X. Drowning In The Rain

Ochako groaned at the sudden stream of blinding light entering the room, blinking rapidly while her eyes got used to the brightness.

In the doorway, blocking most of the brightness, was a tall silhouette of a girl.

"Wake up." She didn't even shout or anything, but Ochako still felt that she didn't want to know what would happen if she were to defy her.

The girl was the one who met them (and almost killed them in the forest), and Ochako realized they had never been formally introduced to each other, since she wasn't present at dinner the day before. Just as Deku and Shouto weren't…

Something hit the ground with a loud noise, causing the other girls to also wake from their slumber. But honestly, who could blame them? It had been a long time since any one of them slept on an actually comfortable bed.

She eyed the object on the floor, deducing that it was an iron basket of sorts, filled to the brim with… towels?

"I said, wake up." The black-haired girl repeated from the doorway, getting the attention of the others, who scrambled to get up under the girl's demanding tone.

A few seconds later they all stood in front of their respective beds, clothes rumpled and hair a fuzzy mess, but it was enough to please the Dragoon girl.

She nodded in satisfaction, her messy bun swinging with the motion. "Good. Now that you're all awake, or at least somewhat awake, I'll introduce myself. My name is Momo, and I am the assistant of the Chief advisor, whom I believe you've all met already, albeit briefly."

Ochako and the others nodded wearily, recalling the masked man from the day before.

"That aside, I'm going to let all of you take a bath now. You've been travelling for who knows how long, so I'm sure you could all use it." There was a hint of softness to her voice, reminding Ochako of a stern mother who only wants the best for their child.

"We've provided some towels and change of fresh clothes for all of you, so feel free to wash your clothes in our river later." Momo continued, gesturing to the basket on the ground.

Ochako, having been the first one to wake up, was also probably processing the information the fastest. She took a step forward, taking a bundle from the basket and smiling up at Momo.

"Thank you." She added brightly. On second glance, Momo really didn't seem that bad a person. If she hadn't met her in the forest beforehand, she would have thought she was a no-nonsense, kind girl.

But she had. She had seen the merciless, cold look in her emotionless black eyes, the memory sending unpleasant shivers down her back.

"Thank you for taking care of us." Tsuyu bowed slightly, also helping herself to a bundle from the basket, Ashido and Jirou following right behind her.

Momo returned the gesture, the corner of her lip trailing upwards. She probably had a beautiful smile, Ochako thought.

"Alright, I'll lead you to the lakes now. Our fire dragon already warmed up the water for us." That said, Momo effortlessly lifted the iron basket again, leading them out of the hut they were staying in and through the paths of the settlement.

Ochako watched the Dragoon men and woman begin their day, gathering water and ingredients to start cooking, as well as armed patrols disappearing into the forests.

"Life here must be amazing." She muttered wondrously, catching sight of the large silhouettes on the horizon.

"It can be overwhelming at first, but it really is full of great people." Momo agreed, almost fondly.

Tsuyu perked at that. "I don't mean to pry, but does that mean you didn't live here all your life?"

Momo stiffened at that, but it was so momentary that Ochako might as well have imagined it. "Uh, no, I grew up in a nearby village." She answered evenly, even if it seemed slightly off to Ochako, and by the frown on Tsuyu's face, she felt the same.

"Really?" Ashido cut in, smoothly pushing herself between Ochako and Momo. "When we left our home village, we went as far away as we could afford to. It was really coincidence that we ended up meeting Midoriya, otherwise we would probabl-mphh" Ochako sweatdropped at the sight of Jirou clamping her hand over her partner's mouth, laughing apologetically.

Momo raised an eyebrow at their behaviour, but chose not to comment on it. "You girls seem like a lively bunch, so what got you involved in this quest, anyway?" She asked instead, her eyes trailing over the group.

