Chapter Text
Yamato could not describe what was happening.
She could feel herself sinking into the water, her strength fading, Drona's arms keeping her afloat. Her body was tingling, every hair standing on end. She closed her eyes. Colors swirled and danced in her vision. Reds, blues, greens.
"Yamato, can you hear me?"
She wanted to say yes, but her mouth wouldn't obey. Her body had become limp, like a puppet with its strings cut and it was only the knowledge that Drona had a hold on her that kept her from panicking.
"Very good young one," said another voice. It sounded old, and female…vaguely familiar.
"I am Putana. Drona's friend, and a fellow Sage. I am here to help him, and you."
"Thank you, now. Yamato, our journey begins. Let us start…with the days of your youth."
'My youth…'
"Allow yourself to go back, as far as you can remember, to your earliest memory."
The colors before her shifted, swaying to and fro; like she was on a swing. She could hear a voice, very faint. Calling out for a child.
There were lights, and shadows. She was upside down. And before her was two bright amber eyes glaring at her. The monster who the world feared. The beast who broke the samurai and made their land into his kingdom, with him as its king.
Her father.
"Kaido…" She muttered… But so did that voice.
That weak feminine voice spoke again again and she was swinging to and fro again. She heard the rumble of his voice, but only one word came out clearly.
"No."
And the vision was gone, leaving only mire and fog.
How was she remembering this?
"Some things we remember vividly, like a painting in front of us," whispered Drona. "Some are like a murky pond. This Kaido took you from your mother."
How was she supposed to reply if she couldn't talk?
"I can hear you clearly, my child, for you are speaking to us clearly. If one should put it, you are thinking aloud in this state, giving us a picture with your words. You are the narrow and curator of your story Yamato, as we are going back to the beginning of your life" He felt a warm hand rub her head. "Fear nothing. This is your space. Only you, I , and Putana can see it. None shall judge you here."
'My space?'
That realization brought her little comfort though. She didn't know who her mother was, or even what she was, not even her face. She had no memories of her, no feelings of her, or from her. She had never known a mother's love for the entirety of her life.
"Kaido then, is your father."
No. Not her father. He had never been a father to her. He had always ignored her, unless it was to train her, or punish her.
"Was he protecting you?" Putana asked.
No. He had wanted a son. He had given her a boy's name, and treated her like one. He had made her wear the mask, and pretend to be his son. Then she saw Oden die, and she had known, at last, what a man could be. What she wanted to be.
"Emulating a dead man. Why?" Drona inquired.
She had seen how he died, watched as he boiled alive, carrying his retainers on his shoulders for hour after hour, ending it with a grin on his face, like he already knew how this would end.
That strength. The strength of a great man, a worthy man. She had wanted it, more than anything. If she had to be a man, then that was the man she wanted to be.
"Why?"
Because she was weak.
"You saw yourself as weak?"
'Yes…too weak to defeat Kaido….
'Too weak to break my shackles…too weak to save Wano…and I… didn't want to follow in Kaido's footsteps… especially now… now… I have…'
A new vision, recent and clear, like a photograph. The smell of oak, ale, and musk, a pair of strong arms around her.
"I have a father now… Pops."
The smile on his face, the glow that seemed to fill up the world wherever he was.
"Whitebeard. Yes… you, Izuku, and Marco speak highly of that man. I knew when I met him that he was a man of noble quality."
Yes, he was. A man completely unlike her father.
"Now… do you remember anything else as a child?"
As a child…
Alone. Days spent training with her kanabo, falling asleep with an aching body. Day after day, week after week, year after year. A group of chore children, huddled in the ship's hold, playing cards. She approached them, opened her mouth to call out…then a hand grabbed her, yanked her away.
"You were denied the chance to play with other children?"
"It wasn't… my place…"
"You were above them. By Kaido's decree."
"Yes…"
She had never played with other children. She had done nothing but train, eat, and sleep. Her birthdays passed unremarked, uncelebrated. Kaido never bothered to celebrate his own, so why should she?
The vision shifted. She was in Wano, just after they had arrived. She was looking out of a window, somewhere in the Flower Capitol. Her father's pirates were in the streets below, throwing men to the ground, stealing their purses, beating and kicking them. One drew a sword, but a pirate laughed and shot him through the heart. Women and girls were being dragged around, screaming and struggling. Doors were thrown open, loot tossed out into the street.
"Was it like Germa?" Drona asked.
She had no answer, not now or then. No matter the time period, she had said nothing, and done nothing. Her role was the masked Oni Prince, and she had played it well, for five long years. Her father had been cruel and demanding, never using physical punishment, but verbal and emotional to drive the point home. And in training, he held back only a little. His mentors did the same, why should he?
He was aiming to mold her into his heir. A Warrior Prince of the Beast Pirates. Molding into something she had no say in, into something he desired.
"Why did he want to do this? Make you a warrior?"
Because he knew no other life. He was born in a poor land, forced to become a soldier, and then a great warrior just to make ends meet. He lost his mother along the way, and was betrayed…
"He did not know love his whole life." She heard Putana comment. "How sad…"
"And so he tried to mold you into being his son. Did this make him happy?"
Happy? No. Content? Probably…
Perhaps he'd found contentment with her, as his son. Perhaps when she was strong enough he would have revealed her true identity to the world, as the true Oni Princess.
Or was that just a comforting fantasy, a way to ignore the misery weighing her down?
Then the sky was dark, flashing as if in a thunderstorm. She was looking up, and there was her father, his blue dragon body coiling through the sky. She heard his great voice.
"I don't care what will happen to me! I slay you and free the Land of Wano from your grasp!"
And then her father's lust for battle rose.
"WORORORORO~ How amusing! Then slay me if you can!"
There was a tiny shape, leaping up at the dragon. The dragon reared, breathing a gout of fire, roaring as the tiny shape struck it.
"TOUGEN TOTSUKA!"
