A/N: I'm back! Yay! I'm still trying to work on multiple things at once so my uploading will probably continue to be scattered, but my attention is back on this now so hopefully there will be multiple updates over the next month. It's a long one again, but what else were you expecting from me?
The pair of travelers had been on the well worn road for nearly 20 hours since the night before with only short stops to rest the horses. Fear and anxiety drove their restless race against time, but according to Commander Tenya, there was still almost a day's worth of travel between them and the Tarlson Keep.
As Momo's body groaned and ached with every shift of the saddle beneath her, she looked with a sighed relief on the sign that sat in the road's divergence just ahead, telling them that the Lordship of Tarlson was within reach and the small town just at its border was near. Tenya had told her they were going to rest there for the night once they reached it and the princess gasped relief to have an end in sight to the wearisome journey.
She was understandably exhausted. The things she'd seen the night before plagued her mind like nightmares. The assassin, Hitoshi, with Toru the Spymaster, dead at his feet. The magic in his grip that twisted such persistent fear in her gut. The fact that he'd willfully allowed her to live and that the only reason she was not a corpse was the assassin's apparent apathy and some idea that he'd already accomplished his mission despite her still being alive. The question of what his mission had been was a constant wonder and she hated every answer she'd managed to conjure.
Her deep inner turmoil kept her incredibly silent in their journey and Tenya said very little himself. His eyes were distant as well and little was exchanged that didn't have to be. A day ago Momo would have died to spend time like this with the handsome, talented Commander, but there were so many bigger things overwhelming the young, girlish desires in her heart. Yet at the same time she felt weaker to them, like it was too tiring to stop herself from longing after him despite how foolish that was and how ill timed.
After what felt like ages in the saddle, creating sores Momo had no idea could exist, they made it into the little town and found their way to an inn. They took their horses to the stables, rubbing them down and preparing the animals to rest up for the conclusion of their journey the next morning, still in a distant sort of silence.
They had no money with them and Momo realized the issue the moment they entered the inn. She wasn't a princess here and she couldn't be. It would have been incredibly unsafe to reveal who she was to anyone within the border of Tarlson considering the possible war that was soon to ensue and the general tension that was kept strong between the Lordship and the Capitol. This wasn't like the castle, she couldn't just demand something and get it.
Tenya had been a prisoner moments before their escape and he didn't even have his armor or his own sword to his name on his person. The most either of them had with them was a few rations that had been in the saddlebags when they took them. But when Tenya approached the innkeeper they spoke as if they knew each other and the man behind the counter greeted him with kind familiarity.
"Commander, welcome!" he shook Tenya's hand with a wide grin, recognizing his status without his uniform or insignias.
The Commander briefly explained their situation, in the context that he told the man that they were traveling without supplies and were in desperate need of a meal and a bed. He made some excuse of being on an urgent mission for Lord Enji and having been robbed in the night. There was discomfort in the Commander's face when he told the tale and explained that Momo was someone he came across traveling alone that he was too chivalrous to allow to make the journey without some protection.
Momo watched him silently and felt her heart squeeze as she realized the agitation came from the fact that he was lying. His honest nature was strong and it pained him to look a friend in the eye and tell a falshood. It was an incredibly admirable trait and Momo had to double check her heart for the way it skipped a beat.
After Tenya promised to double what he owed him for said services when he had the chance to return, the innkeeper happily showed them to their rooms, full faith in the Commander to stick to his word. It still shocked Momo that a man from Tarlson of all places was so trustworthy. Her entire world felt like it was opening up just to follow silently along with him.
The room itself was far from what Momo was used to, but she found herself wide eyed and mesmerized at her surroundings when she stepped inside the simple lodging. It was doused in novelty to her and even shouldering the responsibilities that had been dropped on her since the previous day was unable to diminish the small thrill of excitement she got in considering that she would finally be able to spend time among commoners and to experience a taste of their daily lives, like her father had in his youth.
She held down that excitement until the innkeeper left, telling them that he would be serving dinner shortly and they could come down once they had settled in. But as soon as he was gone she let her wonder surface at the bland, poorly lit texture of the room, seeming to forget that Tenya was still lingering at the doorway.
"Commoners live in such small spaces," she drifted through the small room with wide eyes, "However do they fit everything?"
Tenya chuckled from the door, reminding her that he was still there.
"This is just an inn, your highness, it's only meant for overnight. People don't live in places like this."
"Oh," she blushed a little at her misunderstanding, "Also… You should probably stop calling me 'your highness'. We're not in the appropriate company."
He nodded thoughtfully, "Should I just call you, Momo then?"
"Yes."
Her chest fluttered again and she kicked herself for feeling that way about him calling her by her name. Not as hard as she might have before. The more time she spent with him, the weaker she was becoming to these juvenile feelings.
"Only as long as you don't think it disrespectful," Tenya said.
"Of course not," she lingered a few steps away from him, finding that she was shifting on her heels and taking on a bashful look despite the confidence in her words. "We are friends now, after all."
A small smile pulled the corner of his mouth, pushing past the heavy aura that had surrounded them this last day.
"I'd be honored to be your friend, Momo," he tilted his head towards her, still rigidly standing just outside of the threshold of the room.
Silence returned and an awkward weight dropped back over them. They were both so deep in their own heads and it only seemed to be getting worse. The overlay of anxiety that draped across them since the assassination attempt was unrelenting.
Tenya straightened and after a moment of letting the silence sit, he shifted back and took a breath to say he would be going, but Momo's heart lurched and she beat him to it.
"Commander, would you mind staying for a bit and talking with me?" Her gut spun full circle at her own suggestion, wondering where such an idea had come from.
Tenya looked about them uncomfortably. "It would not be appropriate to-"
"We can't talk freely in the common area or in the hall and I fear I might lose my senses if I have to simmer silently in my thoughts much longer," Momo pled, "Everything that's happened the last couple days… I just need to talk about it. Please ignore propriety for an hour or so just this once."
Dark eyes relayed the heavy feelings in her chest and he stared back with a tense expression, caught between his decency and the need to be of comfort to the princess who had seen so much distress over the recent days.
Finally he sighed and nodded, moving awkwardly into the room and shutting the door at his back, lighting the lantern and candles within before parting the curtains to let the last glimmer of sunset into the room.
Momo sat on the foot of the bed, hands folding in her lap and heat burning her cheeks. This was still extremely awkward, but the idea of him leaving and all this still hanging over them without any resolution was far worse than the discomfort of the seemingly inappropriate setting.
Tenya didn't quite know what to do with himself after he'd let as much light in as possible and looked around for somewhere to sit. There was not much in the room and no seating, so Momo moved to the far end of the foot of the bed and patted beside her to indicate that she was fine with him sitting with her.
Hesitant as he was, he sat down next to her, dipping the bed with his weight as he took on another rigid pose, hands on legs and staring ahead.
A lump formed in Momo's throat to consider what it was she was trying to say, what it was that she wanted to vent. It was everything really. It was concern for Fuyumi who they had left behind at the castle, wonder over what Togata would think when he heard what had happened in his absence, the near death experience of their escape, and the pure dread of considering the possibility that the King and the Lord would be too difficult to convince of the truth. The fear that she didn't have what it took to stop a second war from happening.
But what she started with was the most recent fear, the one so present that it haunted her every waking thought since they had made their escape from the castle.
"What did the assassin mean when he said he'd already done what he came there to do?" Momo said quietly, staring at her hands in her lap, "I-I'm happy to be alive, but how could he have completed his mission if I wasn't dead? What could he possibly have come there to do if not kill me?"
She glanced up to see Tenya pale and his fists clench.
"I've been burdened with the same fears," Tenya admitted, "We don't truly know who even sent him! It was not Lord Enji I can guarantee, but if not him, then who? Maybe someone trying to start a fight between the King and Tarlson… But who could benefit from such a thing?"