There was something overly familiar about her tone that didn't sit quite right with Ochako, but at the same time she still got the stern mother, or perhaps older sister vibes from the Dragoon girl, lulling her into wanting to trust Momo.

Without her cloak and unconventional armour, clad in a simple dress instead, she immediately appeared so much more approachable, especially with her almost kind, yet respectfully formal demeanour.

Jirou's hand slipped away from Ashido's face causing the girl to breathe in relief. The purple-haired sound mage locked eyes with Momo for a moment, then sighed.

"You've spoken to Shouto and Midoriya already, right?" She asked bluntly. "That's why neither of you were at dinner yesterday."

Ashido sent her partner a worried look, bringing up her hands to stop Jirou from continuing, but Momo interrupted her gesture by speaking up first.

"Yes, I did." Momo admitted professionally, a challenging glint in her eye. "I fail to see what that has to do with my question."

Ochako's lower lip trembled slightly, so she bit down on it firmly. She hadn't expected Jirou to tackle things head-on, but after the suspicious happenings of the entirety of yesterday, none of them could really let it go.

Once the girls had settled down in their huts, they all agreed that something bigger was going on, and that they would need to discuss it with the rest of their group somehow. At dinner Ochako had gotten the opportunity to discuss some things with Iida, but he didn't have much to offer either. Only the fact that Shouto had been questioned by the Chief Advisor, only to come back seemingly exhausted.

Back in their hut, the girls pondered on that information, as well as the absence of two of their travel mates and the bits of conversation that ran between the Dragoons, especially whatever the loud blonde, Bakugou had to say.

Whatever it was, Momo was treating them to a bath, which probably meant that her conversation with Deku and Shouto must have ended on good terms, right?

"Wouldn't you have a good idea of why we are here, in that case?" Jirou continued asking. "It'd be easy to draw the conclusion."

"Yes, it would be easy to draw a conclusion, but I wouldn't be asking you if that conclusion seemed plausible, would I?" Momo answered confidently, now leading them down a forested path. Ochako could already make out some steaming water in the near distance.

Jirou still held a sceptical look in her eye. "If you don't think we're here as treasure hunters, then what do you think?"

They came to a stop in front of a clear lake, wafts of steam lingering above the still surface.

"I don't know what to think." Momo sighed, but it sounded more like a general statement than a mere answer to her question.

Momo hummed contently at the feel of the just-right water, this was just what her tired body and stressed out soul needed. The female guests also let themselves into the water after her.

Right now, she really didn't want to think about her problems, but at the same time she was curious as to how their party had formed. She wasn't one to speak herself, considering that she was in a patrol unit with Kirishima and Bakugou, but it still wasn't an everyday occurrence to have such a mismatched group stroll into your life.

"Wow, this feels so great!" The brown-haired girl exclaimed enthusiastically, probably to bridge the tense atmosphere from their prior conversation. "That water is so clean!"

"Of course it is." Momo explained, hints of pride in her voice. "Dragons are nature spirits, most of them can emit healing properties when they are in sync with their element."

"Really? That's so interesting! There weren't any dragons where we come from, so I hardly know anything about them." The girl pouted.

Momo almost smiled. There weren't many female Dragoons her age, so it was nice to see what it was like to grow up outside of this village. Not that she would trade it for anything in the world, no.

The Dragoons had given her and her master a home when they had nothing left.

"My parents work hard." The brown-haired girl suddenly spoke up, dragging Momo out of her drifting thoughts. "They do their best, every day, so that I can live a happy and fulfilling life." She had a fond smile on her lips, but at the same time her eyes held nothing but sadness.

"I wanted to pay them back somehow, so when Deku said we might find some treasures here, I thought maybe, just maybe I could do something for them in return." Her smile faltered when she looked up to Momo.

"Sorry my reasons aren't as honourable as you might have hoped."

Momo blinked at the girl, then shook her head slightly. "There's nothing dishonourable about wanting to pay back those who have done good things for you. Although I'm afraid you guys won't find many treasures where you'll be headed."