And Kaido yelled in agony, falling to the ground, making the earth shake. As he fell, she could see the blood dripping in glimmering droplets, splattering the Flower Capitol.
Oden had wounded Kaido. Scarred him for life. If something could bleed it could die. So Kaido had always told her.
There was Oden again, boiling in his pot. He was straining, sweat in rivulets running down his scalded flesh, as he held aloft the board upon which his retainers squatted. There were Kine'mon, Kanjuro, Kikunojo, and all the others, pale-faced, eyes full of dread. She could hear them crying out to their lord, pleading with him to drop them and end his agony.
She could hear the Beast Pirates too, hear them hooting with laughter as the great Kozuki Oden met his ridiculous end. She could see the people of Wano crowding around, weeping and wailing for the man they had scorned and betrayed, realizing what he had done to save all those families Orochi had prepared for slavery.
For them to be recaptured after Oden Castle had burned, and to die in the factories, only drove how loathsome Orochi was. And how Kaido allowed it, all to bolster his army.
Beside her, Kurozumi Orochi was capering and cavorting, laughing with vicious glee. Kaido was there too, staring down at the horror. He did not move, or make a sound.
"What did you see? From his face?"
Awe, respect…was it pity? It was perhaps one of the few moments she felt anything other than disdain for Kaido. Even he acknowledged Oden as a worthy and respectable individual.
She yearned to kill Orochi, to smash his stupid, fat, sneering face into the floor. But Kaido needed Orochi to be his puppet to run his factories, so she did nothing.
Nothing at all.
"You were a child then."
It's no excuse.
"Don't blame yourself."
Then came the long, dark years. Years of saying she was Kozuki Oden, and being punished for it. The beatings, weeks without food, chains about her wrists and ankles. She saw those three samurai, and the little fish they had given her to eat.
"No wonder he went to such lengths. The daughter he forced to become his son, became a man to spite him. You embarrassed him, and he wanted to punish you."
'I could do nothing else… I didn't want to be his child. I didn't want to be an Oni.
'I didn't… want to be a monster.'
(X)
Izuku sat outside of the cave, giving Drona and Putana their time with Yamato. Bagira had followed him, standing outside a ways away. The wind whistled and blew as he looked out to the horizon of forests, swamps and towering roots connecting to the stone ceiling overhead.
He felt helpless. Again.
He had to trust in the Sages to guide Yamato. To heal her.
All while Yamato was in a trance-like state in that unique water that glowed a strange blue-green. Was it bioluminescence? Some sort of mineral seeping into the body?Perhaps she really was inside herself, facing the truth of her soul. But what would she find there?
These questions only infuriated the young hero. The most important person in his life was struggling meters away and he could do nothing to ease her suffering.
"I know," said Marco in a low voice as Izuku turned, seeing the blonde man approach. "It's hard to sit here and listen. But it has to be done."
Izuku breathed through his nose, fists clenched, shaking. He couldn't bear this.
"I hate being so powerless." Izuku uttered. "I feel-"
"Hey. Don't be so conceited." The green haired boy turned on Marco, jaw locked.
"This isn't just on you. This is Yamato's whole life coming home to roost." Marco didn't look his way, looking out to the towering city of Svraga, a mass of coiled roots festooned with buildings, glittering with tiny lights. It put Izuku in mind of an enormous Christmas Tree; bright against the darkness of the Rud Yard.
"You took her away from Onigashima. And now she is experiencing a life, for good and for ill." Marco sighed. "She can love or hate it, but she can actually choose what to feel about it now, you know that, right?" Bagira's eyes turned their way.
"Of course I do…" He sat down, hugging his knees, haunted by all he had heard. "But despite everything I've done… it's all led to this."
He heard Marco sigh, and felt his stomach twist. Was Marco as disappointed in him as he was in himself? Or did he just not know what to say?
"Yo Bagira," Marco said, as the Lunarian elder turned their way. "Is there a clear area around here? With no people?"
"At the Khan Vale, where the warriors train." The towering Winged Man pointed over the roots, then glanced at Izuku. "What of it?"
"Just follow me. Your Elderness." Blue flames flashed around Marco's forearms. "Come on Izuku."
"What are we doing?" Izuku asked, still not feeling up to doing much.
"Just follow me." He looked to Bagira. "You said you wanted to see how we fight, right?"
"I did."
"Follow us."
Izuku rose to his feet, taking one last look at the cave. Bagira watched in mild interest as Marco transformed into his Phoenix form, then flew off into the night. Izuku and Bagira took off, forming up behind the blue firebird.
'It's not your fault, Izuku,' whispered Nana. He felt her embrace him from behind, and reached back to touch her hand.
'She's right kid,' Bruce cut in, from behind him.
Izuku didn't answer, didn't want to argue. He was just glad they were there.
They flew on, over the city and the nearest roots, flying in the direction Bagira had pointed. All at once Marco stopped, hovering over a wide clearing of swampy grassland, pock-marked with towering rocks and scattered trees.
"This looks pretty ideal," he said, returning to his human form as they landed. "Izuku." He turned, his eyes hard.
"What?" Izuku asked, frowning. Marco raised his hand, blue flames flickering over it.
"Fushicho Gaito." His palm opened, and blue fire burst from it, too fast for Izuku to dodge. It washed over him, but it didn't burn him. It was…soothing.
"What…?" he gasped, bewildered.
"I'm not going to stand here and watch you wallow in your self-pity." Marco took a deep breath. "Drona and I talked it over when you were out of commission and healing. You want to get stronger, right?" His eyes were hard. "Do you?"
Izuku looked down at the blue flames enshrouding his body. Like a mantle.
"I do… More than anything. If I was strong enough…I-" Another burst of soft blue flames stopped the teen cold. Marco looked at him with pity and understanding.
"Izuku, let me ask you something," Marco looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"Do you think you're a God?"