Momo sighed. "We are only creating more questions for ourselves, aren't we?"
"It seems so," Tenya grit his teeth.
"But you know the assassin, don't you?" Momo prodded.
"Barely," Tenya replied, "He had been assigned to the Tarlson Seat for no more than two months. He's about your age, which means he's a newly graduated student of the Magesterium. They sent him to Tarlson like they have many mages before and Headmaster Keigo assigned him to menial work within the Keep. The only reason I even recall him is because of the shock I received the first time I came eye to eye with him. He was intimidating and the violet color of his eyes were so sharp, but I never recall him doing anything abnormal. If anything I heard less complaint than usual for a young apprentice given such demure work. Like most Synod Mages he gave off very little in the way of personality either. The things I have now witnessed him do were nothing I had ever considered him even capable of up until now."
"Could perhaps this Headmaster Keigo have been the one to give him such a mission?" Momo suggested.
"Absolutely not," Tenya frowned deeply at the idea, "He is a valiant Battle Mage. He is a bit eccentric since he is young to be a Headmaster, but he has only ever acted in devotion to Tarlson and the Synod. There is nothing for him to gain from inciting war or killing you, especially not with the overhanging threat. He is all too aware of what he and his Battle Mages are responsible to do if Dawnfell is unable to hold the front. Besides that they are already grappling the emergence of demons beyond the fronts in our own homeland. He would have no time to plot subterfuge even if he desired to."
Momo got very quiet, stomach dropping at the threat she'd entirely forgotten about.
"That's what Togata was sent to fight."
"Yes, but please do not speak of it," Tenya's hands turned to fists, "We are hoping not to let fear take hold in the populace. For now we have only seen minor demons, but that's still more than most Lordships are trained to deal with. As rare as it might be, an inexperienced mage opening a pathway for a demon to come into our world is known to happen in times of peace, but not to this degree. This is unprecedented. Like nothing we've ever seen. There were even...dead."
"Dead?" Momo turned her eyes up at him in confusion.
"Risen dead," Tenya clarified, disgust in his voice, "We have heard that Dawnfell has been battling armies of undead forces at the front, which tells us that the Summoner is a Necromancer, but that's the front. Such a great number of demons and the undead walking beyond Dawnfell's defense tells of an entirely new threat."
Momo shifted, turning a leg up onto the bed so as to face him. She didn't want to feel a sense of thrill, but she got to talk so little of the war with her father that she was jumping at the opportunity to delve into the horrible matter at the first opportunity. It horrified her and scared her, but as the future queen she was determined to know what was happening in her kingdom.
"Tell me about it," she said resolutely, taking a deep breath to ready herself to hear more horrors, "I want to know everything about the war. I am sick of being left in the dark and especially now with another war threatening to stack atop the one already in progress I should know."
Tenya frowned and hesitated.
"Your high- Momo," he caught himself, "This is not a pleasant topic. It's not something for the ears of a young woman-"
"I'm the future queen!" Momo snapped and then caught herself, realizing her identity was not something she should advertise so loudly, "I'm not just a young noble. I have to rule this entire country when my father passes on. Perhaps I'm young, but so was he when he had the weight of the world thrust upon him! I can debate politics with every noble and negotiate with every nation, but if I am not allowed to know about war then I have already failed as a leader."
It struck him harder than she had expected and his surprise was clear, though he nodded solemn understanding after.
"You're correct," he agreed, "I'm sorry that I moved immediately to treat you as fragile, you've already proven that you aren't. Forgive me for immediately acting to protect you. I've done it so long for Fuyumi that it's become a pure instinct to protect those I care about."
Momo tightened her mouth, taken for a loop by his wording. Was he saying that he cared about her?
A shake of the head dashed away the thought. "It's forgiven, now please tell me of the war."
Tenya turned a thoughtful side eye, "How much do you know about Summonings?"
"Not nearly as much as I should. I know that they begin with a Fallen Mage and that they bring an Archdemon into our world from the ether. I know that the Archdemon commands Major and minor demons at the will of the Summoner and I know that Dawnfell stands as our defense to that onslaught."
"Do you know why that is?" Tenya quirked his mouth towards her, "Why Dawnfell is the lordship tasked to protect us?"
"I suppose not," Momo pursed her mouth, "It's always just been known, same as that water is drawn from a well. I never thought to ask why."
Shifting to sit more comfortably on the bed, Tenya's ease made the awkward tension give way to a heaviness. The conversation was to be a serious one, but despite the weighty nature of the Commander's tone, Momo's chest pulsed with excitement. Excitement to finally know what had so long been hidden from her.
"It is because Dawnfell sits on the edge of Demon's Rise," Tenya made motions against the blanket on the bed as though it was a map and he was laying out the geography, "Others call it No Man's Land; it's miles of dead wasteland and the only thing beyond it is Dracos. It's harsh, unforgiving, and unfortunately, a place where the veil between our world and ether is the thinnest in all of Gaetha."
Momo swallowed remembering the stories that sat most uncomfortably with her. "That's where my grandfather and uncles died…"
Tenya only nodded.
"A Mage can summon a minor demon anywhere, but an Archdemon…" His finger swirled the place on the bed that he had wordlessly determined as Demon's Rise, "Well, according to the Mages in our court, only a place that the ether lingers a breath away from our world has the capabilities to let an Archdemon through and only a Fallen Mage has the power to Summon it. In all of Gaetha, Demon's Rise is the only place that it can be done. When your father became king he conferred with the Magestrate at that time once the Summoning was ended and, through the lives of many Mages, an infrastructure was created around the entire border of Gaetha that repelled anything born of the ether from entering. The only place such a ward could not take hold was in Dawnfell; the ether is too strong there, it broke the spell as soon as it was cast."
A sighed pause punctuated his words, eyes on where he had motioned Dawnfell to be on his non-existent map. "Before there was a ward Dawnfell was our first defense, but now more than ever they stand as the most important structure in our country. They are the cork in the bottle that is Gaetha."
"So why did my father send armies to Centra and Minstrel and not Dawnfell?" Momo tapped her lip, "Are they to wait at Dawnfell's back as a secondary defense? Just waiting for the first defense to fail?"
"More or less," Tenya tapped two spots behind the discolored bit of fabric, "If the Dawnfeldens fail, those two lordships have to be fortified to take the brunt of an even harsher force. There will be no bottleneck and preparing for a possible failure on the part of Dawnfell has to be considered. Our first priority is to support Dawnfell, but there can only be so many men guarding the fronts. All extra forces must support the bordering lordships while the rest of us try to keep the country together behind them."
Momo watched the imaginary map closely. "And has Dawnfell fallen? Is that why we are seeing demons and undead beyond the fronts?"
He looked thoughtfully at the princess. "No, as far as we have heard report of, Dawnfell still stands. Which means the Summoner remains behind its lines as well, so it cannot be the Summoner who is bringing in these hoards."
"Why is that?" she looked up at him.
Her curiosity was met with an intrigued smile, despite the topic.
"Headmaster Keigo explained it to me like this; when a Mage becomes Fallen, he opens himself up to the influence and corruption of the ether, which, more than anything is why it is so scorned, even if the acts of those horrible mages weren't so abominable. When a Mage completes a Summoning he is practically inviting the full consumption of the ether and they become like creatures of the ether themselves. Just like a demon, a Summoner cannot pass through the ward in or out of Gaetha. To reenter they must pass through Dawnfell and that bottleneck is too tight for one to pass through without first meeting the Dawnfelden Army."
Momo nodded quickly, a prideful thrill in her chest that was proving her father wrong with everything she learned. She could see no reason why she couldn't know the things Tenya was telling her.
"You're saying that this can't have been done by the Summoner, because the Summoner is barred from entering Gaetha," she clarified, "So if Dawnfell is still holding their forces back, then someone else is bringing these monsters into our world."