"Where we'll be heading?" The pink-haired Halfling inquired with a raise of her eyebrow.

The sceptical purple-haired girl narrowed her eyes at Momo once more. "So the three of you already discussed that as well?"

"We didn't go over the details, but there aren't any valuable treasures besides the One For All in the area." Momo explained vaguely. She would be respectful towards Shouto's and Midoriya's wishes to keep their secrets. After all, if Shouto were to figure out her identity at some point, she'd at least have some leverage against him.

The frog girl was trying to glance at her inconspicuously, but Momo could feel her eyes on her. It was only natural that they wouldn't have complete trust in her.

"We want to start over. A fresh start." The pink-haired girl spoke up after some time, much to the horror of the purple-haired girl.

"Kyouka and I… we did some bad things in the past." The Halfling went on, pushing the other girl, Kyouka, away when she tried to intercept. "We were pretty poor, so we had to resort to stealing things in order to survive. When we realized that we were actually quite talented, we got a bit too ahead of ourselves and harmed many people in the process."

"Mina…" Kyouka sighed, looking at her apparent partner in crime.

Mina shook her head vigorously. "It was wrong, Kyouka. We… we shouldn't have… After meeting such earnest people as Shouto, Midoriya and Iida, as well as Uraraka and Tsuyu here," She smiled fondly at the other two girls, "we decided it was time we change our way of life. And sometimes you need to take a leap of faith for that. Our leap of faith was to accompany them on their journey. Even if we didn't find the legendary sword, we would have found many wonderful friends."

Momo and the others were momentarily stunned into silence.

"That's a good outlook in life." Momo applauded the Halfling gently. "Make sure you don't lose it." Not like I did…

Kyouka knew it was rude to glare at people, but she just couldn't figure Momo out. She had very little reason to believe that the girl was good-hearted in any way, but she was awfully polite, unnecessarily so.

The nickname Bakugou had for her resurfaced to her mind.

Assassin girl.

She glanced over to Mina quickly. For all they knew, Mina and her were angels compared to what Momo might have done in the past.

And then the curveballs kept coming. Her words for Uraraka and Mina were earnest, either that or she was the best liar in the world.

Kyouka grimaced. She wanted to understand. She wanted to understand who Momo was.

"I've always wanted to travel." The frog girl finished their talk. "It's been my dream for as long as I can remember. So when Midoriya offered me to accompany them, I accepted his offer."

Momo nodded, but not without taking note that the frog girl was not telling her something. "That's a nice dream. Has it been like you imagined it'd be?"

Something flickered in the girl's eyes before she answered. "Eh, honestly, not quite." She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Continuously looking for food and water can be pretty taxing."

Momo nodded absentmindedly, remembering the time she lived with Master Aizawa in the cottage in the woods. "I know what that feels like."

A soft roar sounded in the distance and Momo let out a sigh. "Looks like our bath time is over. I hope you enjoyed it."

Mina stretched out her arms with a satisfied smile on her lips. "Yes, it was wonderful! Thank you very much."

The others, even Kyouka, agreed.

Momo was content enough with that. None of them seemed to have any evil intentions towards the sword, so there was no reason to intercept them nor stall them here any further.

They got dressed after drying themselves off, making insignificant small talk along the way. The brunette, Uraraka had talked to her about the regional ingredients they used for cooking in the Dragoon tribe.

The frog girl and Kyouka still seemed apprehensive of her, but that was only to be expected.

Deep down, they were all good-hearted girls. There was no need for them to stay here any longer than absolutely necessary.

Master Aizawa's room was a spectacular mess, as always, and he was rolled up in his cocoon-like yellow blanket, as always.

"Put the reports on the table." He mumbled sleepily, and Momo complied with a soft sigh. Some things never changed.

Just as she was about to close the door to the hut behind her, she took the opportunity to give it one more good look.