"What?" Izuku asked bewildered. "Of course not!"
"Then why are you acting like Yamato's?"
His fist lashed out, and this time, Izuku's Danger Sense flared. He jerked his head to the side, and a rock behind him exploded in a shower of molten slag.
"Gods don't give mortals choices, they give them orders," Marco stated, "We're not Gods, we're not even Devils despite the fruits some of us eat. All we are, are men that fight the battles that we can. You've been wasting your time fighting a battle you can't win, so we'll train you for one you can. So put your fists up, and grit your teeth, we're going to start soon."
Starting to put the pieces together, Izuku took a deep breath. "Right."
Marco saw his determined look, but still wasn't impressed. "You've unlocked your Haki, which is good but how good is your control of it?" He looked to Bagira. "You should stand clear. You're sorta in the splash zone, and we can't get you all muddy. Your Elderness."
He smiled playfully. Bagira rolled his eyes, but didn't seem annoyed.
"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, though your concern is appreciated." Bagira flew away, and landed on a tree at the edge of the vale.
"So, what can you do?" Marco asked, hands in his pockets.
"I can access Armament fine," replied Izuku. "I used it against one of Shiva's Godhand, a Logia User just fine. As for Observation…" He narrowed his eyes. "I think…it's come up maybe twice; once against Judge and Ichiji, and again…against Shiva." He rubbed his forehead as he thought of those times. "Both times I was facing a death blow. Danger Sense was going wild."
"And there's the reason why," explained Marco. "People tend to naturally be more skilled in one type of Haki over the other, and some never unlock either at all despite how hard they trained.. Pushing yourself and intense stress can bring it out sometimes, you should hear what happened with Thatch back in the day." He pocketed his hands. "How are you handling One for All at the moment? What's your max control right now?"
"Fifty-Five Percent." Izuku replied on the dot.
"Show me." Marco spread his legs, arms blackening with Haki. "Try and push it further, far as you can."
"What about possible backlash?"
"So long as your head is attached and your heart is still beating, Fushicho Gaito can heal you to top shape. So get to it."
Izuku nodded, crouching into a combat stance. He channeled One for All… and his body, with the blue flames smothering around his chest, crackled with emerald lightning. Marco smirked as the bright blue-green sun lit up the vale.
"Nice start. Now, I'm going to give you a taste of what level a Commander under an Emperor of the Sea fights at."
Danger Sense flashed, and Izuku threw up his arms, catching Marco's kick. The impact sent him flying, the arms screaming in pain as if broken. But in an instant, the pain was gone, as his feet dug furrows in the mud, grinding him to a stop.
Izuku took a few test flexes of his arms to make sure there was no damage and outside of a quickly fading bruise he was fine.
"I'm not holding back," repeated Marco, blue flames forming a flickering halo around him. "You're gonna be my punching bag, and I'll be yours too." He smirked, pointing at himself, and then to Izuku. "So you better not hold back yourself."
Izuku took a deep breath. Marco was someone who could beat All Might…
In his mind's eye, he saw All Might looking back, glowing with power, smiling that big wide smile as he spoke four words.
"Go beyond, Midoriya Izuku." Marco commanded, as if he could somehow see.
His Haki awakened, and One for All rose with it. He saw the egg in the microwave. The thread in the storm.
Fifty-Five Percent Full Cowl!
"Here's a little extra. Imagine I'm Shiva," Marco said with a bold smile.
Izuku charged, his power bursting out of him in a rush of green flame. One Haki-covered leg kicked, and Marco caught it with his own. The shockwave tore across the vale, shaking the trees and cratering the mud below them.
Izuku gritted his teeth, and Marco met his gaze.
They charged, the world a blur around them.
(X)
"Look at them go…" Law murmured, eyes wide. Hard to believe Izuku was damn near crippled less than twelve hours ago. He saw the blue-green sun bust through a root, before blasting after the blazing blue bird and Law felt his heart jump.
Yes, Marco's Devil Fruit helped heal what was a bandaged bed ridden Midoriya fully healthy. The power of a Mythical Zoan, it's truly something else. Bordering on magic or on God's territory.
The wind rushed through his head, and saw them rush and blaze along the vale grounds, no doubt exchanging blows that could rattle Swallow Island to its foundation stones.
These were Whitebeard Pirates. Warriors under the King of the Seas himself. His allies.
Standing on the balcony of the house loaned by the Elders, he could just make out the battle. Twin stars, one blue and one green, darted through the distant sky. He felt the ground shake as they met, gusts of wind washing over him; strong enough to make him hold onto his hat.
"This is what they both need," said Reiju, standing beside him. "I can tell."
Even though all his medical training was screaming this was not the right approach, Law couldn't argue with Reiju.
Defeat, no, being ground underfoot by Shiva had hurt both of them, in a way only a fighting man could understand. Yamato was right back in the dark place Herzla had helped her crawl out of, and Izuku was hurt and humiliated; cursing himself for being unable to help or protect her. As a doctor and as a pirate, he had seen it all before.
"This Shiva and his goons… they're stronger than your siblings then?" he asked, turning to look at Reiju.
"So it would seem," replied Reiju. She was about to say more, when a loud noise drew their attention to the street. "Monsters they might've been, my brothers never pushed them to this point."
"Wheeeeeee!"
Law turned, distracted by the sudden sound. It was Agni Bai, standing at the rear of what he could only describe as a skiff or gondola. "Keep an eye on those pressure gauges Riki! Tavi, keep status on the flaps! Firebird Two is sailin' on!"
Law stared at the…whatever-it-was in amazement. It was a ship, but not like any he had ever seen. A stretched cloth awning, like a flattened balloon, hung underneath the hull; giving off wisps of steam. Bai stood at the very back, her shoulders covered by a cape of curving tubes, her hands pulling levers and turning dials on a lectern in front of her. Riki, Tiki, and Tavi sat further forward, managing a mess of machinery he couldn't have made sense of in a month of Sundays.