"That is the frightening reality, yes," Tenya sat forward on the bed again and leaned down his elbows to his thighs.
"Wouldn't it be worse if it were the Summoner?"
"Hardly," Tenya shook his head, "Any Synod Master worth his salt can find a Summoner as easy as his own shoes if the man is he's foolish enough to get back into Gaetha. But if we are dealing with lackeys or a scornful mage mimicking the Summoner's actions then finding the source of this threat will be far more difficult, nigh impossible if he's any good at keeping a low profile. Our Mages are seeking him out, but the damage may be done before they have a chance to subdue him."
Frustration etched Tenya's brow as he continued.
"Tarlson and Wingsleeve were both delayed in sending reinforcements to Dawnfell because of these wandering demons and the threats following them. Since Dawnfell's last request for reinforcements every Lordships has been scrambling to prepare a second wave of forces, but if there are such threats so close to home none will be able to be spared. As a nation we are becoming disorganized and faltering. There are too many places in need of proper defense for the manpower we have available."
Large hands rubbed over Tenya's face as he spoke and Momo began to feel guilty for even asking. It was clear that the subject was distressing to him, that his concern as a military commander was eating away at him.
"We should not even be teasing the idea of infighting when Gaetha could so easily fall to the ether," he fumed, his rigidity lost to his aggravation, "This wasn't the time for a royal wedding either. I have deep faith in our King and even more in Lord Enji, but such a frivolous thing could have been left for a time of victory, a time when Lady Fuyumi would not be left entirely alone no more than three days from her wedding night."
Bitterness tainted his tone and Momo couldn't help the defensive rise it gave her.
"There was nothing frivolous about it," she argued, "Alliances are important, especially at times like this. We had to have Tarlson at our backs."
"It doesn't really matter now does it?" he stared at his hands, "Despite all that effort to seal allegiance, your father rides to war against the very man he sought to make peace with. What good did that wedding really do in the end?"
It was tempting to argue, but she took a mental step back. She allowed herself to see this from his perspective for a moment, to not sit in her bias of being a Yagi and the self righteousness that tended to follow. The prolonged quiet allowed her time to watch him closely and see past the aggravation and frustration. Her shoulders slumped in guilt when she realized the root of his scowl. It was, as ever, worry, fear, concern for the girl left behind. His charge who she had made him abandon.
Momo skipped past giving his very open ended question an answer and addressed the real concern instead.
"I promise you, Fuyumi is in no danger," she insisted, "For her sake there may be true benefit to that marriage in all of this."
"How so?" Tenya forced himself to sit straight again, the scowl falling from his face.
"As I've said, even the harsh nature of my mother won't reach her if Togata is there to vouch for her. And he will vouch for her. I could see it in his face the day he left. She caught his heart quickly; she ensnared him in less than a week."
A chuckle broke the seriousness as Momo wrung her hands, thinking fondly.
"I always knew it wouldn't take more than a gentle hand and a pretty face to steal him away forever," she smiled, "He's too easily smitten and far too loving a person. He's needed someone to love properly ever since he was a boy."
Tenya was quiet, watching her intently.
"I have never had the capacity to fill that void," she shrugged one shoulder, "I've always considered myself a placeholder and even in the most platonic sense I've scolded myself for growing so attached to him, since there was always going to be some woman who was going to take him away. I never could quite picture what sort of girl could do that. Who could stand up and knock me down, who could push me from my pedestal as taking up the biggest place in his heart? I always supposed such a woman would be fierce or perhaps she would simply be funnier than me. But since I came to know Fuyumi better, it really couldn't be anyone else."
That made something in Tenya's gaze falter and it was visible when he swallowed.
"Even in her fear and timidity she was immensely brave and even though Togata is no more than a stranger to her she has been nothing but respectful and charitable towards him. She is giving every effort to be a wife to him even in his absence and I can see her willing her heart to want him in return. I can't imagine ever giving such effort to something I care so little about."
Momo finally went quiet to allow Tenya to say something in return; it was there the whole time, something itching to burst from him but never reaching the surface. He spoke towards his folded hands when he finally did, his voice confident, yet emotional.
"Of course, she is brave," the bitterness from before was strangely absent, "She has had to be brave every day of her life. She does not deserve to be further tested in more trials of bravery and endurance for the whims of the men in her life. Fuyumi will be strong through this because it is what she knows and I will never fault her strength, but at some point she deserves a respite, doesn't she?"
They were the words of a man who's life was not that of a noble, someone who had tasted freedom in its true form and could no longer see the stringency of royalty to be sensible. Momo hated it too, she wasn't going to pretend that she was excited to have her opinion on a marriage partner be of no meaning in the coming years, but she also understood why these things were done.
"It's the life of a noble," she explained and rolled her eyes while she paraphrased her mother's old saying, "It's the trade we make for the fancy dresses and nice dinners."
"That's not what I mean," Tenya exhaled slowly, "I was practically raised in the Keep, I'm all too familiar with the lifestyle and the tradeoff. But there's been no fair trade for her in this life. The benefits mean nothing to her. She doesn't care about the life of ease. There's no true ease in it and she doesn't have some great power to boast of. She's a pawn to political whim and the subject of constant abuse and I'm simply sick of watching it, unable to do anything."
Not convinced that this was simply more vicious scorn towards the noble's lifestyle, Momo inched towards him, head tilted to better see how his face had twisted back to anger.
"What do you mean abuse?"
Tenya winced as if realizing he had said something that perhaps he shouldn't have. He bit his cheek. "It's not my place to speak on such things-"
"You already have," Momo crossed her arms at him, "I've already proven that I will not do anything to harm her or her position in my home. She is my family now and I want to know if someone has harmed my family."
Hissing like someone had jabbed a fresh wound, he looked away from her while he answered.
"Before you jump to even worse images of the Todorokis, I assure you no such harm came to her from her own family," Tenya insisted, "Natsuo was a good kid and even if the years have changed him, he still loves his sister. Her father has always been cold, but he values his children and would never lash out unless given a real reason…"
He spaced for a moment and Momo flinched at the poignant pause. It was like a very clear image came to Tenya's mind on the thought of Lord Enji's wrath and she was immediately certain that she didn't want to know it.
"Enji's great flaw as a parent is that he is too good a leader," Tenya shook himself back, "His priority is his Lordship and maintaining his force and position in the kingdom. He ignores what isn't immediately relevant. So when it came to his own family he often didn't see what was happening under his very nose. There were many people in his court ready to take advantage of that."
The flickering of lantern light became the only movement, the waning sunlight giving way to the orange glow of sunset.
"I wasn't always there to do something about it," he said quietly, "She refused to allow anything to be said to Lord Enji or her brother. She claimed that it would look weak and she feared that she already looked weak enough to her father. Nothing I ever said could change that Todoroki heart of hers. That pride. She would just 'be brave', just 'be more careful next time'. Just make sure she didn't wander the Keep alone at night. Her own home."
She didn't ask him to elaborate. Even if her assumption was wrong, she had a vivid enough image.
"You never tried to tell Lord Enji about it?" Momo tasted bile, "If someone harmed his very own daughter, he would certainly take action!"
"Tell me," Tenya frowned, "If a palace guard went to your father and told him that one of his right-hand men had raped you and you refused to speak on the matter, would he believe the guard or the man who had spent years earning his trust?"
Momo didn't answer because it was obvious. If the victim wouldn't corroborate such a story the man of a lesser position was sure to be the loser and gravely punished for the insinuation.
There was tangible intensity in the clenched fist on Tenya's knee. "I've done everything in my power to protect her, since I knew how to hold a sword and I'll keep doing so until my dying breath. But my heart yearns for a day where she is not just brave, but happy."