So much had changed for both of them when they joined the Dragoon tribe. She shook her head gently at the memories, then closed the door behind her quietly.

"Father, father, where are we going?" The young black-haired girl asked the older man accompanying her excitedly. Her bright eyes peered out of the carriage window, taking in the changing scenery with awe.

"Are we going to visit the Southern Kingdom again?" She turned towards her father, a hopeful smile on her face.

"I'm afraid not, Momo dear." Her father responded solemnly, a sad smile on his lips.

"Father?" She asked him hesitantly. "Did something happen? Something bad?"

The old man sighed. "You could say that, sweetie."

The little girl put on a determined expression. "Is there anything I can do to help you, father? I will do my best!"

Her father looked at her with an odd look in his eyes, then nodded slowly. "Of course you will, sweetie. I have just the job for you."

There was something about her father's words that seemed off, but the little girl trusted her father. There was no way he would ever hurt her, right?

Right? Right?

Right?

"F-Father?" She trembled as she looked up at her father. "What's going on?" Tears threatened to spill down her face, but she was a big girl, and big girls didn't cry.

They just didn't.

"You said you'd do anything for me, right?" His voice was harsh, cold, wrong.

"Y-Yes?"

He smiled at her, but it sent an unpleasant chill down her spine. "I have the perfect job for you, dearie." He patted her on her head, but it didn't feel the least bit reassuring.

"Yes, father?" She was almost afraid to ask.

"You wanted to travel, right? There's this pleasant valley near here… I'm sure you'll find it… breath-taking." He explained, but his eyes weren't looking at her. It was as if they were looking right through her.

"Are you sure, father? It's really late…" She nervously glanced at the setting sun.

"Nonsense, sweetie. It'll be a lovely midnight stroll." He laughed, no, cackled hysterically after that.

Momo felt panic rise within her. Who… who was this man?

This man wasn't her father! Her father was kind, smiled gently and laughed whole-heartedly.

"C-Can we do this tomorrow, father?" She tried her best to put on a believable smile, but she knew she failed.

"No!" Her father suddenly shouted loudly. "It must be tonight!" With that he wrapped a hand around her small wrist and roughly dragged her through the castle and straight through the front gates.

She didn't notice the horrified and pitiful looks on the servants' faces. She was too busy trying to accept that her father was hurting her.

He practically threw her into the carriage, then dismissed the coachman, taking up his position instead.

Momo, alone in the dark sitting compartment, did the only thing she could think of. She hugged herself tightly and wept silently.

Because big girls don't cry.

The terrain was uneven, and soon the sound of rain hitting the exterior joined in to the rhythmic tapping of the horses' hooves and the gentle creaking of the carriage.

Every bump in the road made the carriage shake roughly, occasionally throwing Momo across the sitting department.

She sniffled, ignoring the new bruise that would be forming on her arm. If only she were better at alchemy already, then she could do something about this. She wouldn't know what, but if she had more power, she was sure she could do something!

Anything!

She was supposed to be incredibly smart, at least all her tutors always praised her endlessly, so why? Why was she so helpless right now?!

The carriage shook violently once more, causing her to fall into the opposite bench face-first. A sudden pain blossomed across her face, additionally to the feeling of warm liquid trickling down her forehead.

She hissed, new tears threatening to fall down from her eyes, but she bit down on her lip harshly to hold them back.

Big girls don't cry.

"Ruler of the Western Kingdom… what is the meaning of this?" The majestic voice echoed across the entire valley imposingly, the sound waves making surrounding tress sway dangerously.

"A sacrifice, good Dragon Elder!" Her father presented her, a crazed look in his eyes. "You can have her, in return leave my Kingdom alone!"

The dragon remained silent, only narrowing his large eyes by a fraction. Momo was still trembling, the rain soaking through her dress and hair, mingling with the blood and sweat on her forehead.