Reiju giggled. Lunarians were looking out of their windows or peering over their balconies as the contraption whooshed past; some laughing, some rolling their eyes. None were paying the slightest attention to the clash happening just a few miles away.
"Even at a time like this, children can have fun," Reiju said, though her wistful eyes did not match her smile. She had never done anything like this when she was young; never played or done something fun and crazy with friends or her brothers. For all that the sight brought her comfort, there was a pain there too; a pain she would have to be a saint not to feel, and which he could do nothing to lift.
Nothing.
He looked up at Amirtajheel, hidden away within the clustered roots above the Elders' tower, then again at the vale where Izuku and Marco were sparring.
'Will you help them, Law?' The Unicorn's words rebounded inside his head.
He strode to the rear of the balcony, and set down his sword. "I'm going out for a bit."
"What for?" Reiju asked, following him down the balcony steps to the street. Law strode along, the aromas of spiced meats and rice tempting his nostrils. The buildings around him were shadowed, full of dark spaces that set his nerves on edge. There was little light in this place, except from the torches, the Lunarians themselves, and the faint light at the very top of Svraga, where the lingering power of Kalprivaska was at its strongest.
"Yamato and Izuku are doing their best," he growled back, as Reiju caught up with him. "I can't just sit around and do nothing. They call themselves Heroes." He looked on ahead, eyes hard. "But who's going to save them when the chips are down and they're in the black."
He reached the end of the street and paused, bringing up his hand.
"Room," he ordered, and the blue light flashed out. He forced it out as far as it would go, showing him everything around him. Lunarian men, women, and children, resting, reading, eating, playing games, having arguments, some laughing, some weeping.
Fifty metres. That was as far as it would go.
"I see," Reiju said. "They're doing our best, so we'll do our best for them, together!"
She beamed with her arms pumping, and the world seemed to light up a little with those sapphire eyes gazing back at him.
He needed to work on this. He needed to be able to use Room without holding his hand out at some point. To keep the radius large and contained, and to extend his time he could maintain it.
"Lucky…" grumbled two voices in unison. Law paused, sensing two familiar presences.
"Shorty short white dress~" the pair went on. Law sighed, his eye twitching, and thrust up his fingers.
"Shambles." The two voices yelled as pails of water fell on their heads.
"Gaaack!"
"What the heck Captain!"
"Quit eavesdropping. It's creepy," retorted Law, as Shachi and Penguin emerged from a side street, thoroughly soaked. "You guys want to get stronger too, right?"
"Course we do! I mean… you're gonna be allying yourself with the Great Pirate Whitebeard right!"
"All right. Where's Bepo got to?" Law looked around.
"Yahooooo~! Captain! Loooook!"
Law spun round, just in time to see Bai's hovering boat speeding along the street towards them. This time Bepo was sitting in the front, Tiki clinging to his back.
"Rangers on the port side! Ready our guns Tiki! Bepo!" Bai called out, grinning.
"Fast." Law stepped out of the way, as the boat shot past in a cloud of steam.
"This is so much fuuuuun~!" Bepo laughed.
"You're soft Mr. Teddy Bear!" commented Tiki.
"I'm a Polar Bear not a teddy bear!"
"Looks like someone's having a good time," Shachi grumbled, as the boat sped away.
"Yeah, but we're gonna do some super duper strong exercises with Poison Pink!" Penguin added. "You'll teach us, right, Reiju-sensei?"
Reiju blinked, then giggled. "Well, I'd be delighted to."
"Uwaaaaah~ thank youuuuuu~" Penguin and Shachi swayed from side to side, lost in their joy. Law's eyebrow twitched.
"If it gets them motivated, I guess I can't complain." He rolled his eyes, but could not help but smile. "Come along then. Can't dawdle in these streets."
He led the way down the street. Some Lunarian women were coming in the other direction, talking among themselves.
"Did you see that cute bear with those little kids?"
"Did Bai capture him?"
"I hope the other Blue Sea beast-kin are like him, he's adorable."
"Now he's getting the big ladies," grumbled Shachi, pouting.
"Which means big…OWOWOWOWOW""
Penguin's comment became a yell as Law grabbed them both by the ears.
"CAPTAIN WHYYYYYY!" they whined in unison.
"If you've got time to complain, you've got time to train," Law grumbled, making Reiju giggle again. He let the pair go, then groaned as he dropped his Room. He had known it would hurt after being kept up that long, but not that badly.
He had to get better with it. Izuku and Yamato were greater warriors than he could ever be, but they couldn't do what he could. Room was his power, and his alone.
And he needed it to be more.
(X)
From the window of his room, Haruta watched as Marco and Izuku battled in the distant sky. Izuku was being rag dolled, but was healing and coming back at Marco time and again, adapting, striking harder and harder against the second strongest man in the Whitebeard Pirates.
"Amazing, are they not?" mused Izou. He was sitting at the next window, staring out at the battle; his pistols lying half-cleaned on the table in front of him.
Haruta said nothing. Instead he grabbed his saber and strode to the middle of the room. He closed his eyes, and began to dance.
In his mind's eye he saw four-armed men, armed with swords and spears and all manner of weapons. They capered and leered at him, like pictures in a book, then they charged. He moved, thrusting and parrying, stepping back and forth, left and right, light on the balls of his soles.
"I won't sit by," he said. "Our little brother and sister are working to get better, hardening themselves for the battles ahead." He swung and slashed, downing foe after shadowy foe.
"And it's up to us," Izou replied, "As their elder siblings to be there to support them, should their strength not be enough."
Not so long ago, Haruta would have called him out for saying that. But not now, not after all he had seen and heard, and all those two had endured on their own.
No more, and never again. Their family was here.
"Besides, we need to train anyway." Haruta spoke as he shadow danced. "Not just for Shiva and Shiki overhead." He swung his blade, parrying and jabbing.