His words put an ache in Momo's chest. Not just for the thought of someone harming such a pure, genuine spirit as Fuyumi, but for the way Tenya looked talking about it. He was so pained and his very heart had made its way onto his sleeve the longer he spoke of her.
"She must really be an amazing woman to have such loyalty and devotion from you," Momo's sympathetic smile faltered.
Brown eyes pulled away from hers as though they were trying to hide themselves. "Perhaps I'm just drawn to strong people…"
Momo had slipped slowly to close the distance between them, now no more than a finger's width apart. Aware as she was of how incorrect her behavior was, she allowed herself to sway a bit where she sat and nudge their shoulders together.
"Is that why you're here?" she grinned sheepishly, "Am I such a person of strength?"
His brow pulled together, still looking away from her. "Yes, I have great respect for you and believe as a leader one day you will guide with fortitude."
She hummed. "Thank you, I'll take flattery any way I can get it."
Confusion tightened his brow and Momo grit her teeth. This wasn't Togata she was talking to. The Commander didn't know not to take her words seriously.
"I'm joking," she clarified, "But I respect you too. You're truly an amazing man and Fuyumi is lucky to have had you protecting her for so long." Her mouth pursed sheepishly. "I guess I'm the lucky one now."
A glance told her he was still watching his hands closely, a wrinkle in his forehead denoting thoughtfulness.
"Hardly," he responded shortly, distractedly, then shook himself from his small stupor, "By which I mean that there's nothing particularly fortunate about the situation we're in. I'm proud to accompany you on this journey, I just don't believe there is anything lucky about it."
"I don't know about that," Momo leaned even further into his personal space, catching his eyes to hers as she spoke, "If any other man had been given your task to safeguard Fuyumi I may not have escaped the castle at all. And even if I had made it so far as the courtyard, I would have fallen to the assassin without you. And worse still there would be no one riding to Tarlson to stop my father from the terrible mistake he is about to make."
"I think you are giving me too much credit," Tenya shifted, but his direction seemed uncertain.
"I don't believe I am," Momo's heart made motions she was unfamiliar with and her hand slipped closer to him while she held his eyes.
"Your highness…"
Her hand had found its way onto his and folded around his fist, tensing harder under the contact as he went completely stiff. But Momo was not to be distracted by subtle body language. Even the voice in the back of her head that screamed for sensibility had found itself muted.
"I have no doubt in my mind that I owe my very life to you," Momo's breath was a shudder as she came ever closer.
"What are you-?"
His words cut off in a shocked sort of gasp and she could feel his breath mix with hers when he spoke. Her chin tilted up at the pulse of her heart and the heat in her skin drawing her into him.
Lost to this feeling she wanted to know more of, she moved to excite it further, to satiate it with the person in front of her, but his face turned away so fast she felt the whip of the wind that it kicked up.
"Momo. You don't understand what you're doing." His hand pulled out from under hers and he created space.
Momo couldn't move, shock and shame crushing her entire spirit at the clear rejection.
But it knocked down the barrier between her and her senses like a hammer to brittle bark. The princess was on her feet with speed that she did not know she was capable of. Her insides were a different sort of mess, a low dose of adrenaline flowing under her skin and her stomach sick from pure embarrassment.
"Commander, I-"
"Please don't mistake my rejection, your highness," Tenya stood quickly, moving into her sightline frantically, hands up, "It is not a reflection on you! You're…"
Amidst her own panicked feelings she turned her eyes to Tenya's face and found a flustered red in his cheeks and anxiousness in his stance. He kept a certain distance, but he spoke with the need to reassure.
"You're a beautiful woman," he continued, "And as I've said I respect you greatly! I am honored to be anywhere in your esteem and look forward to years of your rule. I would even look fondly on a true friendship with you, but…"
Momo stayed silent, her voice stuck in her throat, despite how she wanted to reassure him in return that she knew her intentions a moment ago to be entirely foolish.
The Commander's eyes grew distant and his fists turned white at his sides. She hadn't seen him this frantic when they were in battle and Momo was oddly scared that she was capable of having such an effect on a person.
"But I cannot be that to you. Even if such a thing were practical I can't give you that. My heart is not for you… I cannot share it."
Arms crossed Momo's stomach, squeezing to abate the nausea. It hurt to hear those things, but relieving as well. Her foolish heart had grabbed hold of an infatuation, but she was no idiot and she knew exactly how problematic even a slip up could be. She was too young to be falling into an affair before her father had even decided on a betrothal for her. His rejection was forcing her to be responsible and however her heart ached against it, she almost thanked him for it.
Momo trembled when she exhaled, anxious energy trying to escape with nowhere to go.
"Your heart already belongs to another…" it was hard not to sound disappointed even still.
"Nothing could truly ever come of it," Tenya swallowed, eyes still wide on her, "I do not expect that I am saving myself for another, but I do not want to be what breaks your heart because I cannot return your affection. I only want to spare your feelings before you become attached… I know all too well how painful it is to love without reciprocation."
Momo's assurance that she actually agreed with him and that he didn't need to worry so heavily over her desire to try such a thing again was snatched away from her tongue as she listened to him. The wheels in her head were spinning and her eyes narrowed in suspicion. There was something curious about what he was saying and she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Commander," she frowned at the floor, "I'm young, not an idiot. These sort of...inclinations are somewhat new to me and you are the one who deserves the apology for me not keeping myself in check. But I am not under any assumption that even if I had somehow… If…" Burning cheeks framed every word with striking embarrassment, "I know better than to believe that there can be anything real between us. My marriage will be aligned by my father's wishes and it will certainly not be to anyone of a status lower than Lord. And despite what my mother says, I do not believe that even in the most unhappy of marriage that there should be underlying affairs."
The Commander nodded, agreeing.
"I have to be above these things," Momo lifted her head confidently, despite the shaking in her hands, "As queen I will be setting standards and I believe I have to be upheld to something more than the selfish frivolity common among the nobles. My kingdom asks more of me than to be a flighty young woman who grows attached to the first eligible man she meets."
A soft smile graced Tenya's lips as he met her gaze again. "I can't possibly have been the first eligible man you have ever met."
One of Momo's shoulders shrugged.
"I suppose I just have different criteria for what makes a man eligible," she gave an easy laugh under her breath, "The men of my family are not the sort you see everyday and they've set my standards very high. I have proposals of courtship weekly and there have been strong, fair, ugly, handsome, and the like among them. But they are nobles. Not a backbone among them."
The fists at Tenya's sides eased their tight grip, tapping against his leg in a few motions.
"I am used to a far different sort of noble," Tenya shook his head, "In Tarlson a lack of backbone or strength is unheard of. Were it not for Dawnfell we would be considered the pinnacle of strength in Gaetha and we take pride in that."
The way his very own pride seemed to swell as he spoke pricked attraction in Momo's chest again. Why did he have to make this so difficult?
"If a strong match is something you want, there are none prouder or stronger than Tarlson's elite, especially the Todoroki family..." Tenya said lightheartedly and then dropped his smile, "Although, I know it's not my place to say such things."
Momo cringed at the very idea of getting closer to the family her parents spoke so suspiciously of. But it was hard to keep that aversion as strong as it had once been when she now knew Fuyumi and Tenya who spoke so well of them. Her caution was not entirely diminished, just slightly lowered.
It was not in her interest to further discuss her own prospects, especially not those from Tarlson, so she shifted the direction of the topic, holding her arm with an ever swaying stance.
"And the woman who took your heart so thoroughly, is she a daughter of Tarlson too?"
He looked away from her and nodded slowly. "Yes."
Hard as it was, Momo spoke gracefully.
"Well then I hope one day to meet this person who has so enraptured you that you refuse the future queen." There was a laugh behind the statement but it was forced.
His frown deepened, but he didn't respond.