She was scared. "F-Father? Father, pleas-"

"Be quiet, useless wench!" He hissed at her, shutting her up effectively. Then he turned back to the dragon. "Please, accept it, good Dragon Elder! This is my daughter, Momo! Surely her heritage is enough to appease you!"

The dragon still didn't say a single word, but Momo felt her heart shatter.

Useless wench. Useless wench.

She screamed.

With strength she never knew she had, she tore her bruised wrist out of her father's grip, ignoring the sickening crunch that came with the action.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Her father's angry voice followed her, but she ran. She screamed and she ran and she screamed and she ran, as far as her short legs would carry her, until she couldn't hear her father's voice anymore.

She fell to her knees, shrouded by the shadows the trees around her cast on the forest ground. The ground was muddy from the still pouring rain, dirtying her dress further. She also lost her shoes somewhere, she noticed.

Her heart was beating so loudly that she couldn't even hear the rain anymore, her father's last words echoing in her mind.

Useless wench.

A loud sob escaped her throat when the pain of her broken wrist hit her, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the pain she felt in her chest.

They lied to her at the castle.

Even big girls cry.

She woke to the smell of fresh herbal tea. Lavender tea, to be exact. She blinked her eyes open, her vision blurry. A headache hit her suddenly, making her whimper softly.

What happened? Was it maybe just a bad dream? Was it because she ate that piece of cake without her governess' approval? Maybe eating so much sugar right before sleeping does affect your dreams negatively.

She made a move to sit up, her vision still impaired, when a sharp pain shot up her arm. Taken by surprise, she cried out in pain, immediately taking any kind of strain off her left hand, cradling it gently in her good hand.

Tears threatened to spill across her face, but she sniffled, trying to pull herself together.

"Don't move too much." A gruff voice ordered, then two firm hands guided her to lean against a wall.

"W-Where am I?" She asked between sniffles. "And why can't I see you clearly?"

"You had some pretty nasty wounds, little girl." The gruff voice responded reluctantly. "So I brought you somewhere dry and safe where I could patch you up."

"T-Thank you." She mumbled politely, just as she had been taught to.

He grumbled something, then held up something in front of her face. "Can you tell me how many fingers I'm holding up?"

Momo stared at the undefinable object in front of her and shook her head regretfully, new tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"I see. It seems your concussion is worse than I thought." He sighed.

"My concussion?" She asked worriedly. "I have a concussion?"

"Yeah… Do you remember anything from the last two days or are there any memories missing?" He inquired.

Momo closed her eyes and thought back. She remembered everything vividly. Too vividly.

She screamed again, scrambling to her feet, tears rolling down her cheeks in streams. She needed to get away, get away, get away…

Two hands held her in place, keeping her from running. "Let me go!" She cried out desperately. "Let me go!"

"Oi, little girl, calm down!" The man's voice was drowned out by her father's voice, making her scream even louder.

"Father! Let me go!" She choked out hoarsely, her parched throat aching for water.

"Calm down!" The man spoke loudly. "You need to calm down! You're safe here!"

"S-Safe?" She stuttered softly. "Am I really safe here?"

His hands were still on her shoulders, but they weren't digging into her flesh. His grip loosened and he patted her shoulders gently.

"You're safe here." He repeated reassuringly, gently guiding her back to sit down. He took her good hand and placed a warm mug into it.

"Have some tea, it'll make you feel better." She took it and brought her shaky hand to her face, the calming scent of lavender filling her nostrils.

"T-Thank you." She said. "Thank you so much." It was probably the most earnest thanks she had ever given in her life.

The man sighed heavily. "Can you tell me your name?"

She took a small sip of tea and gently nodded. "Momo Yaoyorozu."

She could have sworn she heard the man inhale sharply, but it might have been her imagination.

"I see. My name is Shouta Aizawa."

Mister Aizawa let her sleep another round after feeding her some warm soup, saying he would bring her to a potion master when she woke up again.