"Yeah." Izou finished. "For Kaido as well."
"And once we take down Kaido, whatever will be left of us will be ripe for the pickings." Haruta growled, pirouting and twirling as his shadow dance continued. "We can handle the anklebitters… but more importantly… We will need to be ready to go to war with the Big Mom Pirates."
"And the World Government." Izou finished. Even if their mission were to succeed here, the war that will change the balance of power throughout the world looms on the horizon.
They cannot be idle. They must get stronger for the changing of the times.
For their family's sake.
(X)
"Astounding."
Bagira watched, amazed, as Izuku and Marco sparred,wind passing through his white, braided hair. To say he was stunned was an understatement. He could hardly believe that such small creatures could fight so hard, and so well. It left him wondering if all beings in the Blue Sea World were as strong as them.
Nevertheless, for all that they impressed him, he had seen enough battles to know how it would end. Izuku was shining bright and striking hard, but Bagira could see his power fading, his movements slackening, becoming sluggish. With the healing flames mending his flesh, the cause could only be fatigue, physical and mental.
The boy was strong for his age, immensely so, but it was clear he was still recovering and lacked much in the way of combat experience.
All the while Marco was unchanged, his blue flames blazing bright, his every movement lightning-fast and perfectly coordinated. Bagira watched as he struck harder and harder, Izuku's blocks getting slower and slacker. Finally Marco scored a hit, his taloned foot slamming into Izuku's chest. The green-haired boy flew back, bounced off the ground, bounced again, then skidded to a stop.
Marco flew down to his side, Bagira close behind. Izuku tried to rise, but even the healing power of the blue flame could not get him onto his feet. He slumped to his knees, breathing hard; his energy all gone. His borrowed shalwar kameez was muddy and in tatters, yet he showed little sign of injury. There wasn't even any blood or bruises.
Truly astounding.
"Well fought, both of you," Bagira declared, as Marco knelt beside his young protege. "Is this his peak, Marco?"
"Not at all." replied Marco with a grin.
Bagira could hardly believe it. Izuku was already strong enough to stand among the Eclipse Hunters finest if not surpass them, but this wasn't his limit?
Well, two humans had managed to save Brahmapura fifty years ago. Small and simple creatures they might appear, but there was clearly more to them than met the eye.
Perhaps they were the allies his people had been waiting for. Maybe, with their help, the long war might finally be ended, and the false god finally dethroned.
"Impressive," he allowed. "But one spar is merely a demonstration. It'll take more than that to convince me."
"Well, this one only needs a full belly and a good night's sleep," declared Marco, smirking. "And just wait till you see Yamato in action." He helped Izuku up.
Bagira sighed. Marco was a confident fellow, a man who believed absolutely in himself and his younger comrades. Izuku, he could tell, looked up to him in turn. It would take more than words to shake their resolve. As for that girl healing in Amritajheel? He will need to see it to believe it if that sullen lass can have the confidence of a warrior such as Marco.
"Until next time, then." He bowed his head, spread his wings, and flew away. He glided over the vale, marvelling once again at the destruction those two had wrought. He saw Marco out of the corner of his eye transform into a bird and take Izuku away in his talons, returning to the Jir woman's hut.
He landed in the outer-middle of the city. The streets were all but deserted, most of the shops closed. Night and Day were arbitrary concepts in the Rud Yard, but they survived out of sheer habit.
Bagira was glad of it. He needed to think, and a slow stroll home was as good a way as any.
"When can we see the Sun?"
He paused, the sound drawing his eyes to a nearby house. He could see a gaggle of children inside, all Freeborn.
"I don't know. We can't go just yet," replied the voice of a grown woman, presumably their mother.
"But I want to see it!" griped one of the children. "It's where Nika's light shines!"
"We can't see anything from here," added another. "Not through the Cloud Mountain."
"We can't just go up there. It's not safe." The mother stepped into view, and Bagira's heart clenched as he saw her wingless back. She was one of the Liberated. "If the people up there catch you they'll put you in chains, and a harness that douses your flames. Then they'll cut off your wings, and you'll never fly again."
The children hesitated, glancing at one-another. Like all the children in Svraga, they knew that cruel truth all too well. They saw it every day, on every other wingless back, sometimes in their own parents' eyes.
"Can we…see it one day?" one of them pleaded.
"Well yes, one day," the mother admitted cautiously. "But you'll have to grow up and get strong, and go up through Naraka with the Hunters. As all winged men of Svraga must do. To join the Hunters and aid them and aid our people who are above Naraka."
"But…I don't wanna fight."
"One day little ones… you will. "
Bagira stalked off, gritting his teeth.
Those children were safe here. Here they could learn and grow and be themselves, without fear of having their wings cut off and forced to work. But they couldn't see the Sun, until they became warriors and flew up there to do battle. All Freeborn become Hunters upon their 16th birthday, and served for ten years minimum. Only then could they retire and do something else, or start a family."
Yes, they were safe. But were they free? Would they ever be truly free?
"Maybe they will, and quite soon."
He paused again, and turned to see Krishna standing nearby, leaning on his crutch, wearing that same old smile. No doubt he was seeing right through him, as easily as he had always done.
"Won't you join me for a drink old friend?" the old warrior suggested. "Svraga never closes, you know that."
Bagira sighed, and fell in beside Krishna.
"You sound so sure," he said, glancing at the older man as they strolled along the quiet street.
"I never met Raja and Rali, but every tale of them spoke only of nobility, whether it be from our friends topside or from Drona. Now our good Mahaguru has brought us ten Blue Sea dwellers, three of whom have incredible strength."
"So you were watching Izuku and Marco's bout as well?"
"I keep an ear to the ground. I may be retired, but I can't afford to be negligent, old friend. We were both Commander of the Hunters once," Krishna reminded him with a grin.
"You were the better of us," admitted Bagira with a sigh.
