Chapter 7: The price of providence
The Star: Just got out of the station.
The Star: Gimme ten minutes, and I'll be there.
Kyoka pocketed her phone and started walking, ensuring she was heading to Dagobah beach. She didn't know why the others wanted to meet at a dump, but it was honestly not the weirdest place they could hang out (seeing as the last one was a maze of islands and monsters with the bonus of a giant snake).
Benzaiten hummed a melody inside Kyoka's mind, making her smile. Since she Awakened her Persona, Kyoka had been in a much better mood, having shaken off her funk, and she also noticed how her quirk changed into something more…liberating. Kyoka never understood the saying words to the wind so well, what with her jacks now plugged into the air itself.
Kyoka could hear everything. Words, whispers, feelings, and the very flow of the World, it was like the most beautiful and complex orchestra to ever exist, performing a neverending spectacle.
"Where were you all my life?" She let slip the whispered question, her lips parting in a smile.
"I was right beside you, always had and always will."Benzaiten's joyful chuckle filled her mind, "I am Thou, and Thou art I. We are one, my dear; even before I assumed this form, I was the other side of your coin."
"Am I going to start speaking fancy mumbo jumbo too?"
"Don't be a rascal now." Her Other laughed, "Our companions have their own way of being. You noticed it, haven't you?"
Oh, she had. Kyoka could see, or better said, hear how much of a dork Tokoyami was. He spoke with flowery words because he found it helped convey the beauty of a world Tokoyami could see so much more of. He acted like a lord for, in a place where his perception of himself mattered more than anything, he could be the valiant knight he wished.
Midoriya was on the opposite side. He didn't know how to express himself, not in a way that others could understand at least. The muttering that sometimes got out of hand was not only an endearing trait. It was the consequence of the boy trying to speak at the same speed he could think.
Her new friends and partners were lovable idiots with big brains and even bigger hearts, so all in all, they were pretty good company.
Kyoka sighed, "Damn, not even a day, and I'm already attached."
"Having them fighting tooth and nail for your well-being tends to do that." The goddess snarked at her, "Now make haste. We cannot leave our companions waiting."
Kyoka hurried her steps, jogging with a spring in her step. In no time at all, she reached her destination and grimaced at the view of piles of scrap covering everything the eye could see. "This place is a mess."
It only became more so when one of the mountains of garbage toppled, a squawky yell of "Timber!" the only warning she got before it crashed down. From the crash site, a dirty Midoriya walked to her, "Jiro-san! Good to see you." He patted some sand from his hair, "Sorry about that, Tokoyami-kun and I got carried away." He scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward chuckle.
"Says the guy who suplexed a washing machine on my head." Dark Shadow complained while Tokoyami approached them, the quirk-manifested Persona cackling and flexing his arms, "But that's not enough to keep me down!"
"Yes, yes, your tenacity is commendable." Tokoyami chuckled and shook his head, "However, we have more pertinent matters to discuss."
Kyoka rolled her eyes in amusement. As she said, lovable idiots, "Okay, dorks, you two have a plan on how we can pass that stupid snake?"
Midoriya's eyes brightened, "I wouldn't say a plan, as I couldn't test my hypothesis yet. Still, I think my idea has merit." He went to the stairs connecting the beach to the street and brought a cardboard box with him, "I bought a set of Edgeshot's ninja toolkit online."
"You're a fanboy. Yeah, I can guess that much."
He blushed at Kyoka's jab, "That's not important." He opened the box and pulled out a pouch, "This is."
Tokoyami grabbed the pouch and peeked inside, seeing various black pellets, "And prey tell, what is this?"
Midoriya grinned, "Smoke bombs." His words made Tokoyami's eyes shoot wide, the raven-headed teen staring at the bag in his hand as if it was made of gold.
"And you just bought it online?" Kyoka knew some hero merch on the internet was weird, but that was pushing it.
