ORACLE [BNHA fantasy au]

Chapter 6 - Bard

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Denki Kaminari slowed as he passed his favorite tavern.

Golden, glowing windows flickered with lamplight in the rainy dark, and a cacophony of music and laughter echoed out from within. A frosty drink and a warm bowl of stew sounded like just the thing to liven up his mood.

Maybe the band would let him join in and make a couple coins too...

With his lute pressed to his chest for weather protection, Denki jogged across the muddy road, avoiding the larger puddles and divots thanks to the intermittent moonshine. He pressed into the tavern, immediately greeted by the cutesy, wide-eyed barmaid, Tsu. "Denki! Good to see you!" she waved from behind the bar, "I'll have your favorite ready in a second!"

"Thanks, Tsu! You're the best!" he yelled back, shaking out his soaked blond hair and unearthing his lute from the confines of his jacket.

A raspy voice called out to him from one of the booths along the windowed wall. "Hey. Sparky. Get your damp ass over here."

He'd recognize those mussed purple locks and rumbly vocal chords anywhere. Denki smirked and slid into the empty seat opposite Hitoshi Shinso, the person who'd called him over. "Miss me, spooky?" he taunted, propping his lute up in the corner of the seat beside the window before shucking off his wet coat.

"You wish," Hitoshi grumbled, frowning into his tankard. He sipped his mystery drink and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, adding a muttered, "Glad to see you're still alive, shithead."

Denki warmed a little at that and straightened in his seat. "Course I am! Can't kill Denki the Great so easily, right?"

"Excuse me? 'Denki the Great'? When did people start calling you that?" Hitoshi squinted at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, you know, like... always?" Denki shrugged, brightening when Tsu waltzed over smoothly with his food. "Tsu, you're a lifesaver. Literally. I haven't eaten in three days. I've been dreaming of your stew-"

"Eat then!" She laughed and set the food on the table, scooting it over in front of the blond. "And a hot chocolate to warm your bones. On the house." Pausing, Tsu looked between them and pointed at both of them accusingly before lowering her tone. "Behave." Skipping away to tend to a boisterous group across the tavern, she left without a single word more.

"She said that toward you," Denki mumbled, glancing up at Hitoshi over his bowl of chunky, steaming stew with a cheeky smirk.

Hitoshi's forced smile that he'd pasted on for Tsu's sake fell away, and he glared daggers at Denki. "You're an idiot. Eat your food before I hurt you."

"But I'm your idiot, so th-"

"Do not finish that sentence," Hitoshi yawned, grinding the heel of his hand into his tired eyes. "You're just digging your own grave at this point, sparky."

"Spookyyy, don't be like that," Denki whined teasingly, trying to rile Hitoshi up.

"Listen, do you want me to tell you about the mission I got, or not?" Hitoshi spat, raising his voice.

Denki jumped back, eyeing the man he considered his brother, who took care of him when he drank too much, who hardly ever raised his voice... And gathered himself. "Sorry, spooky. Tell me about your mission. I'm listening." He slurped his soup and focused on Hitoshi: the dark circles under his eyes, his unkempt indigo hair, his pale skin, drawn with stress.

A yawn pulled Hitoshi's face taut once more before he could speak. "I received a mysterious letter while you were gone. From my mentor," he whispered, leaning in over the table. Hitoshi moved his tankard to block his mouth from view of the other patrons, ensuring their privacy and blocking any attempts at lip-reading. "Big things are coming. Like, end-of-days big, Denki."

Swallowing involuntarily, Denki's eyes widened. Hitoshi never called him by his first name. Not unless he meant business. "O-okay... so what does that mean for us? What's the mission, exactly?"

"You've heard of the Oracle of Wildwood, right?" Hitoshi muttered.

Denki nodded. "Sure. Who hasn't?"

"Yes, well, my mentor is friends with them. And apparently... the Oracle is heading to the castle to tell the king about their vision regarding the end of the world. My mentor wants us to... covertly tag along."

That didn't make sense. "Is the Oracle going alone? Why would we follow but not tell them? I don't get it," Denki whispered back.

"Apparently my mentor doesn't trust the Oracle's guard," Hitoshi yawned, rubbing his eyes again and taking the opportunity to stretch, "My mentor has known the Oracle since they were little. And this guard is pretty new. So we're... insurance. If the guard does anything shifty, we step in."

The gears turned slowly in Denki's mind, trying to think over every aspect of this new mission. "It's only one guard? The Oracle doesn't need more?"

Hitoshi shrugged, sipping his drink. "I mean, it's easier to travel with just two people. Besides, they used to have more protection before the old oracle passed away. Now it's just the two of 'em. We can easily take him if he does anything. Two on one."

"How long's the mission?" Denki asked immediately after, "Did we get paid already? You found anyone to watch-"

"Mrs. Midoriya already agreed to watch Yuzu for us, don't worry," Hitoshi chuckled. "The cat won't even notice we're gone, idiot. And yes, we got half-pay up front. Not sure how long the mission is, honestly. He said to get in touch once the Oracle safely makes it to the castle, and discuss then. He might just pay us more to follow her again wherever she goes next."

"Wait, wait, wait," Denki said, holding up a hand between them, his smile widening into a cheeky smirk.

"...The Oracle's a chick?"