To Walk the Whole Way 3 (Patreon)

“Where’d you get that?” I asked, pointing at the talisman around Itsuka’s neck. She looked down, her hand going up to touch it.

“Uncle gave it to me, a week ago. Said I was looking a bit ill, that it would help,” she said. I blinked, I didn’t know Itsuka had an uncle. She’d never mentioned him before, and last I’d heard her mother was dead and her father an only child.

Instead of verbalizing my confusion, I instead asked, “Where’d your uncle get it from?”

“He’s not actually my uncle,” she said as I helped her to her feet. “It’s just that everyone calls him that. I don’t think anyone actually knows his name, but he’s run an antique store in the bad side of town, not too far from Crime Alley, for as long as anyone can remember.”

I nodded, “Think he’d be able to give us a lead or something else to go on regarding Bart?”

She shrugged, an act which reminded us about the current state of her torn and shredded clothes. I took my shirt off and offered it to her. A shirtless caucasian guy would attract less attention, of any kind, than an asian ginger with her clothes a stiff breeze away from being rags. Honestly, despite having been friends with Itsuka for years, the fact that she was a natural redhead despite her entire family being japanese still got to me every now and then.

But, as I always did, I put it aside and stayed with her as we went back to her place. Apparently this ‘Uncle’ kept late hours, and if we were to go there as we were, I would instantly be labeled as an ‘unwelcome delinquent sniffing mountain flowers’ or something like that. Plus Itsuka would much rather change out of her torn clothes and return my shirt.

Itsuka and her dad lived in one of the many apartment complexes in the Upper East Side, about five blocks away from Crime Alley. As we walked, I couldn't help but feel on edge. Bart had surprised us once, and who knew what he was capable of now that he'd decided to go all in on the supervillain thing? I kept a close eye on our surroundings, watching for any sign of danger.

When we arrived at Itsuka's apartment, she quickly changed into some fresh clothes while I waited in the living room. Sitting on the couch across from her father, who was looking at me with a stern expression on his face.

“So… what are your intentions with my daughter?” he asked, his voice like steel.

I raised an eyebrow, “She’s my best friend, that’s all. Also she can kick my ass five ways from Sunday, even without taking her ‘gift’ into account.”

He chuckled, his entire posture loosening up and relaxing, “Sorry, Pete. Just haven’t had the chance to do the whole ‘threatening dad’ thing. Little ‘Suka for some reason doesn’t want to bring her friends over.”

“Because I knew you’d do something like this!” she shouted from her room as she walked out. She was wearing her normal casual clothes, a tank top with a gi tied closed over it, and she tossed my shirt back to me. Her father laughed and raised his hands in surrender. I’d met him before, when he came to pick up Itsuka from school, and got along with him pretty well.

With her wardrobe issue resolved, we headed to the antique store in the bad part of town. It was a seedy area, filled with rundown buildings and shady characters lurking in the shadows. I felt a chill run down my spine as we made our way to the store.

When we arrived, we found the door unlocked and stepped inside. The store was dimly lit and filled with all sorts of oddities, from antique furniture to bizarre trinkets. I couldn't help but feel like we had stumbled into a secret world.

“AI-YAAA!” an older man shouted from the back, and I was struck by the voice sounding somewhat familiar, even if I couldn’t place why.

“That’s Uncle,” Itsuka muttered under her breath. “C’mon, let’s see what he can tell us.”

I followed her as she made her way to the back, slipping through a door that quite firmly said ‘EMPLOYEES ONLY’ into a storage area that had even more accouterments than the front. Hanging on the wall opposite the door we entered through was an elaborate shield, my eyes drawn to a specific decoration in the middle of it.

[quote]Artifact: Rooster Talisman of Shendu[/quote]

I have only vague memories of the show they came from in my original life. I remember that there were twelve of them, one was a magical flamethrower, one let you fly, one heals, one grants immortality (which was not redundant with the healing one), and the Tiger one specifically splits you into two people if it breaks. The name Shendu was bad news, but I couldn’t remember why.