He trailed off, as the old pain rose to haunt him. He felt a hand on his shoulder looked.
Krishna only smiled, shaking his head gently. With nary a regret in his eyes.
They reached one of Svraga's many taverns. It was open, but quiet, and Bagira was glad of it. Krishna led the way to an outdoor table, nodding at a serving girl. They sat down, and the girl returned with clay cups and a bottle of ale. Krishna thanked her and took the bottle, pouring for Bagira and then himself. There was no light, save for the flames upon their backs illuminating the tavern.
"I know Balu believes it." Krishna's gentle smile became a grin as he raised his cup, and Bagira clinked it.
"And if he believes it, so will others," Bagira agreed. "Do we dare hope, Krishna?"
"We cannot live without it, old friend. How else have we made it this far?"
"But what if it's a fool's hope?"
"Then a fool's hope we'll take. Better foolish hope than no hope, Bagi. For centuries we've held on, kept the flame burning, hoping for something to change." Krishna looked at his glass, looking at its contents. "And now, thanks to Drona, we have a chance."
He downed the cup and poured some more. "Besides, what's the alternative? Continue to hide here in the dark till our flames burn out, never knowing the warmth of the sun? No Bagi, the dawn is upon us. I can feel it."
Krishna was still smiling, but Bagira had known him long enough to know what that look in his eyes meant.
"It doesn't matter if we only have bad choices, so long as we have a choice."
(X)
Bells rung. Cymbals crashed. Drums hammered.
Amid the cacophony, Agni Bai groaned as her eyes flicked open. Her head ached as her body resisted the unwanted wakefulness. Couldn't she have just five more minutes?
With a clunk, and a clatter of gears, her bed tipped upward. Bai slid straight down, through the hatch in the floor, and down into the waiting chute. Hot water and soap sprayed all over her as she slid down, rounded a corner, and into a pair of vertical spinning brushes. The brushes hummed and clattered, grinding and slapping at her as she slid through, shaking her to the bone and driving hot soapy water up her nose. Then came another pair of brushes then another, and another. She slid out of the brushes, and hot air blew all over her, scorching her dry. Her legs slid into a pair of pants, hauling her to a stop.
A loud metallic clang rang out, and the chute swung down, dropping her into her chair in the middle of her work room. Mechanical arms swung down, pulling a shirt down over her head. Gears clicked and clacked as the chair slid forward, stopping at her main work table. A hatch opened in the wall nearby, and a conveyor belt whirred to life, carrying a cup of hot chai and a bowl of masala porridge to the table.
Bai grinned, downed a mouthful of chai, then set to work on the porridge. Another quick and efficient wakeup, thanks to her Wash-and-Wake-Up Machine. Strangely, unlike some of her simpler inventions, it had yet to catch on in Svraga. No one seemed to want to try it twice.
She looked down at her feet. It needed some way to put shoes on, and maybe a wider variety of clothes. Maybe on rotating racks, using the rotary motion from the bed-tipping mechanism?
She finished her breakfast, put the bowl and cup back on the belt, then pulled one of the levers beside her chair. With a clatter and grind of gears, the chair swung round the room on its track, coming to a halt in front of one of the side tables. This one had an Emberstone rifle standing on a rack, its side plating removed to reveal the inner mechanism.
Bai slid out the tool shelf from under the table, and set to work. Souping up Emberstone rifles wasn't the most interesting of jobs. But in return for being allowed to explore, scavenge, and invent as she pleased, she had to take any request from the Elders or the Hunters. Besides, they actually liked what she did with the weapons, which made a change from their usual attitude.
Fortunately, the work didn't take too long. Bai grinned as she secured the side plate, then pulled the lever and swung round to the Viewing Scope. It was a big round screen set into the wall, with a series of dials and levers on a table below. Bai pulled the lever to open the scope, then put her hands on the control handlebars. The periscope on top of the house moved in response, shifting up and down, left and right. She could see the streets around her clearly, the people coming and going.
She frowned. No sign of Drona and the others. Was Yamato still up at Amritajheel?
Then she saw something, a flicker of light, just inside the Khan Vale. Curious, Bai turned the dial to look more closely. It was quite a long distance, but she could just make out a campfire, with someone sitting beside it. Was it Drona?
She blinked, and looked again. The vale was in a real mess, with uprooted trees lying everywhere, ancient boulders blasted to rubble, and huge craters and furrows gouged into the mud. Bai was more than a little amazed. Even Bose, in a particularly foul mood, never caused that much damage. It was worse than the little accident with the street-cleaning system she'd invented the year before.
This needed to be investigated.
Bai grinned, and pushed the lever forward, returning her chair to the middle of the room. She pulled another lever, and the chair flattened into a chute, dropping her through another floor hatch. Down she slid, down into the hangar, landing in the cockpit of her personal forest speeder.
She put up her arms, as her leather flying jacket was lowered over her head. With a quick pull of a lever, the siphon tubes clunked into place over her shoulders, catching the fire on her back. As the engine heated up, she reached out of the cockpit and pulled a long-handled lever. With a groan and a clatter, the gantry on which her speeder sat angled upward, and the hangar door clunked open, revealing the dull sky of the Rud Yard.
Not for the first time, Bai wished it was the open blue sky of the world outside. What she wouldn't give to be able to fly through it, amid the fluffy white clouds, with Nika's radiance shining on her.
The speeder began to shake as the engine reached full power. Bai pulled the unlocking bar, released the safeties, and braced herself.
"Firebird One…go!"
(X)
Yamato groaned as her eyes opened. She was lying on something hard and smooth, and a blanket was over her. Her whole body tingled, in a way she had never felt before.
"You're awake?" asked a voice nearby. It took Yamato a moment to recognise it as Putana. The older woman was kneeling down beside her, holding a tray of bread and meat. Her stomach grumbled the moment the aroma of savory spices reached her nose.