Perhaps she was crazy, but the room felt suddenly colder and the longer she stared at him without a response the more everything she had heard him say today muddled together in her mind. There was nothing outright suspicious about anything he had told her, but something was still not sitting right. Maybe that was just her jealousy at play. Maybe…
"We should eat and get to sleep," Tenya disrupted her inner dialogue, stepping back and moving to leave, "I'll leave you to settle in and meet you for dinner."
"Tenya," her voice followed him.
Momo wasn't sure what she was saying even as she said it, but somehow the lurch in her chest from watching him go snapped back with a clear idea. It came out without her even thinking it through.
"It's Fuyumi, isn't it?"
The air was static as he came full stop and Momo knew immediately that she was right. There were no words for what horrible ache overwhelmed her in that moment.
Tenya didn't look back, but after a long pause his head dipped down in a stiff nod. It became quite clear with that single admittance how entirely unreachable his lover truly was.
Momo's voice caught in her throat. "Then I'm deeply sorry."
"Don't be," He surprised her with how lively his voice was, "I am resigned to my fate. I have been for years."
The door opened, but before he left he turned a warm smile back to her. There was no pain in his eyes, nothing she expected to see of a man talking about his unrequited love.
"I've outgrown infatuation," he clarified, "As long as I can keep her safe and happy I'll have fulfilled every personal desire."
Momo shrunk under the selfless statement. It was hard enough forcing herself to keep her hands and heart in check when faced with a small opportunity towards someone she had known for such a short time. She couldn't even imagine how it was possible to be so resigned about someone he had loved for so long, even to watch her marry another without ever trying to interfere.
She almost wanted to ask, but Tenya was more than ready to leave and she couldn't rightly keep him longer, especially after she had led him from one uncomfortable situation to another.
"I'll see you downstairs for supper then," Tenya gave a final bow of his head, "Don't give any of this another moment's thought. I am happy in my choices and I hold no ill will to what happened between us."
The princess returned the gesture. "I won't."
When the door latched shut, Momo collapsed back onto the edge of the bed, wondering if she could even stomach to eat dinner, because her reply was a massive lie. Every word and every foolish action stayed aching on her mind the rest of the night.
The strum of a lute accompanied the clop of hooves as the land rolled out before them and the village of Landsleave became a speck in the distance.
Kyoka's voice rose over the company, maintaining silence from every lip except her own. The five men in Commander Tensei's troop were enraptured by her and her own company listened with mellow delight to her descant.
/Strike fast your final blow/
/Oh, drop the banner down/
/These lands and life forsaken/
/Your path at last foretold/
/Fight not the lonesome winter/
/Barricade not your home/
/Rise not in streams of moonlight/
/But beware the path foretold/
/Flee not deaths mortal canter/
/Fall first to the blizzard cold/
/In waning hope, resist not/
/The path that was foretold/
/But why, oh woeful speaker?/
/Why tell of despair alone?/
/Tell me, why accept the darkness/
/Of the path you have foretold?/
/I tell the fates of all men/
/Of the youth, the proud, the old/
/This path is all life's endings/
/This path I have foretold/
In the Magesteriums they didn't play much music. They studied ballads in books, but they were rarely sung. Songs were for contemplation on the past, learning and bettering of self from the message within or the lessons of those who came before them more than for meager enjoyment. Mostly they were morose like this one, but there was a stark difference between silently reading the words in the quiet of the Magesterium library and hearing the bard - pretending to be a military aid- twist them to a tune and roll the words from her talented tongue.
Izuku gaped amazement while he relished in the so often unheard sound of music, blessing every aligned star that he'd positioned himself to ride beside Kyoka while the party made its way through Tarlson to the Keep. Ochako rode on the other side of him, keeping close and cautious, no apparent interest in the girl's song.
Just behind them rode the elves and then at their backs a pair of Tarlson soldiers took up the rear, keeping them together, and stopping anyone from straying or falling behind. Commander Tensei took the lead with the other soldiers he'd taken from Landsleave and Shoto, Katsuki and Nana rode directly at their backs. Not a large party, but an intimidating one for all its Synod power and physical prowess.
When Kyoka's song came to an end Izuku didn't waste a moment before gasping, marveling, and cheering it on.
"You have such an amazing voice, Kyoka!" he said, "I don't think I've ever heard someone sing so beautifully!"
Izuku felt sharp red eyes spin on him and he flinched under the severe gaze of Captain Katsuki, wordlessly demanding he watch his mouth. He shrunk a little, but kept his smile on Kyoka.
"Thank you," she smiled back, fiddling with the strings on her lute to adjust the tone.
"Kyoka is extremely talented," Mina chimed up behind them, "She's my favorite of you humans."
"It's pretty easy to be your favorite when you make so many of them your enemies," Kyoka raised an eyebrow, not even looking back. Their voices stayed low enough that they didn't quite carry clearly to the Tarlson soldiers flanking them, but remained far above a whisper.
"Our line of work is tricky," Mina shrugged, "But we make plenty of friends too. Just look at all the new friends we've made in such a short time"
"I don't think the Captain considers us friends," Denki countered, "And it's not like those two are sticking around for very long…"
The last was said in a whisper towards Izuku and Ochako and put a weight in Izuku's stomach, but Mina didn't comment on it.
"Katsuki can think what he wants, but I'll make him my friend whether he likes it or not," she crossed her arms with a firm nod.
"Didn't you say he almost killed you?" Kyoka physically turned her body to scowl at the elf.
"Well she was trying to rob him at the time," Denki's arms opened.
Mina nodded at him then Kyoka. "It's only fair." She followed it up by rubbing her throat and swallowing hard. "He was a bit rough though."
"It's what you get for fighting with a Dawnfelden," Kyoka sucked her teeth and turned to look at the back of the Captain's head. "Especially that one…"
Izuku hummed, taking silent interest in their interactions and the subtle slump in Kyoka's shoulders when she returned to watching Katsuki. When he'd seen the two of them earlier there was a strong bitterness in how they interacted, more than just his angry vibrato with everyone else, like something made him sick just to talk to her. But now that it was just Kyoka looking at him it was different somehow. Like it saddened her to talk about him.
Curious if he was the only one making such an observation he leaned over towards Ochako whose eyes had stayed firmly on the forest they had skirted the entirety of the journey so far.
"Hey, Ochako, have you-"
"What?" She practically leapt out of her skin at the sudden call to her attention, eyes blowing wide on Izuku.
His question didn't conclude, just faltered there as he watched her.
"Is everything alright?" he asked instead.
Ochako cast her eyes around them, to the Tarlson soldiers, their new companions and especially the new mages. Her shoulder slumped forward and she tensed all the way through, fists clenching on the reins as her voice came back in a whisper.
"Of course, it isn't," she ground her teeth, "Everything about this is terrifying and wrong and I...I just wish I wasn't leaving Landsleave right now."
"I'm sorry…"
Brown eyes swept back to the forest and her voice faltered. "I know I was the one demanding that he stay, but every time I look at those trees, this forest where he's lived for so long, I keep expecting to see him. Just a gush of wind or a glimpse of red. And every time I don't see it my heart hurts and then I remember how much worse it would be if I did see him."
Izuku twisted his mouth at the pain in her words. Forcing down the tirade in his heart and mind that screamed of his years of Magesterium formation and affections he was not yet used to sharing, he reached the short distance between their horses and took her hand in his. He wasn't sure there was anything he could say to make this situation easier for her, but she and Eijiro seemed to communicate best through touch and he found he really liked it too, so he hoped it would relay the sympathy and comfort he wanted her to feel.
To his surprise she took his grip with vigor, still not looking away from the treeline, but sighing heavily, shoulders slumping with a heavier weight than just the loneliness of missing her friend. He could only imagine what she was feeling, what guilt and regret was plaguing her mind. She didn't deserve a word of it, but he knew he would feel the same in her position.