Midoriya scratched his cheek, "They aren't that potent, not in Reality at least. In the Metaverse? They will work exactly like you think they do." He picked one of his notebooks, not his Record, a normal one, "Regular perception of many items don't match their real functionality, so their Effects inside an Anomaly usually are more in line with what you would see in movies."
Kyoka took a deep breath, "I can hear the capital letters on those words, literally. How the hell do you two do that?" How did she also do that, for that matter?
Tokoyami broke through his entranced staredown with the pellets to look at her, "Words have Power. Remember it well, for simply speaking about concepts can interact with them. Calling a name, a skill, a spell, it is already enough to summon it, focus it. The same is valid for the laws that constitute the universe as we know it."
Kyoka nodded, surprised to see she got what he meant, "So, be careful of what you say, got it." Her Persona was a goddess of words, so it was no surprise she could grasp the idea.
Midoriya, now with his backpack, got their attention, "You guys good to go? We can take the next train if we hurry." Kyoka and Tokoyami traded a glance and nodded back to him, causing the boy to smile slightly, "Okay, let's go then!"
—
Izuku knew something was wrong the second he entered the Anomaly.
Guiding Jiro through the process of altering the Word Record was easy, she grasped the idea after only a minute or two. She also made sure to bring a frankly exorbitant amount of snacks just to ensure they would have enough (Izuku hoped that consuming the items in the Metaverse wouldn't mess with his diet plan).
They had a plan, the supplies, and, more importantly, the courage to see this through.
Some higher power must have taken offense at that, for instead of being greeted by the toxic green sky of an Anomaly, the three teens beheld a boreal aurora in all its glory.
"Oh, you finally arrived." A deep and regal voice broke them from their shocked-induced stupor. Turning to its source, Izuku gasped.
It was a kiosk, like the ones you would find at a beach, and manning it was a penguin.
Calling him a penguin was almost a disservice, for he must be the biggest imperial penguin of his species. Izuku was sure one of his biology teachers said they reached, at maximum, one meter and twenty-two centimeters of height, but just from him being head and shoulders over the kiosk's counter, the one in front of him must be one sixty. Not only that, his plumage, the white on the belly, blue-grey on the back, and the orange part on his neck were all covered by tattoos. The marks were all a glacial blue, depicting blizzards, snowflakes, and smaller penguins flowing.
"I know this place is weird but is that penguin cleaning a class like a bartender?" Jiro's question made Izuku look closer, and yes, he was cleaning a glass with a rag, an impressive feat when he did it with his flippers. Not only that, but Izuku now noticed he was also using a butterfly tie.
"I would say it's rude to stare. However, I know how young ones like you can get easily distracted." The penguin chuckled, sounding like an English gentleman from those old romance movies his mother liked to watch. He turned his eyes to Izuku, and the boy finally saw how they looked like two beady blue gems, "Permit me to present myself. I am Baltazar, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The now-named Baltazar bowed slightly.
"Another one talking fancy." Izuku heard Jiro grumbling, but he was too focused on something else to call her out.
"Nice to meet you, Baltazar-san. Huh, you wouldn't know someone named Igor, would you?" Izuku was certain that, if not by the timing, then by the same feeling he got from the other inhabitants of the Velvet Room that Baltazar was also from there.
"Indeed, I do, although I have not seen him in quite a long time." Baltazar chuckled, "I wonder if he still remembers me."
"Midoriya." Tokoyami, not taking his eyes off the strange person(?) before them, whispered to his friend, "I respect your right to your secrets, yet I have to ask, is he trustworthy?"
Jiro chimed in, "He didn't lie." The girl glanced at him, "And his heartbeat is steady. I doubt he's planning on fighting us."
"Indeed, I am not." Baltazar interrupted their conversation with a chuckle. He pulled a small box from under the counter and offered it to Izuku, "Here, a small gift to demonstrate my goodwill to your cause."
Izuku gulped while slowly approaching, ready to jump back at any sign of hostility. He grabbed the small box; another part of his mind noticed his first estimate was wrong; Baltazar was his height. Izuku fiddled with the box; it was rectangular and opened by sliding the cover down, revealing a scarlet red bookmark with golden flowers emblazoned into it, a red ribbon ending in a fluffy turf of fur coming from the top adding more charm to it.