"Uh, yes," she replied, awkwardly. Yamato sat up, and Putana set the tray on her lap. She bit into a piece of bread, and almost moaned. It was so good.
"Where's Drona?" she asked, after finishing the bread.
"Resting. You passed out so we took you out of the spring." Putana gestured to one side. Yamato looked, and saw the pool just a few meters away, glowing that same strange glow from before.
"I see." Yamato looked down at the tray. There was quite a lot there, and her stomach was in no mood to hold back.
"Marco told me you have a healthy appetite," Putana went on. "Is it too much?"
"No, it's fine!" replied Yamato, a little too quickly. "I mean…I haven't eaten a lot recently."
Not since the horns had started itching.
"Well, eat up while you can." Putana smiled gently. "Marco is expecting you. He finished training with young Izuku a few hours ago."
Izuku was training?
She kept on eating. If Izuku was training, that meant they weren't going home.
A part of her didn't want to stay. It was selfish, she knew, but if they had been just a little more selfish then Izuku wouldn't have gotten hurt. They wouldn't have wasted so much time, and pain, on a fight that wasn't their own.
But then…where would that have left the others? What would have happened to them? Would anyone be able to stop Shiki's plan?
But in trying to save them, to stop Shiki, Izuku got hurt. In trying to save anyone, it seemed, he got hurt.
Including her.
The thought made her heart twist, again.
"Your Kara shifts, like oil in water," commented Putana. "Something troubles you, yes?"
"Yeah…" She finished the bread and meat, and sighed. Putana offered her a wineskin, and she drank it all down. It was water, as cool and pure as anything she'd ever tasted. Was it because they were so high in the air?
"Where can I find Marco?" she asked, standing up. She was wearing only a white juban and loincloth, the last remnants of her old outfit; but she was too distracted to pay it much thought.
"He is outside. Do you wish to talk about it?" Putana asked. Yamato looked away, not knowing what to say.
"We can talk later if you are not comfortable discussing it, young lady." Putana smiled, a wrinkly old hand patting Yamato's forearm. "Worry not for now."
"R-Right. Thanks." She managed a bow, then turned to leave.
"Before you go." Putana drew a bag from behind her, and drew out what looked like folded clothes. "They're not much, but they'll fit."
Yamato blushed, and took the folded outfit from her. It was a long tunic reaching to the tops of her thighs, and a pair of baggy trousers, both in white cotton.
"Thank you." She pulled them on, bowed again, and strode out of the cave. Two Lunarians were standing guard as she passed. They didn't say anything, but she could feel their gaze upon her; curious…and judging.
"Yo." Yamato turned, and saw Marco resting against a boulder. An empty sack and wineskin lay beside him. "Enjoy the grub? Svraga food's darn good. I asked the cooks not to make your meal spicy."
"T-thanks Commander." Yamato rubbed her forearm awkwardly. Marco chuckled, and stood up.
"Come on, we're not on the Moby. You can just call me Marco up here." He grinned, and Yamato felt better for seeing it. "Izuku's resting back at Khana's place. We had a good long spar together. Had to heal him up too."
Yamato winced. Marco rolled his eyes, and rubbed the back of his head.
"Okay, let's head down from here. Drona is waiting for us." He transformed into his phoenix form, and flew down the mountain. Yamato leapt onto one of the roots and slid down the slope.
"Grab on!" Marco called, opening his talons. Yamato jumped and caught the talons, holding on tight as Marco glided away. They passed over the city, and the forest beyond it, until they reached a broad valley. There was no missing the craters and the uprooted trees. Marco and Izuku really had been training.
Then she saw Drona, meditating beside a campfire. Marco flew down, dropped her off, then returned to his human form.
"Okay Yamato. I've been training with Izuku, helping him get the most out of his power. Now it's your turn."
"My turn?" Yamato did not like where this was going."
"Your Devil Fruit."
She bit her lip and Marco sighed.
"Yamato, you can't un-eat a Devil Fruit. Best thing to do is embrace it."
"I wish I could," she muttered, her horns starting to itch again.
"Listen, we all wish things could be different." Marco crossed his arms. "But what's done's done. "
"The Fruit overcame me," retorted Yamato. "And my own blood too. I turned into a beast. How can I become better?"
She looked away, ashamed.
"By being better than yesterday, one step, no matter how small, at a time," said Drona, rising to his feet. "That is how, my child."
His voice was soothing, just like in the pool.
"Every journey, be it long or short, hard or easy, begins with a single step," Drona went on. "I never had the chance to change the fates of my students. I was nervous, afraid, hesitant, and that hesitancy rendered me tepid, powerless. I made decisions that changed the course of history, and the fate of an entire kingdom. Some were good, all too many were bad."
He paused, and he looked old and sad.
"Before the Duryos took power, I did what was comfortable, what seemed reasonable at the time; for the good of the realm, and for myself. I didn't take the necessary step, because I was small-minded, and I was selfish. It cost me dear. But you, at least, I can still help. We will all help you, my child."
Yamato swallowed a lump in her throat.
He was right, Marco was right, and Herzla had been right. This power was a part of her, like it or not. She had to control it, or else be destroyed by it.
"Okay." She took a deep breath. "Let's do this."
Marco grinned, and Drona nodded.
"Alrighty then, let's get started" Marco sat down on a boulder. "This forest, it's just us. This is your space."
"My space?"
"Your space."
Her space. Hers and hers alone, just like in the pool. Same logic.
"So…how do you access your power?" Marco asked. Yamato thought for a moment.
"I…don't know. It wasn't…I didn't make it happen. It was when…"
Her blood ran cold. It had come in Germa, when she feared that Izuku and the others would die. It had come again at Bakakila, when she felt so angry…
"When things…were really bad," she went on. "Like when I was scared, and angry, and…"
"That's not right though," interjected Marco, arms crossed. "That's not how Zoans work. Did you learn anything from your father's Zoan users? Did he tell you anything about controlling a Zoan power?"