He already had plenty regrets of his own. What really would have changed if he had acted differently? Would all of this have happened the same if he and Yo had not come in hunt of Ochako? Would it have made a difference in the amount of deaths that followed if Izuku had not drawn Ochako and Eijiro away from their village to find him the help of the Bogmages?
It was all irrelevant. What was done had already been concluded. Now was the battle for survival and keeping Ochako safe. The deaths couldn't be changed.
"Are you going to be okay without him?" Izuku whispered softly.
"I'm fine," she rolled her eyes, "I just don't know what he'll do without me there. We haven't been separated since we found each other. He's lived among humans for a long time, but he isn't perfect at blending in. He still has his instinct and his habits and I worry about him."
Izuku smiled fondly to think about the young dragon. It was hard to even imagine a reptile, a creature known most for its destructive power and viciousness, having such a smile and such a heart, but he'd met the very creature. He'd already seen him give way to sentiment over practicality more times than a dragon ever should. Both he and Ochako were alive because of it. It was easy to worry about him. His big heart made him do incredibly stupid things.
The horses ahead of them pulled suddenly to a halt, beginning with Commander Tensei's, his hand snapping into the air to draw the party behind him to a stop. There was a twisted look on his face and he looked around himself, suspicions in his eyes and senses alight to pick up on the slightest disturbance.
It put the people behind him into a state of confusion, looking between each other and then to the Commander. Shoto, though, had a far less confused and far more unhappy look across his face like something had crawled up his spine and then twisted his ear.
"What is it?" Captain Katsuki tried to follow Commander Tensei's gaze.
Before he had the chance to answer the air around them swirled and gusted past, like a miniature gale had swept through in one burst and then dispersed. The horses startled and threw the party into a mess as a brief shadow overtook them and then vanished.
The shouting and fight to calm the spooked animals were all too distracting and all Izuku had the chance to see was a blur in the corner of his eye before there was a crash beyond the line of the forest's edge.
"What's happening?" one of the Tarlson soldiers yelled, "Is it Demons?"
"Everyone hold your ground!" barked Commander Tensei over the chittering animals. He brought his steed easily back under control and directed the horse to carry him along the steadily calming line of the company. He jabbed a finger at the two at the back of the party and motioned them to follow him.
"Commander, I should go with you," Shoto demanded.
"I said hold your ground," the Command spoke with no patience, eyeing both Shoto and Katsuki pointedly, "If it really is a demon feel free to run to our rescue, but I don't think that's what happening, it would be doing far worse than blowing a little wind at us were it a Tempest."
Shoto's knuckles were turning white on his reins and suspicion twisted in Izuku's gut. What did he know about this?
Captain Katsuki seemed annoyed by it too, but not so apprehensive as Shoto. The only reason he stayed where he was was the firm grip of the older woman to his right grabbing his shoulder and demanding his cooperation.
Leading his men to the forest's edge, Commander Tensei ordered them to dismount. They looped the reins around stray branches and drew their swords, passing through the treeline with caution.
"Apprentice…" Ochako swallowed hard, anxious down to her core, grabbing Izuku's arm.
"What?" he looked her up and down.
Ochako took full stock of what was happening around her. Kyoka still sat very close and the elves were not far from their backs. Having come to a stop, the whole party had seemed to creep closer than before, huddling together to see what would happen. She was right to determine that she was not able to speak freely, so instead she hardened her expression and looked between Izuku and Shoto, trying to speak with her eyes alone.
It offered no clarity and Izuku found himself only more confused than before.
After passing a quick word to Nana, Shoto started dismounting and the Captain began to follow that older woman moved her horse over to the remaining soldiers that had taken the front of their line and began engaging them in active conversation; a distraction.
Izuku took the opportunity as he saw it and dropped down the side of his horse. Ochako moved to follow, but he held up a hand to her, shaking his head. The anger in her eyes could have cut him, but he knew how easily she could blow her own cover, especially if she was angry, and he wordlessly demanded that she stay where she was.
The taller mage's cold eyes were on the treeline when Izuku approached him. The other Tarlson soldiers watched them closely despite Nana trying to keep their attention, but they weren't too close for Izuku to feel that he could at least whisper.
"Do you know what's happening?"
Shoto nodded and his apprehension shifted to a sour twist in his lip.
"I need you to keep Ochako calm," Shoto's fists clenched, "If he listens to me he'll be fine, but it won't help if Ochako is making a scene."
It felt like Izuku should be offended for Ochako, but he still had so little idea what was happening that he just scowled at the ground and shook his head at his once fellow student, now fraudulent Master.
"What are you talking about, why would Ochako make a scene?"
There was a long delay on a response, Shoto's eyes on the trees and his head tilting this way and that, as though whatever was happening in his head was far more engaging than what Izuku was saying.
"Get back to your mount, mage," Katsuki moved to the other side of Shoto, snapping at Izuku viciously, "We don't need you making our already tentative position any shakier."
"Not until I know what's going on," Izuku glared back at him, something irrational springing to life the moment the Captain opened his mouth.
"I don't even know what's happening!" Katsuki countered.
"Both of you be quiet," Shoto hissed and shook his head like he was pushing out shivers. He looked back at the Tarlson soldiers with Nana and then long and hard over their other companions still tense and muttering to themselves over what was going on.
"Shoto," Izuku whispered again, "How do you know what's happening?"
Blue and gray eyes fixed Izuku, almost accusingly, but not so severely that he took it seriously.
"He's not very subtle, Izuku. I don't care how high he was flying, he was going to be spotted."
It clicked and Izuku grimaced. "Damn it, Eijiro."
"What?" Katsuki's perpetually fractured patience was slipping.
"He thinks so loudly," Shoto rubbed the side of his head.
It was Izuku's turn to be wildly confused. "What?"
"I told him to go into the forest and hide, but he didn't go far enough out," Shoto's frustration was clear.
That cleared up nothing for Izuku or Katsuki, but Shoto's eyes stayed fixed on the forest, like his mind was somewhere else entirely. Izuku considered himself patient, but even he was starting to lose his sanity over this. Katsuki was already past that.
"I swear on my mother's fucking grave, mage, if you don't give me a real fucking answer in three seconds-"
"It's the young man who was talking to Ochako's father at Landsleave," Shoto clarified.
Katsuki's arms opened, only getting angrier, though that seemed easy for him. "What's he doing here?"
"Not listening," Shoto groaned and then gave Izuku a brief nod, "Don't worry, I know everything. They won't find a dragon."
"There's a dragon?" Katsuki said far louder than he should.
"Not so loud, Captain!" Izuku whispered sharply and then grabbed Shoto's sleeve with a twisted hand, "How do you know he'll be human when they find him?"
"I told him to," Shoto shrugged, "I'd rather them find a human than a dragon."
"How did you tell him to-?"
There was no time to further burn Shoto with questions. There was movement in the treeline and time for talking about it was over.
They hadn't even completely revealed themselves before Ochako was out of her saddle. A single shove from Shoto told Izuku to handle it and the green eyed mage rushed back to the girl.
There was a lump lodged in his throat as he grabbed Ochako's arm and forced her to stand her ground. He could feel the tension in her body and felt the touch of ether that swirled to life when a mage was preparing to cast a spell.
"Ochako, please…"
All of their fears burst to life in front of their eyes when out of the forest stumbled first a head of bright red hair above a haphazardly thrown on cloak and then two sword points following him. Both Tarlson soldiers had trained weapons on what they had found even though his hands were tied in front of him. Tensei had him by the arm and was pulling him towards their compan with a keen eye fixed on Shoto.
The curses that streamed from Ochako's lips made her sound more like the Captain than herself, but her breath caught in her throat when Eijiro tossed a grimace towards her.
"Master Shoto," Commander Tensei's voice drew everyone in as he shoved the boy down in front of the calm disposition of the mage.
