-chan," he said, once again using a sensual accent of warmness to his name, "what was it that you want to discuss with me?"

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori was very nervous about his answer. "She was dead," he said in reply to The Oracle's first statement. "However, she was resurrected and her soul given a new body. There are a few people in Heaven who are alive by the same doings..." he did not bother to say that he was the one now overseeing those operations; he did not say that it was the undead Tsubasa that was forcing him to do that cruel work.

To The Oracle's comments about Tomo, Satori nodded sadly. There was one time that he had been in love with the Sanada Tomoyo as well. That had been in his past, though, before he had seen how happy Miyazawa Chiyo had been with her. Before he had seen how happy she had been with Ren. The Sanada and he had decided to just be friends--or, at least, Satori had decided to stop pining over her in recent times--and so the two were still connected and Satori could easily understand The Oracle's predicament. And so he didn't physically say anything.

Because Satori had once known Tomoyo, he was not fazed by the display of lack of concern for his personal boundaries by The Oracle. In addition to that, Oracle was of higher rank than himself, and so Satori knew that even if he had wanted to object, it would not have been polite to do so unless it was unbarable or he was being put in physical danger. Brushing the hair out of his eyes did not fall into either of those categories, and therefore Satori said nothing to this as well.

It wasn't until The Oracle had sat on a comfortable looking couch that Satori spoke, telling the Oracle all about why he had come.

"Tsubasa has been doing...questionable things in Heaven. I do not know much about her past, but the other Kings and such tell me that she used to be much better. You, by rumor, are a large, secret portion of her past. I would like to know as much about her as you can remember. The story is almost as old as I am, I know, but it is important..."

[Oracle]

Oracle nodded in response, understanding Satori's reason for seeking him out. He placed his right hand on the arm rest of the couch and smiled a bit.
Well, he thought, I guess he's worth it.
He reached his left hand and took off his hood. He shook his head to allow the volume to his white hair return.
"Well," Oracle started, trying to pull off a sensual tone in his voice, "unfortunately, I can only recall one scenario in which I was engaged in Tsubasa's work. I am truly sorry. Would you like to hear about it?"
Oracle then looked at Satori with a smile as he looked at him, making sure his mezmerising greenish hazel eyes locked with Satori's own as he leaned on his left hand.
"By the way," Oracle said. "You have very beautiful eyes."

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori blushed without meaning to. He hadn't been trying to extract compliments from The Oracle; he had only wanted information. But he supposed that things would be alright even with this development. He wanted The Oracle to like him; there were many tales of what would happen to a person if The Oracle didn't like them.

"Thank you," Satori said sheepishly. "But yes, I would like to hear about it. This is for the good of Heaven, of course, which I am sure you can understand. We have lost a lot recently, and we are trying to recover in case Hell begins an attack on us..."

[Oracle]

Oracle continued to smile as he continued admiring Satori's looks secretly. Having heard both responses to his statements, Oracle took in a breath to prepare himself to speak.
"I used to be a hitman for Tsubasa," Oracle said. "Like I told you before; my memory is very foggy regarding her. But from what I remember, she was a real bitch. I despised her, actually. She was the main reason why I became unattracted to women for a good season." Oracle chuckled to himself. "Well, I guess that wasn't a total loss. Anyway, the last job she required was the assassination of a certain angel; a Hakaisha Abbadon. I didn't understand why she would want an angel as insignificant to herself like Abbadon dead. I guess he was going to start some kind of rebellion or something. It didn't seem right for me to kill him. So instead, I decided to have some fun. Along with my power over void, I was able to alter Abbadon's mindset and made him believe that instead of being an angel that he was the most powerful demon that ever graced Hell."
Oracle sighed.

"Then," he continued, "I turned him mortal and sent him into the Mortal Realm. I figured that Tsubasa wouldn't notice his existence there, since his power was halved instantly. Plus, he would have died from the Mortal Realms conditions anyway. I never told her, plainly because I didn't really care anymore. By that time, she had already made me change my mind about my sexuality and I retreated to the seventh layer of Hell." Oracle then smiled. "That's when I first met Tomo," he started. "He had this aura about him that made me want to gravitate around him instantly. It was the first time I ever looked at someone and thought to myself, from now on, I want you in my life. Nothing else matters but what I feel right now. It wasn't lust; lust is a napkin used to blow a nose and then tossed in the trash. No, not lust. This was something more."

Oracle closed his eyes and shook his head slowly. "Forgive me," he said as he accidentally placed his left hand on one of Satori's free hands. Oracle noticed instantly and once again, looked into Satori's deep eyes. He blushed uncontrollably as he was instantly able to read him.
"Well," he said with a smile, "I guess Tomo is something we have in common."

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori blushed deeply as well as The Oracle concluded that they had something in common. Tomo was a common link for most people in Heaven and Hell, considering she ruled one now and used to rule the other; Satori did not understand how Tomo could live, so isolated, so alone even when there were others around her; she was the only one of her kind. The only First Fallen. And unjustly, according to her own story about the event. She'd had no chance to redeem herself, and that much Satori knew was true. She was the only one done wrong by Heaven who had supposedly done something about it.