"What is this?"
Baltazar gave a soft laugh at Izuku's question, not bothered at how behind the boy both Jiro and Tokoyami had their Records ready, "This is a little trinket for your special book. Go on, give it a try."
At the penguin's goading and partly because of his own curiosity, Izuku opened his Record at a random page and put the bookmark on it. The change was instantaneous; Izuku felt something shifting inside it before the Record spat his spear's shaft. He fumbled with it at the sudden turn of events, finally pulling it out after a minute.
Izuku's weapon was now different. It was still the same weapon, the same Gakushu, but now in another form, a Chinese Guan Dao. The shaft was a scarlet red, not as long as it was before, and ended in a broad gold-tinted curved blade, one side with a fine edge and the other with a serrated pattern like a flame. From where blade and shaft met, a ribbon with fun at its end fluttered in the wind.
"What?!" Izuku barely noticed his companions spoke at the same time as him, the weapon in his hand taking all his focus. Just from holding in, Izuku could feel it was stronger, but not only that, it had a heat to it that wanted to spill out and dance.
Baltazar's amused laughter broke the boy from his shock, "This is only a small peek at what I can offer you, young ones. This blade is not only stronger thanks to its new form, but the aspects of Fire melded into it will leave any enemy that meets its edge afflicted with a severe Burn."
Izuku's mind was already boiling with new ideas of how to take advantage of his weapon's new power, but with even more questions of who was the mysterious individual before him, "Thank you, Baltazar-san. Can I ask what else you can offer us?"
"Yeah, it's not fair that only Green Bean gets a nice toy." Now deciding that Baltazar was okay in her books, Kyoka walked closer.
"Now now, I cannot give all my stock away like that." Baltazar went under his counter and stood with another item in his hand, "However, I would be willing to trade my wares for these." He put on the counter what looked like a seed, one the size of a tennis ball. It had silver strings enveloping it, with what looked like gemstones encrusted on the surface.
"I saw this before." Fumikage, having also walked closer, picked the seed to examine it and nodded, "There are some trees in larger Anomalies that produce them. I never discovered their use and as the trees are always watched by many Shadows, I decided to avoid them."
"Yes, they are called Eden Seeds. I know that acquiring them can be a hassle. Nonetheless, I assure you that it will be worth your while."
Izuku believed him. If Baltazar was willing to trade with such a precious item as a free sample, then Izuku could only imagine what the group could get while paying for it. He traded a look with Fumikage, then Jiro, and they all nodded, "We will make sure to keep an eye out for them. Where can you find you again, though? We plan to get rid of this Anomaly."
Baltazar waved a flipper as if to physically brush off his concern, "Don't fret, young one. You will find my humble business in Safe Zones, no matter which one." They traded glances and shrugged, not wanting to argue how he would do that. The penguin waved them off, "Now move along; you all have much to do. Good luck, young Hero." He shot Izuku a knowing look.
Before Izuku could say anything, the aurora descended over them like a curtain. When he blinked the spots off his eyes, they were on the border of the Safe Zone they found on their last dive, with the aurora blocking a part of it.
"Weird, but again, what isn't in this place?" Jiro rolled her eyes and slapped the boys' arms, "C'mon, I wanna be done with this place." She opened her Record, from where a purple handle came. Jiro grabbed it and pulled a thin grey saber with holes going down its length, like her Persona's, "I also want to give Chowa a try."
Tokoyami chuckled under his breath, "Harmony, fitting."
"Thanks, now let's rock it."
—
Izuku had to admit that he was having fun. Scratch that; he was having a lot of fun.
First, his idea worked. The smoke pellets created a comically large cloud and made them practically invisible, making crossing the once dangerous bridges a breeze.