Shoto revealed nothing, gave no change in expression as Eijiro hit his knees and the Commander tightly fisted the shoulder of the cloak to hold him there. Captain Katsuki didn't look half as calm, his expression almost exasperated as he looked between the two leaders and the new prisoner who was turning a bashful grin up at Shoto.
"This boy says he's one of yours," Commander Tensei tilted his head at Shoto, "Care to explain that."
Izuku would have slammed his face right into his palm if it wouldn't have seemed so incredibly suspicious. Ochako wasn't as subtle, though and shook where she stood, grabbing at Izuku's robe with a force that said she was doing everything in her power not to start a fight.
Behind them questions passed around the elves and Kyoka, mostly along the lines of, "I don't remember inviting him".
Despite everyone else's surprise, Shoto spoke smoothly, unphased. "He is."
"See!" Eijiro tried to open his hands up at the Commander, but the tight rope restricted the motion, "I told you."
Commander Tensei hit him with a sharp glare and it knocked the smile right off of Eijiro's face. "Then perhaps you can explain why we found one of your men that you had not previously disclosed to us, naked as the day he was born in the middle of the forest. Obviously he was following us, but I'd like to know why and moreover, why we found him in this state."
"I tasked him to trail us," Shoto remained cool, but took a longer look at the fact that the only thing Eijiro was wearing was a cloak taken from one of the Tarlson soldiers, "I have my issues with trust too, Commander. We needed someone who could report on our whereabouts to the Synod if something was to happen to us."
The Commander's eyebrow went up as he stared down at the boy. His hand moved from Eijiro's shoulder and took a fistful of hair, pulling his head back for him to look at him a little better at his face. His expression said he wasn't impressed with what he was seeing.
"Ow." Eijiro said blandly at the pull on his scalp.
"A bit young to be a scout, isn't he?"
Captain Katsuki scoffed, arms crossing. "We start training kids half his age to be soldiers in Dawnfell. Of all things, that isn't the unbelievable part, Commander."
"And I'm not that young," Eijiro rolled his eyes.
Ochako muttered frustration, hardly eased that Shoto was claiming him as part of their party and in an equal amount of surprise that the Captain had played along at all.
"Doesn't explain where his clothes went," one of the soldiers raised an eyebrow at the other.
Shoto was at a loss to explain that part, it seemed. And rightly so. Even if he'd somehow communicated this plan to Eijiro, how was Shoto to know that they'd find him without clothes? It wasn't something Izuku would have considered if he hadn't seen him shapeshift the very same day he'd met him.
While their leaders stuttered over an explanation and Eijiro grimaced at his own lack of explanation, Ochako wrenched free from Izuku's hold.
"Ochako!" he snapped, but she was already out of his reach.
He moved to chase, but faltered when he saw he stop, standing tall, shoulders squared at Shoto's side and saying the last thing he expected her to.
"He was trained as a shapeshifter," Ochako said, practically casting a spell of silence on everyone, including Eijiro who quirked a curious eyebrow up at her, even as his head strained under Commander Tensei's continued grip.
"Shapeshifting?" The Commander blinked, "I've never known a mage who had that particular ability."
"Well he does," she nodded, "It's what makes him a perfect scout. He can be a bird, a wolf, or anything he needs to be. But clothes don't shift with flesh, he has to shed them to take on his new forms."
Commander Tensei hummed in thought, eyeing the boy who had started pulling a pleading grin up at him again. He then looked to each mage and Katsuki in a brief question.
Shoto nodded concurrence with Ochako's story and the Commander's stance relaxed some. He gave a head motion towards the soldiers at their backs and both sheathed their weapons immediately.
"Mages will never cease to surprise me," the Commander sighed and roughly released the fistful of red hair, "In the future you would do well not to keep men hidden from me, Master Shoto. We may not be Dawnfelden," there was an almost bitter lilt and a sneer towards Katsuki on those words, "but our Tarlson senses are keen too. You're lucky we didn't kill him on sight."
Grabbing Eijiro by the arm and pulling him back up to his feet, Shoto started to untie the ropes around his wrists as he answered the Commander. "I apologize for hiding anything from you. As we have said before, the nature of our mission contains much secrecy. You'll forgive me for wanting to apply some contingencies."
"I understand it, Master Shoto," Commander Tensei continued to eye Eijiro with suspicion, "I don't have to like it, though."
Izuku felt as though his legs might buckle under him. Ochako barely looked any better, her hands shaking as she helped Shoto take off the wrist binding before pulling Eijiro to stand behind her protectively.
"Hey, mage," Denki leaned down towards Izuku in a whisper, "That's the guy from the village, isn't he? Ochako's friend?"
He nodded up to Denki and Mina leaned in too, a wry grin on her lips.
"Why is he actually naked though?"
Izuku was thrown off and he flushed over at the insinuating tone.
"Keep it in your pants," Kyoka rolled her eyes, "Besides, it looks like he's already been claimed."
"Has that ever stopped me?" she pumped her eyebrows at her friend and she got a punch in the arm from Denki.
Not liking the direction of this conversation, Izuku shook it off and moved away from them towards where Eirjio and the group leaders were gathered, tuning back into what Commander Tensei was saying as he approached.
"I'm not about to let you send your spy back to your sordid business and out of my sight," Tensei hissed, "He'll stay with this company until the Lord Commander has agreed that you are all free to go on your way. You may not be eager to trust us, but we have less reason to spare that same courtesy to you."
Katsuki muttered more curses, but responded evenly before Shoto could try to argue further.
"Fine then. No one trusts each other, who cares? The longer we argue about this the longer it will take for us to get back on mission. Let's just get moving so we can get this over with."
Shoto shot hot air from his nose, but nodded agreement.
The frustration ebbing off of Ochako was tangible and the way she was holding onto Eijiro's wrist looked like it must have hurt. He didn't show it if it did, just stood quiet at her side, chewing his cheek, perhaps coming to realize the amount of trouble he had caused by following them.
The Tarlson soldiers went back to the treeline and retrieved the horses as the Commander directed everyone to prepare to travel again. The group started mustering and in the jumble Izuku came up to Ochako and Eijiro, putting a hand to Eijiro's arm with a question on his lip. Ochako was in the same motion while he did, mid-breath in a berating whisper towards the dragon turned man.
Any idea of speaking was cut off by the looming presence of a horse stopping in front of them and a leering, cold red gaze biting sharply down at them from the saddle. The Captain's hand was in his saddlebag and suddenly a bundle of cloth was colliding into Eijiro's face.
It took them all by surprise as the boy stumbled to grab it and look over what he'd caught to who had thrown it. Wide red eyes met sharp, narrow ones, each representing quite the opposite natures of the color they shared.
"Put on some damn clothes, kid," Captain Katsuki bit with a huff.
That was all he said before promptly turned his horse back to the front of the party to join back up with Nana and Shoto.
The mages blinked after him in confusion as Eijiro unfurled it and found some dusty breaches and a loose shirt. It was not quite his size, a bit big perhaps, but it was more than manageable considering there was only a light cloak between him and bare skin.
"Wow," Eijiro grinned and immediately started pulling the pants on under the cover of the cloak.
"I don't like that man," Ochako grumbled after Katsuki and physically shivered.
Izuku's face twisted after him, uncertain himself how he felt about the unpleasant man who'd just done something helpful and possibly nice, but had also had a sword in his face earlier that same day. He just hoped that they wouldn't be stuck with this group and whatever it was that Shoto had gotten himself involved in long enough to figure out how he felt about any of them.
Thus all he could do is shrug at Ochako's comment while Eijiro smiled and dropped the cloak behind him to slide the shirt over his head. "Doesn't seem so bad to me."
Izuku grabbed the cloak from the ground and tossed it up to the Tarlson soldier it had been taken from as he passed by them towards the back of the line once again. The horses were starting to move forward again. Kyoka led Izuku and Ochako's steeds towards their riders, the elves trailing at her back.