My attempts at remembering more were cut off as Itsuka led me to a section of the back room where an old, slim man with gray hair that stuck out in every direction… I blinked and my jaw dropped as I tried to process what I’d just seen. Did this geriatric old man just hit freaking Batman over the head?

“You want Uncle’s help?” the old man, Uncle apparently, asked, his accent at the same time strong yet easily comprehensible. “Then you will do as Uncle says and leave his shop!”

Batman (seriously, Batman) gave a sharp nod and seemed to just disappear. I looked around, trying to figure out just how he’d done that. Seriously, I kept my gaze firmly locked on where he’d been, I didn’t blink or look away, yet he just disappeared!

“Hi, Uncle,” Itsuka greeted the old man as I tried to figure out how Batman had done that.

Uncle nodded at Itsuka and then turned his attention to me. "And who is this?"

“This is my friend, Peter," Itsuka introduced me. “We need your help with something.”

Uncle raised an eyebrow and looked at me with a scrutinizing gaze. “What kind of help?”

“We're trying to track down someone,” I explained. “We were hoping you might have some information that could help us.”

Uncle stroked his chin thoughtfully, “I see. And who is this person you are looking for?”

I hesitated for a moment. I wasn't sure how much to reveal. “His name is Bart. He's causing some trouble and we need to stop him.”

“Ah, the foolish boy who decided to join with Black Mask!” Uncle declared with a nod. “Yes, Uncle knows who you are talking about.”

Well that was convenient. I shared a confused look with Itsuka. How would he know who Bart is? An answer to that question didn’t seem to be something that Uncle was interested in providing, instead turning around and heading to a different part of the back. The whole place was like a warehouse, filled with shelves covered with countless different trinkets and oddities, more than I could easily identify.

[quote]Artifact: Sword of Beowulf[/quote]

[quote]Artifact: Pan’ku Box[/quote]

[quote]Artifact: Soultaker Muramasa Sword[/quote]

[quote]Artifact: Hana Fuda Cards[/quote]

[quote]Artifact: Mask of Oni General Kiiro[/quote]

[quote]Relic: Severed Tendril of Bai Tza[/quote]

[quote]Cursed Artifact: Hand of Vecna[/quote]

[quote]Intelligent Artifact: Gem of Cyttorak[/quote]

But the ones that I did identify had me more than a touch concerned about the sheer amount of magical firepower in the middle of the worst part of Gotham City. Still, the fact that Batman apparently knew about Uncle and didn’t appear concerned was a bit of a relief. As Uncle reached a part of the back filled with books, I blinked upon seeing a paper banner on the wall.

Walking past a potted flower, my eyes read over the portugese on the banner, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat.

“Peter?” I heard Itsuka ask, as I stared at the banner.

“‘Praised be, the Most Holy Sacrament,’” I read. I honestly hadn’t expected to see a banner from the Shimabara Rebellion, especially in Gotham. “That banner…”

“You have good eye,” Uncle’s voice made me turn to him. He was staring at a red lotus flower, the soil around it a blood red color, before turning to face me, his face stern. “You will allow Uncle to perform purification spell on you.”

“Is that really-” I began, only to be cut off as he reached out with two fingers and hit me over the head.

“Not optional! You will sit there and let Uncle work!” he yelled, pointing to a chair.

“I really don’t-” I tried again, only for him to hit me over the head again.

“You want Uncle’s help finding your friend, yes? THEN YOU WILL RECEIVE PURIFICATION SPE-ELL!”

I sat down and remained quiet after that. Seriously, I probably outmassed him at least two and a half times over, but something about him was crazy intimidating. What followed was Uncle holding up a dried pufferfish and a mummified lizard by the tail as he chanted the same thing over and over.

“Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao. Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao.”

My eyes followed the lizard as it was waved in front of my face like it was a hypnotist’s pocket watch. On the third repetition of the chant, I noticed something in my peripheral vision, and looked down to see that I was glowing a royal purple light.

“What the?” I began, only for Uncle to pull the lizard away and shove the pufferfish forward in its place.