Second, Jiro was a godsend in battles. Her Persona was made for buffing and debuffing, and her Wind skills helped with elemental coverage. Not only that, she didn't have a problem in passing one of them a snack mid-battle and buying enough time for them to wolf it down.
He only had to make sure Jiro didn't get hit by any Fire, as Benzaiten was Weak to it like Omoikane was Weak to Curse and Tsukuyomi to Nuclear (Izuku still shivered at Tokoyami's retelling of how he learned that). And speaking of flammable things, Izuku's new weapon was almost unfair.
Getting used to the Guan Dao took some time, but when Izuku finally got the hang of it? He danced with the flames the weapon manifested with its new Power, switching from his usual style of thrusts to more slashes and spins. Each Shadow he attacked went up in flames, burning little by little until they turned to ashes if Jiro didn't come up with a Garula spell to fuel the fire.
One of those occasions let them learn about Technical strikes. Combining an Ailment with a matching attack could boost its strength and even bypass the damage negation of some Shadows.
Izuku was beginning to think his luck was finally turning up. It probably wasn't, but he could hope.
As if a divine omen was sent to confirm his thoughts, the group found one of the Eden Trees (as Izuku began to call them) in one of the islands further into the Anomaly.
"You weren't kidding when you said a lot of Shadows like to mob those things, Tokoyami." Jiro tsked, looking over the almost two dozen enemies standing under the silver tree full of precious seeds. It was a decent size, reminding them of a full-grown apple tree that seemed to glow with a pale light. "So, what's the plan? I doubt we can take them all."
"That will not be necessary. We only need to gather the seeds, making a battle pointless." Tokoyami fumbled with the pouch of smoke bombs and passed them all one, "We can simply create a distraction and rob them blind."
The girl grinned, "Hardcore, but not very heroic when you put it like that."
Izuku agreed, "Let's not think too much about that." Ironic coming from him, he knew, "But Tokoyami's right; we don't need to fight. I still think that it's better if one of us creates a distraction before using the bombs, at least to make the Shadows get away from the tree."
Tokoyami looked from side to side, seeing that the island they were now was large, with the Eden Tree off-center and close to the left edge. They could attract the Shadows to the opposite end, grab their spoils and run for the torii while still under the effects of the smoke if they were fast enough. "Insightful as always, my friend. Who should be the decoy?"
Izuku blushed slightly at the compliment, not used to it. Making a quick scan over his Persona hoster, he saw that he had covered most elements, and as the mob of enemies was very diverse, it was better if he was the one to act as bait, "I'll do it. You and Jiro also can use your quirk to gather the seeds faster."
Jiro shrugged, accepting the logic, "Good enough for me; just let me buff you first." She picked her saber and brought the handle to her mouth, using it to produce an encouraging song and cast the spell to make Izuku more resistant.
"Thank you. Get ready; on my signal, you guys can start." They all traded nods; the mission was a go.
"While it would be better to create another plan in case the first fails, it is solid enough to count on it." Omoikane's voice broke through the tension that settled in Izuku's mind as he slowly approached the mob of Shadows, "I recommend a wide area attack to ensure we capture their attention."
"Leave it to me! Hee ho!" Jack Frost quickly rushed to the forefront of the Hero's perception, the chilly energy he produced almost at the tip of Izuku's fingers. His Record snapped open, and pages flew, "Jack Frost, Mabufu!" The snow imp materialized and threw his arms wide, making icicles fly at the enemies.
Some that were Weak to Ice fell, while all the others turned to Izuku with murder in their eyes. The boy gulped, "Uh oh." He turned tail and ran, the enraged enemies hot on his heels. When he reached the island's border, almost tripping and falling in the sickly yellow water, he turned and threw a smoke bomb. The pellet nailed a Naga on the head before flooding the surroundings in smoke.
At the Eden Tree, more smoke surged, Tokoyami and Jiro having decided to also blind the downed enemies. With Dark Shadow and Jiro's jacks, they quickly snatched all the seeds on the tree; just as the last one was plucked from its stalk, the Eden Tree gave a flash and dissolved into silver motes of light.