However, Satori's blush was pensieve. The Oracle had given him the information that he needed; Tsubasa was doing bad things. Underhanded things, including taking advantage of those who were an asset to Heaven.

"There are a lot of other charges against her," Satori said, trying to distract from his blush and keep the conversation on business. "There are rumors that she had a direct hand in Yamazaki Rei's fall from Heaven, and that she tried to forcefully reform one of our own civilians, Rei's twin sister Ren. There are other things as well. Some are actually of the opinion that she is the reason behind Tohru-sama's disappearance.

"Your story scares me, Oracle. I would never wish the fate of anyone dying by a hand other than the one who wishes it is cowardly, and Tsubasa should know that as our main Military Commander. She should not be acting this way, and if I can get you to help me to prove her guity of her crimes, then we can help make Heaven a better place.

"But first, I have to ask--what happened to the Angel? We have to help him; we have to make him back to the way that he was!!"

[Oracle]

Oracle's face turned serious after hearing those words escape Satori's mouth. But he did not show any anger in his face. He had to remember that Satori didn't know Abbadon was not his favorite person as of late. He sighed as he prepared to speak.
"Well," he started, "he is still alive. Unfortunately through the years, we kind of developed a vendetta between us. He wants me dead, and its sort of vice versa."
He looked away from Satori and lowered his head a bit.
"Besides," he said. "He already has the ability to turn himself back to his regular form; maybe into a stronger being."
He looked at Satori again. "Ever heard of the 'Sword of Darkness'?"

[Hanajima Satori]

[You realize that for this to be an official item, you have to write up the concept for it and post it in the suggestions board to be approved? You should go and do that...by the way, I defined some details of the sword for you in this post; things that should help you out. If you had a different idea and you wanted me to change my description, send me a PM on Tomo's account.]

As the Official Record Keeper for the vast library up in the Seventh Layer, he had come across many of the references in the ancient books about such an artifact. He didn't really enjoy reading about the Shijin's power manifested--it was dangerous, and usually left Satori with the feeling that the Kings' revolt against them had been anticipated, as though they had implanted many of these artifacts just to get back at them for their sins.

"Ah...yes...well...I mean..." he fiddled with his glasses. "Yes, I have read a little about it. Not all that information is available. Apparently, it is an artifact passed down from Kouryuu's family--its more of a sword of Chaos magic than darkness...ah...I'm not really sure how it works, though...Because its been in Kouryuu's family, and he has no Main Family, there is much to be desired in terms of information about it. The wielder is currently unknown..."

I do not like this Oracle, Aura, his currently invisible Elemental Spirit said from somewhere behind him. I do not want you to be here. He is too involved with this Abbadon...

Satori said nothing in response to her, smiling kindly as he asked tentatively, "You don't...wield the sword...do you?"

[Oracle]

Oracle shook his head, still showing off a grin. "No," he said as looked forward. "No, I do not own such a blade. Abbadon, however, found wind of the blade around the time I turned him mortal. I do not know how, nor do I know why he wields the blade. All I know is that I have seen him in action with it. From what it seems, he has almost tapped into all of its power. The sword can either mend or separate a beings emotions from his body. The limit of power coming from this sword I have no doubt is almost limitless. But the one thing I do know is that once used correctly, the Sword of Darkness can be used to transform a being of flesh into a being it once was in a past life. Meaning if Abbadon can learn to use the sword's power fully, he can turn himself back into an Archangel."

Oracle then looked at Satori again with his flattering smile. "Why, Satori?" he asked. "Do you have a plan already?"

[Hanajima Satori]

Satori shook his head, another blush tinging his cheeks. He didn't have a plan yet. He hadn't expected the sword to come up as s subject between them. However, he would make sure to keep the information about the sword hidden; there were too many beings in Heaven that would actually want the sword to use for their own benefit. He couldn't have that. Especially Tsubasa.

"I must ask that...you do not share the information of the sword with any other beings. I think that it would lead to too much turmoil. Heaven is already in disarray--we cannot handle a civil war over such a sword while Hell still stands as a threat to us. We've attacked Hell without provocation too many times for them to not take advantage of such an opportunity."

Of course, Satori would have to put the information that he had just heard in the archives of Heaven's library. He would do it in the dead of night, when no one would be paying attention. He couldn't allow the information to fall into the wrong hands, and only a few angels--the ones that Satori didn't see as a threat--ever visited the Library of the seventh Layer.

"However, at the same time...I do not have a plan. I would prefer for the actual sword to remain in the Mortal Realm, though--I think it would cause less trouble there."

[Oracle]

Oracle nodded. "Yes, I agree," he said. "Over the years Abbadon has seemed to develop that of a conscious for certain people. He developed a bond over a pupil he had; a spy of mine called DarkCloud." He looked at Satori. "You see the irony I tend to suffer every time I tried to gather information on him." He then looked forward again.

"I currently have someone else detecting his movements," Oracle continued. "His name is Shadow Akuma. So far I have my doubts that he will stay on my side anymore either. He has a sister that's vacationing in Paris; I plan on visiting her in disguise to see if she is involved. And if she is, I hope to get a location."

Oracle looked at Satori, echoing a sweet innocence about him; something you wouldn't normally find on his face. "Tell me, Satori," he said sweetly as a smile crept on his face. "What did you first hear about me?"