I was face to face with a dried fish, and the light surrounding me was siphoned into it. I felt a sudden rush of energy, as if a dam had burst within me. All the tension and fear that I had been carrying within me seemed to dissipate into the air. It was as if I had been freed from some invisible chains that had been holding me down. And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the sensation stopped. I looked up at Uncle, who was grinning at me.

“You see? Uncle's magic very powerful!” he said, patting me on the head. I got up from my chair, still feeling the after-effects of the spell.

“Thanks, Uncle. I feel a lot better now,” I said, smiling.

Uncle nodded, his expression turning serious, “You must still be careful. Bart is very dangerous. Black Mask toying with dark forces he doesn’t understand. Fool mixes science with Dark Chi.”

I nodded, my smile fading. I knew that Uncle was right, it sounded like whatever Bart was on wasn’t just some super serum like I’d initially thought it was. My thought process was interrupted, again, as a plate was shoved into my chest.

“Now, Uncle must do re-esearch! Have mung bean sandwich, good for digestion!” Uncle declared before moving over to the collection of books.

I took a bite of the sandwich, despite preferring to have mung beans as part of a stir fry. I couldn't shake off the chill that ran down my spine at the thought of facing Bart again. The last time we fought, I barely managed to keep ahead of him. His strength and speed were beyond anything I'd ever encountered before. And now, with Uncle telling me that Bart was dabbling in something with Dark Chi, it seemed like his abilities had only gotten stronger.

But I couldn't back down now. Not when I could have done something to have kept him from doing this, to stop him from getting himself into this mess. I had to be there for him, and that meant I had to find him, to stop whatever he was trying to accomplish. But, if I was being honest with myself, I was scared. I was terrified that when I faced Bart, I would be unable to stop him. I had already failed once, when I was supposed to stop him. I had no idea how I had even managed to survive him last time, and now I had to actually beat him.

I looked over at Itsuka, who had moved over to look at the books Uncle had been perusing. Her eyes were glued to the pages as she scanned each and every one of them, trying to find something that could help us. Figuring that she had the right idea, I got up and started looking through the books and other items in the back.

[quote]Cursed Artifact: Darkhold[/quote]

I stayed the fuck away from the book that was giving out serious Necronomicon vibes, and eventually found myself by some of the other things he had stored back here.

[quote]Relic: Severed Tendril of Bai Tza

Benefits: Unlock Meridians, Waterbending (Initiate), Increase Chi Score by two Grades[/quote]

I didn’t even know what my current Chi Score was because my power refused to show me them. I glanced over at some of the other items, and felt a shiver down my spine.

[quote]Arm of the Betrayers: Silken Spite[/quote]

Yeah, I wanted nothing to do with something that had ‘betrayer’ in the name. Besides, I had no clue how to use a rapier. While there was the option to pick up weapon training at the dojo Itsuka and I went to, I hadn't yet, so I went back to helping Itsuka look through the books.

My eyes fell upon an old journal that caught my attention. It was bound in a dark brown leather, and had no markings on its cover. The front was filled with an elaborate, and obviously handmade, picture of a red lotus flower, surrounded by flames. The title on the front was in rough, almost waterlogged kanji, yet I could still make out the name.

“The Burning Lotus,” I whispered to myself, feeling a strange pull towards the journal. Without hesitation, I picked it up and flipped through the pages. The pages were filled with detailed drawings of different plants and herbs, along with descriptions of their uses in medicinal and magical properties. I paused at a page with a drawing of a peculiar flower, its petals colored a deep purple with a red center.

I read over the uses of the flower, and felt a surge of revulsion at the mention of an elixir that could be made with it using the blood of a jianshi as the base liquid. From the description, it would give the one who imbibed it a boost to their chi for a short time, but at the cost of rapidly burning through the drinker’s lifespan. As in, less than a year to live if you drink it.

“Oo-hoo-oo,” Uncle’s voice made me look up from the book as a full body shiver ran through him, visible even through his polyester vest. “Uncle has the willies.”