"As long as you're stuck with us, don't start thinking nice about any of these people," Izuku whispered through grit teeth even as he smiled at Kyoka's approach, "I only know Shoto...and he's not exactly the person I knew at the Magesterium anymore either. I trust him, but we all have to be wary. It's way too dangerous for you to be here."
Eijiro finished fixing his shirt and shook his head, "I'll be fine. I don't have to change back at all if I don't want to. I can be a convincing human."
They were drawn back to how pissed off Ochako was, by the back of her hand hitting his arm.
"You are not a convincing human!" Her whisper was so sharp it was practically a hiss, "What is wrong with you, are you trying to get yourself killed? I thought you were going to stay in Landsleave!"
"Hey!" Izuku snapped, because Kyoka was now upon them and dropping their reins to them.
She eyed the newcomer as the elves pulled up at her back, trying to get a better look. Three sets of inspecting eyes surveyed them while Ochako and Izuku took their horses and quietly mounted up
"Eijiro, wasn't it?" Kyoka raised an eyebrow at the boy clumsily getting himself into a saddle like he'd never been on a horse before.
Izuku half choked. Had Eijiro never ridden a horse before? Why would he have, after all? He could fly anywhere he wanted to and horses were usually much smaller than him. To him it must be like a person shrinking down to the size of a mouse and then riding a dog.
Ochako got into the saddle just behind Eijiro and hunkered in close despite her still apparent frustration with him. He clung on for dear life and grabbed onto Ochako's leg while the horse started to walk and she tried to handle the reins around him.
"Huh?" Eijiro shook his head, pulling himself from his fearful distraction to answer Kyoka, "Um, yes. You were all at Landsleave with the mage."
"That's right," Mina pulled up beside them and Ochako gave her an ugly look, "So where'd your clothes go?"
"Mina, I swear to-"
"I took them off," Eijiro shrugged, the subject of modesty seeming less concerning to him than the predicament of suddenly having to ride a horse.
"Why?" Denki propped himself in his stirrups, apparently as curious as Mina, though less overtly uncouth.
"Otherwise I would have ruined them when I-"
"Red," Ochako snapped and his mouth clamped shut.
The mage girl looked them all over harshly and then adjusted the reins to move her horse through the formation to the other side of Izuku. Now on the outside of the group to where only Izuku could hear their whispering.
"Sorry," Eijiro whispered, "Wasn't thinking."
Ochako sighed long and deep and her forehead hit his shoulder. "Dammit Red, when are you ever? I told you to stay…"
"Well, I didn't," he scowled, "I thought I could just fly high overhead and keep an eye on you at least, but then apparently the mage heard what I was saying again and he spotted me easily."
"Shoto heard you from up there?" Izuku looked up towards the clouds.
"No, in here," Eijiro tapped the side of his head and his scowl disappeared into a grin, "Oh right! I didn't get to tell you! Your mage friend hears me! No one has ever heard me! I barely remember ever hearing the voice of another dragon even as a hatchling and somehow he can! Isn't that amazing?"
So that was what Shoto was talking about. And Eijiro was right, it was amazing. And confusing.
"But how?"
Ochako shook her head, "I don't know, he doesn't seem to know either. If anything I thought you might have an explanation. He says he isn't a dragon so I don't know what else it could be unless he's lying."
The sound of Kyoka's lute tuning back up masked their conversation and cut them off from the muttered annoyance of the elves.
"He's not that," Izuku cocked his head down the line at Shoto, "I've known him for years and I can guarantee he's human."
"Either way, he probably saved your life," Ochako chided, "If all it took was an inkling to look up to see you, the Keep's defenses might have harpooned you and shredded you by the time we got there. Stealth is not the game of a bright red beast the size of a building!"
"I get it, I get it," Eijiro sighed, "I'm not good at passing as a human or being a dragon. I'm sorry. It was stupid to come after you, but I was scared…"
"Red," Ochako's voice dropped to defeated sympathy, "That's not what I'm saying… I just want you to listen to me when I tell you to do something. We're alive this long because we acted smart...because you listened to me. When I tell you to stay, you stay."
Eijiro's grip tightened as the horse shifted under him.
"I haven't been alone since before you found me," Eijiro said softly, "What was I going to do if you didn't come back? I can't be alone again, Ochako, I can't do it."
"You weren't alone," Ochako rolled her eyes, "I told you to stay with my parents. You had them. You had all of our friends in Landsleave."
Izuku's eyes were fixed to the sad, darkening look growing on Eijiro's face and felt his chest twist up.
"It felt alone."
"And what about my folks? You were supposed to protect them."
"The soldiers are staying there," Eijiro shrugged, "They're protected. You're the one who's surrounded by danger."
"And now you are too," Ochako groaned.
"Eijiro, Ochako." Izuku cut in softly. Both looked over to him, expectantly. "What's done is done and we can't change that now. For better or worse he's here and we have to work around that. Luckily Shoto is quick on his feet, but we have to keep playing along until we're through this. So let's look at the brightside, huh?"
Eijiro smiled. "I like the brightside."
Ochako gave Izuku an incredulous look. "And what is it, apprentice?"
"We're together again, aren't we?" Izuku smiled down at his hands, "After this I may never see either of you again so, at least for me, it's nice to know we can all still be together as friends for a while longer."
There was a blush turned into Eijiro's shoulder, but the boy grinned wide. "That's a good brightside, right Ochako?"
Her head lifted, revealing the pink in her cheeks.
"Thanks, apprentice," she hummed, "You're right. But that doesn't mean I'm not still yelling at you later, Red."
That was as close to making up and settling down as they were going to get, because the conversation practically ended there. A lilting strum grabbed Eijiro's attention on a single note and he quickly got brave enough to lean on the horse to look around Izuku at what had made that sound. Izuku slowed his horse a little to allow Eijiro a better view, smiling that Kyoka was preparing to begin another song.
One of the soldiers at the back of the party called up with a cheerful voice. "Do you know the one called, Brown Eyed Girl Back Home?"
"What do you take me for, an amateur?" she smiled back at the soldier and started looking for the correct notes on the strings.
"Thought you were a military aid actually," the other soldier laughed.
Izuku flinched, thinking that perhaps they had seen past the ruse, but Kyoka took it in stride with a shrug. "I'm a woman of many talents."
It was hard to stay focussed on the bigger issues and speak further with his friends about what had happened when a cheerful sound bounced from Kyoka's strings. Smiles spread around the back two lines of horses and a grin could be spotted pulling the corner of Nana's mouth too. The same could not be said for their supposed leaders. They were stone faced; Shoto deep in his own mind and Katsuki looking more ready to break the lute than sing along.
While Eijiro got wrapped up in the song, Ochako's expression fell back into distaste, not distracted by the music like the rest of them. She didn't interrupt or try to keep them from enjoying themselves, but her eyes remained distant and the arm she'd looped around Eijiro's waist held tight. She hadn't wanted him there, obviously, but now that he was here there was one apparent thought on her face; a protective thought. It said she had to protect him in much the same way he had ignored all warnings to follow after and try to protect her.
It was hard to tell if they were a beautiful example of two creatures who cared deeply about each other or if they were entirely dysfunctional in their codependence, but Izuku couldn't help envying it. It was something he could never have and, even if the idea of someone acting like a fool over his wellbeing was more stressful than endearing, he felt the pull of desiring a thing just for the sake of knowing it was impossible.
But he had been the one to say, "look at the brightside", hadn't he? They had something he could never; not with them, nor with another mage nor any living person or animal. But they were still here now. All that could be done was make the most of it like he'd said.
The soldiers picked up singing at the chorus and a strangely pleasant aura dropped over the group that was riding away from a brutal battle to an uncertain future. Even the elves tried to join in, though they didn't really know the words. Eijiro and Izuku didn't try, just watched and listened.
They made the most of it.