"No, not really." Yamato winced. "I was too busy rebelling, fighting him. My cuffs suppressed my power anyway." Her hand brushed over her wrist. Even through the bandages, even after all this time, she could feel the cuffs.
"Alright, so, Zoan one-oh-one," Marco began. "Zoan Devil Fruits let you transform into animals, we all knew that. But they're different from Paramecias and Logias in how, well, how they're like when you eat them. When I ate mine, I felt…a warmth surge up inside me, like I was next to a campfire on a crisp, cold night. I knew in that moment that my power was unique, something not of this world. Do you remember anything like that?"
"I don't," admitted Yamato. "It was a long time ago…Can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Is the sensation different for different Devil Fruits? Like with Paramecias?"
"Yeah." Marco nodded. "When Jozu ate the Twinkle Twinkle Fruit, he didn't sense or feel anything. It only activated when he got into a fight, when the instinct to harden himself, to defend himself, came naturally. With a Zoan, we need to get a feel for the animal it represents."
Marco held up a hand, a blue flame flickering into life around his index finger.
"The flames of the phoenix can heal others and itself," he went on. "Naturally this power is not infinite. Nothing in this world is. It needs stamina to power it, both mine and the one I'm healing. Since I'm a doctor, it's natural for me to want to heal; so the power works easily. If there was a Fruit for, say, a tiger or a jaguar, they would need a predatory instinct to activate it."
He stood up, the flame spreading over his body, changing him into the phoenix form; a great blue bird, with blonde hair and glasses.
"So, your Zoan is a wolf, right?" said the bird.
"Yes." Yamato felt her stomach clench. "A wolf that brings storms of ice and snow."
"Definitely a Mythical Zoan then." The bird nodded. "Just like mine."
"But how do I activate it?" pleaded Yamato. "I was so angry and desperate…" She hesitated, as her horns itched again.
"You're neither of those things. There had to be something else, something those two fights had in common." The bird shrank back into Marco, and he sat back down on the rock. "What do you think it is?"
Something both fights had in common.
"Well…Izuku was there."
"Not a person, a feeling."
A feeling. She thought back, trying to remember. She had been angry, and afraid, all the more so thanks to Baka's Devil Fruit. But if it couldn't have been them, then what?
At Kaisafjord, she had been there with Izuku and the others, and fighting the Vinsmokes. At Bakakila, it had been Izuku and Karnakeya, fighting the Sons of Bakasura.
Again, it was Izuku. Her friend, her treasure…
"Heeeeeeeeeeeey~!"
A strange sound made her look up. Something was careening across the sky towards them, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Yamato blinked, and narrowed her eyes, wondering what it could be.
It looked vaguely like a boat, but with short wings and a flame blazing out of the back, spinning through the sky like a bullet in a rifle barrel. There was someone aboard, clinging on for dear life, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"MAYDAAAAAAAAAAAAAY~!" The pilot fell out, arms and legs waving plunged towards the ground. There were wings too, but they flapped uselessly, twisting and warping at strange angles. Her flames were on the back of her beck
"Bai!" cried Drona, eyes wide with terror.
"Crap!" snarled Marco, his blue flames lighting up.
Yamato moved. She vaguely felt herself leaping, up past Marco, through the trees, her body changing as she flew.
"Got you!" Her jaws closed tight, catching Bai's leather jacket, the flame going out. She felt herself fall, landing on all fours.
Wait. All fours?
A crash made her ears ring, pulling her back to reality. She looked up, and saw the flying machine lying in a clump of broken trees, hissing and smoking.
"Bai!" yelled Drona, hurrying towards them. "What're you doing flying unsupervised!?"
"Wow lady you saved me… Thanks!" Bai beamed proudly, before her eyes settled on Yamato's bandaged forearms. "Oh no!" Her face fell. "Crap crap I gotta get my herbs!"
She struggled, and only then did Yamato realise she was holding Bai by the scruff of her jacket…in her jaw.
"Hey Wolf Lady, let me down please! I gotta fix up the Firebird One and get the herbs!"
Wolf lady?!
Yamato opened her mouth, and Bai dropped down, sprinting towards the fallen flying machine. She knelt down and rummaged through a storage compartment, pulling out a cylinder. She aimed it at the machine's smoking stern, and a spray of white goo whooshed out, splattering over the stern and dousing the smoke.
"Altruism." Yamato turned, and saw Drona standing beside her, smiling gently. "Your Kara became light, in that very instant."
"Huh…I…"
Then she saw it, in a puddle nearby. A white-furred wolf, with blue eyes, staring back at her. She yelped and backed away, horrified.
"Easy! Easy!" Marco ran to her side. He was grinning from ear to ear. "So this is your Zoan form, huh? You look great!" He grinned. "And you're not hurting anyone. See?"
"Bai, whatever were you doing!" demanded Drona, striding over to the wrecked machine. The smoke and hissing had stopped, and Bai was rummaging in the compartment again.
"I wanted to see what was going on over here while I was out collecting herbs!" replied Bai, without looking up. "Besides, I've had falls before, you know that!"
"Come on." Yamato felt Marco's hand on her foreleg. "Don't be afraid."
Yamato gulped, and let herself be led towards the puddle. She saw her paw touch the rim, and the water freeze over, gently and softly, as if by magic.
And then she saw herself again. Bright red horns, snow white fur, sapphire eyes.
"You see a monster there?" Marco asked. with a bright smile "Becuase I don't. Looks like we've found your trigger."
He patted her back, as she stared down, lost in that perfect icy mirror, the ground freezing under her paws.
"The power to protect. The power of a hero."
'You are my hero, Yamato.'
In her mind's eye she saw him again, in that icy cave, his green eyes unwavering even as tears froze around them.
Her horns were no longer itching. They were warm and calm, almost soothing.