She fell into a dreamless, empty slumber.

The potion master was a skilled, kind old lady, and once her eyesight had focused again thanks to one of the potions, she could make out the woman's warm smile.

At the sight she had thoughtlessly broken into tears and engulfed the woman in a desperate hug, because she just wanted to feel that warmth again.

The woman returned it, gently stroking her hair, whispering reassuring words to her as she cried her heart out into the woman's apron.

When she had run out of tears, Mister Aizawa held out a cup of warm tea to her, which she accepted gratefully.

The potion master looked at her wounds, changed the dressing on some of them and gave her a handful of concoctions to help her recover.

Momo stared at the amount of things in awe, then nearly started crying again out of gratitude. She would have been hopelessly lost without either of them.

"I will definitely pay you back for helping me, Mister Aizawa. I promise." She told him upon learning that he covered her expenses with the potion master.

"About that… what do you plan to do once you're fully recovered?" He asked seriously, his tired, sunken eyes lingering on her.

She stopped walking, realizing she hadn't thought that far yet. "I… I…" Her head spun. She couldn't possibly impose on Mister Aizawa any longer than she already had.

"You don't have anywhere to go, right?" He said softly, resting his palm on top of her head. "You can stay with me in that case."

"R-Really?!" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

He nodded in response. "I'd be taking you in as my apprentice, if that's okay with you."

Momo nodded vigorously, yes, please!

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're not even going to ask what I do for a living."

She pulled her lips into a determined smile, then took his hand into her smaller ones. "You have many scars, Master Aizawa, yet you are standing here, talking to me. You've been in many battles, but you survived all of them. You are very strong, Master Aizawa. I want to be strong like that."

"No matter what it takes?"

"No matter what it takes."

"Once you take a step down this path, there's no going back." He explained to her in a serious tone. "This is your last chance to say no."

Momo shook her head. "I've made up my mind. I'm doing it."

"From now on, there will only be monsters, no more humans." He clarified.

Momo smiled at him softly. "In that case, a monster saved my life, so surely not all hope is lost."

His eyes widened slightly at that, but then he chuckled and patted the top of her head. "That's one way to see things. But not all monsters are like me. Just remember that."

She nodded in affirmation. "I will."

He smiled at her sadly, pulling her into an unexpected hug. "I'm sorry." He said simply, but Momo caught on to what he was implying. She circled his larger torso with her arms.

"It's alright. I made this choice."

"Don't extend your arm too much, you'll lose your balance." He instructed, adjusting her stance.

"Right!" She memorized the correct stance intensively, the way every fibre of her body felt when she made the movement.

Master Aizawa nodded approvingly.

"I don't know why, but it's too brittle." She explained, handing the piece of metal she had created with alchemy to her mentor.

Master Aizawa studied the piece intensely, then slammed it against the stone wall. The metal broke cleanly into two.

"It's too hard, that's why. What you want to create is a durable metal, not a hard one. It needs to be able to absorb shock as well as withstand it. Try again."

She nodded understandingly, the puzzle pieces in her mind connecting the dots.

"I need some sort of alloy… but what kind of metals should I use?" She mumbled to herself, flipping through a book she had gotten from Lady Shuzenji, the potion master.

"Maybe you should try thinking out of the box." He advised her, picking up a piece of charcoal before chucking it into the fireplace.

She frowned at him at first, then realization dawned on her. With a small smile on her face, she started taking notes, knowing exactly what she had to do.

Master Aizawa inspected her newest product, then slammed it against the wall. A corner of the stone brick broke off, the metal unharmed.

He handed it back to her. "That will do for now. Now I want you to practice creating weapons instinctively."

"Instinctively?"

"Yes, I want you to be able to create them in your sleep. Here's a list, pick a few to focus on, and make sure to create a balanced choice in order to be prepared for any situation."

Momo accepted the list with a determined smile and went straight to work.