Jiro was about to make a very snarky comment when Izuku came running, "You did it!" The boy looked over his shoulder and panicked, "Let's run, the Shadows can't see us, but they noticed the tree is gone."
"Don't have to tell me twice. Move it!"
—
Fumikage was proven right to make Midoriya the head of their expeditions once more with how much progress they had made. The dive on the Anomaly was going well, and they found another Safe Zone. True to his word, Baltazar was there, his kiosk offering a comfortable place to rest.
The raven-headed boy was still unsure if the penguin was completely worthy of their trust; however, Midoriya vouched for him. Fumikage knew his friend kept his secrets close to his chest; nevertheless, he still trusted him enough to defer to his judgment.
"It is not like the boreal one is being unkind." Tsukuyomi had a valid point. Baltazar was nothing but cordial with them, and after their raid to an Eden Tree, where they acquired twenty-three seeds, he quickly showed the extension of his assistance.
Fumikage flipped the bookmark in his hand, the cold blue color contrasting with the black edges. He equipped the accessory in his Record, quickly pulling his blade to see if it was still a katana, but instead of silver, its body was ebony while the edge was a glacial blue. The cold it contained was less the one of metal and more the one of winter.
"Such Power for the low price of ten Eden Seeds."
"Almost sounds like a scam, right?" Jiro leaned closer to Fumikage, picking her own electric yellow bookmark and tracing the silver lightning bolts emblazoned into it.
She cast a glance to Midoriya, who was quickly checking another of Baltazar products, a set of cards that they were still unsure of the utility, even if Midoriya seemed to be entranced by them. "But Green Bean over there thinks the guy is cool, so what the hell?" Jiro snapped her Record on the bookmark and pulled the now silver handle of her saber. While still having holes along its now yellow blade, its form was jagged instead of curved, "Neat, even if swinging a lightning bolt-shaped blade sounds silly."
They waited while Midoriya decided what to purchase, killing time examining their weapons' new forms. In the end, their fearless leader took ten minutes to decide on three cards and use the last of their Eden Seeds to pay for them. They bid Baltazar goodbye and went back to their Anomaly spelunking.
"Mind telling us what those are?" Fumikage asked after Midoriya started to fumble with his new cards, having lost the battle against his curiosity.
"Oh, of course not! These are Skill Cards; I can use them to teach my Personas new abilities." He happily showed one of the cards, a blue one with ice chunks and its name on the top, "With this, I can teach Mabufula to a Persona."
"So we can branch out our skills?" Jiro hummed and picked another card, this one purple with psychedelic patterns on it, "Psio, sounds cool."
Izuku scratched his head, looked down, and spoke nervously, "No, sorry. Only I can use them, it's a Wild Card thing." He was sure a scalding remark would follow, but Jiro just passed the card back and patted his shoulder.
"Don't sweat it. You have your own tricks, nothing wrong with that."
Tokoyami chuckled and nodded to Izuku, "Indeed, I doubt any of us would be as capable of wielding multiple Personas as you. Don't fret over your strengths, my friend; instead, be happy to have more ways to contribute to our cause."
Izuku waved his arms frantically, not knowing what to do with the sudden positive encouragement, "You guys do a lot too! I wouldn't be able to do nearly as much without you."
Jiro snorted, "Okay, you dorks, let's just say we're all awesome."
Dark Shadow popped out of Tokoyami's stomach and made finger guns to Jiro, "Agree! We are the best!"
The three teens traded glances, then laughed. As strange as it was, they all felt more at home with their newfound friends, exploring the world beyond their own, than anywhere else.
Izuku felt his Bonds with his partners pushing him forward. They could do it; he knew they could, "Let's go, we have someone to help and an Anomaly to destroy!"
DONE! NO, THIS IS NOT DEAD!
I just got sidetracked by my other stories. Oops?
Silverbits and Jurodan helped me to put order on this thing and make it an enjoyable reading experience, so show them some love too (both have awesome fics).
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