"Breathe in, breathe out." His voice gently guided her in the background, her focus trained on the small white rabbit hopping between the bushes below them.

She readjusted her foot on the branch of the tree, and with a deep breath she drew the arrow. The rabbit paused its movement to sniff a plant. In the exact same moment she released the arrow.

It whipped through the air, skewering right through the small animal.

"Two more." Aizawa said from behind her.

She nodded, already having spotted the next one. Two perfect hits later, they were walking through the forest with their dinner.

"Who's the third one for?" She inquired.

"Chiyo. I need you to run an errand later on. She has some things for us." He explained curtly.

Momo nodded, hiding her small grimace. She knew that Master Aizawa's eyesight was getting worse because of his excessive use of his magic. Lady Shuzenji always smiled at her when she came to pick up the medicine for her mentor, but Momo only managed to return it half-heartedly.

Somehow, she'd make it up to Master Aizawa.

Somehow.

"Why don't you go to the library while I get some things from the farmer's market?"

Momo's ears perked at the word 'library'. "If you say so, master!"

She happily skipped down the road, looking forward to looking through the newest potion books. Maybe the one that Lady Shuzenji mentioned would be there? It'd make a nice surprise for the woman who had become akin to a grandmother to her.

Momo never actually got to meet her real grandparents, but if she still had any, she'd want them to be just like Lady Shuzenji.

Suddenly, two hands shot out of the adjacent alley, clomping down on her face and pulling her into the darkness.

"Oh my god, we did it!" One of the thugs whisper-yelled at one of his accomplices. "We got the Eraser's daughter!"

Momo's eyes widened at the sound of her mentor's nickname, and after a few seconds she determined there were only three of them. She caught her captor off guard, and in the blink of an eye all three of them were on the ground, immobile.

Her senses suddenly called out to her when she felt a presence above her, one that she had somehow missed before that.

She looked towards the sky, but her body was already moving on its own.

The fourth assailant was just above her, and before she knew it, she was holding a dagger in her hand, pushing it right through the attacker's chest.

He was practically skewered on her short dagger, his dead body slumping down, toppling Momo over as well.

The blood was everywhere, her clothes, her hands, her everything. She panted, immediately looking at her hands to see whether they were trembling or not.

She had never killed anybody before. Not another person, at least.

The man's lifeless corpse was limply draped over her legs, and Momo felt absolutely nothing.

"Master Aizawa!" She suddenly recalled, what if they were after him as well?

She pushed the corpse off herself and ran out into the street, not caring about her appearance. If anything, anything were to happen to Master Aizawa, she'd never forgive herself.

The farmer's market wasn't far, but it had never seemed further away than in that moment, especially when she spotted the first corpse.

Dread filled her when she remembered his worsening condition, and she frantically began searching for him.

He had to be somewhere in the area. Somewhere, somewhere.

For the second time in such a short time span, somebody clasped a filthy hand over her face and took hold of her. In her worry-filled frenzy, she had completely neglected the presence loitering behind her.

She shut her eyes, trying to break away, but this man was more skilled than the four that had approached her beforehand.

With horror, she realized she was trapped.

Her throat suddenly felt parched, but at the same time she felt like suffocating.

A limp body was thrown before her feet, and she recognized that messy black mass right away.

A tear fell from her eye, all the mocking, haughty voices around her fading into the background.

"Oh poor you, daddy dearest can't protect you anymore." One of them sneered.

She clenched her teeth.

That one. That one was going to be the first to die.

She had wordlessly handed Master Aizawa's barely alive body to Lady Shuzenji, the only evidence of their encounter being her blood-soaked clothes, despite not having a single scratch on herself.

"He'll pull through just fine, it's a good thing you got him here when you did." Lady Shuzenji rested a hand on her shoulder.

A sob rippled through her body, and Lady Shuzenji pulled her into a tight hug. She hadn't cried a single time since that day back then, she didn't even cry when Master Aizawa had left her all alone in that snake pit.

Because she knew. She knew he'd get her out of there.

But, what if, one day, he wasn't around anymore?

Another wave of tears fell down her cheeks, her heart filling with fear at that thought.

The moment Master Aizawa woke up and looked at her, there was a flicker in his eyes, and he knew.

He knew that she had lost the light in her eyes.

He leaned into his pillow staring up at the ceiling, muttering one last "I'm sorry."

"We're not safe here anymore." He announced solemnly.

Momo nodded in agreement. They had been compromised somehow.

"Chiyo neither." He went on, and once again Momo agreed. The frequency with which she visited the old woman was bound to catch somebody's attention eventually.

"She'll be relocating to the Southern Kingdom, so you should go say your goodbyes to her." He patted her shoulder, then began packing the most necessary things.

"Where will we be going?" She asked him.

He looked at her with an unreadable expression. "To an independent area on the other side of the valley."

"I see." Her eyes landed on something. "I'll go see Lady Shuzenji off then."

Lady Shuzenji smiled at her encouragingly, giving her a book on raw materials she had received as payment from a customer.

Momo accepted the gift gratefully, then handed the woman a small, purple crystal attached to a silver necklace. One of the few things she learned to create back at the royal court.

Lady Shuzenji smiled at her and took it, ruffling her hair one last time.

They'd probably never see each other again.

The journey across the valley had been rather uneventful, but that changed once they set foot into a certain forest.

All of a sudden, they were surrounded by multiple masked people who were pointing spears and swords of all shapes and sizes at them.

Momo eased into a battle stance instinctually, but paused when Master Aizawa held up a hand.

"We don't have any intentions to harm you." He announced loudly and clearly. "I merely ask for an audience with your leader."

The masked people glanced at each other hesitantly, before stepping aside and letting one individual through. Said individual removed their mask, revealing a scowling blonde woman with fierce red eyes.

"What do you want?" She asked rudely.

Master Aizawa bowed slightly. "I would like to request refuge for both my apprentice and I. We believe our services and skills will be able to compensate the trouble it would cause you."

The woman's expression remained unimpressed, the only difference being her raised brow. "Oh, what services and skills might those be?"

Master Aizawa made a small hand gesture, but Momo had been waiting for it so she acted immediately upon receiving the signal.

A few seconds later, she had disarmed all the hunters surrounding her and her mentor.

"Momo, what do you make of the metal they use for their weapons?" Master Aizawa asked her, and Momo being Momo had already caught on to the plan.

She picked up one of the spears and examined its tip thoroughly. "It's not bad, but it will rust too easily and lose its sharpness."

The blonde woman rose her second eyebrow. "I see. Can you offer us advice on how to improve them?"

Momo grinned confidently. "Of course."

She nodded and rose her arm to the sky, twisting her wrist to form a series of gestures. Immediately after that, all masked hunters stepped away from them, forming a free path into the woods.

"Congratulations on not dying." The woman smirked at them. "And welcome to our humble village."

They were ushered along the free path, and once the trees stopped a lively clearing greeted them. It was small, but quaint.

However, that wasn't what caught Momo's eyes first.

No, it was the large, winged reptile that was sleeping soundly next to the clearing. She stiffened, her last encounter with one of its kind resurfacing to her mind.

She couldn't breathe.

She was alone, in the rain, it was cold, her father…

The panic rising within her suddenly dwindled, drowned out by a warm, reassuring feeling. She blinked the tears from her eyes, looking up at her mentor who was patting her head.

She smiled at him meekly.

It was alright, her real father was right here, by her side. Everything would be alright.

AN: Dadzawa for the win.

Obviously, we haven't arrived at the present Momo yet, but this chapter was already quite long so I took the liberty to split it up :)

As always, I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to review! (Only three reviews on the last chapter was kinda disheartening, tbh...)

~Emi