Chapter 8_The Dark River

Chapter Summary: Shouta and the dwarfs go to find the mysterious witch but doing so means going to a part of the forest even the dwarfs have never ventured before. Along the way their path is blocked by a long, dark river…

WARNING: Adult Fear present with children in peril, near drowning experience

The next day everyone was eager, nervous, and excited. Shouta was anxious to find out about Hizashi as soon as possible while the dwarfs meanwhile were glad to be doing something other than going to work. Only one of them was unsure about it all;

"I'm not sure it's a good idea to neglect our duties," Tenya said. His arms were moving up and down as he spoke, the stilted movements verbalizing his worries. "It's a very important job and we're the only ones who can do it! To abandon it, even for a while..."

"Aw, c'mon, Tenya!" Denki said, yawning as he slouched over on a recently repaired chair. He waved a dismissive hand through the air. "We do the same thing day after day, after day, after day, after day, after-"

"We get it." Momo interrupted. She narrowed her eyes as she pressed her lips together. Denki grumbled a little.

"Fine! Point is we're finally doing something new and interesting for a change!" he huffed.

"Even so..." Tenya rocked back and forth on his feet. He didn't like neglecting their job. He may not have any idea WHY they mined the jewels but he knew it was important they did so. That was one of the few things he remembered about his mother. How diligently she would tap the jewels and listen to them to make sure they were right—for something. She never shirked this chore for even a day. Was it a betrayal that Tenya was doing just that?

Seeing his worry, Tsuyu placed her hands on his shoulders to stop his rocking.

"We promised to help Mr. Aizawa," she said. She gave him a heartfelt pat on the back. "That's more important. They would understand."

Tenya pressed his lips into a tight line. He wasn't sure about that himself, however, he didn't want to say it aloud when none of the others seemed to think so. Would his family understand?

Tensei, his elder brother, would always help everyone he could. Plus, it would be nice to have an adventure like All Might, so maybe-

"Alright then!" he said, his voice rising in his excitement. He feelings on the journey did a complete 180 as he punched a fist into the air. "If we're going to do this we'll have to do it right, okay?"

"Yeah!"

"It may be dangerous! It may be disastrous! And we may get eaten by the witch! But even so, we mustn't stray from our quest to help Mr. Aizawa! Even if we perish and die like the Crimson Riot in 'All Might and the Fellowship of the Spear,' we must trek onwards! Plus Ultra, everyone!"

"YEAH! Plus Ult-wha?" The others trailed off with their cheers when they processed Tenya's words.

"Wait, 'eat us?'" Suddenly, Denki was the one not sure about this trip.

Shouta came in from outside. Unsure of how long the trip would be, he thought it would be rational for him to pack snacks and water for everyone.

"You all ready to go?"

"Erm… yeah?" Izuku said, a little less confident than he was five minutes ago. Luckily Tenya had renewed himself with enough confidence for all of them.

"We're ready, Mr. Aizawa! We're prepared to do whatever it takes to help you find the witch so you can be reunited with Hizashi!" he proclaimed, fist still in the air. "Plus ultra, right everybody!"

"Plus ultra!" the kids cried out. It took a moment for Shouta to remember that was a saying All Might would say in the stories. He wasn't sure they were using it right, but whatever.

"Right then…" Izuku ran up to him and handed the man one of the lanterns, the jeweled rune stone already inside it.

"We're ready when you are," he said. Shouta thanked him before Izuku went to hand the others their own lamps.

"Do you know where we're going?" Shouta assumed that they did as they knew about the witch, but it occurred to him that maybe their plan was just to wander around until they found something. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past them as irrational as it was. Ochaco nodded.

"Yeah, we do!" At her words, Momo moved forward and held out an old piece of paper.

"This was in one of the books; It's a map of the forest—we think," she explained. Shouta gently took it so it wouldn't tear, then lifted a brow.

"You think?" Momo shuffled.

"Well, we're not a hundred percent sure… but it looks familiar!" Shouta looked at the map and grimaced.

Something didn't seem right about this; it had been years, but as a child, Shouta had gone through his father's maps and came across one of the Daemonium forest. The map wasn't very detailed except for the many, many question marks and scribbles. Yet Shouta remembered the forest covering half the kingdom. The forest on the map was much smaller, barely taking up a quarter. Maybe it only covered a small part of the actual forest. Which wasn't good.

'This is stupid,' And dangerous. Going into the woods with a clear idea of a direction was one thing, but going in with only a guess was not only irrational but suicidal. Still, for Hizashi, Shouta had to take the gamble. 'At least it gives us an idea of the direction to take.' He hoped.

"You'll have to read the words to me," he said to Momo. "They're in a different language and I can't read them." Momo looked away and shuffled her feet. Shouta narrowed his eyes slightly at the action.

"What?"

"We...can't," she muttered so low Shouta could barely hear her. The man blinked.

"Can't what? Can't read?" She shook her head. The rest of the dwarfs suddenly found their shoes very interesting, letting out mumbled hums.

"I mean, we know some words…" Toru said. Shouta was surprised to hear this.

"Wait, doesn't Izuku read his All Might book every day?" he asked. Izuku bowed his head.

"Not...um, not exactly..." he mumbled. "I-I just remember my mom reading it to me every night."

"But you brought it out just the other day to-" Izuku shook his head.

"The pictures help me to remember the stories," he explained. "The words, um, I kinda remember mom reading them with me, but I, um…" He stammered off, unable to explain properly. Shouta pressed his lips together.

"So none of you ever learned to read or write?" They all shook their heads.

"Not like we ever needed to..." Denki muttered with a scowl.

Shouta could have kicked himself. He had figured out that while the kids were far from dumb, they were very ignorant about several things. Everything they knew was from a very faint memory from their parents who were long gone or through trial and error. Still, the thought that they were left alone before they could even read…

"That's okay," he assured them. "I can still read the map. And at least it gives us an idea where to go."

He just hoped none of the notes said something like, 'Stay away from this area; Here lies certain death.'

He shifted the bag of food on his back.

"Is everyone ready?"

Suddenly their depressed faces brighten as they all became excited again.

"Yeah!" they all cheered.

Shouta sighed. Suddenly he felt like a teacher taking his students on a field trip.

With everyone prepared, Shouta and the seven dwarfs went into the woods. This was both a thrill and terror for the dwarfs. True, they went into the woods every day, but this time was different. This time they were going in a new and unfamiliar direction. For as long as they could remember they always walked the same path, too afraid of straying off it. Sure they were curious, but they had seen what happens when you let curiosity get the best of you in the woods. The forest held more than darkness and trees. It had teeth, claws, and an overpowering hunger and desire to kill. The dwarfs knew this. Every time they left the safety of their cottage there was a threat of danger.
Yet underneath the fear was the soft thrill of adventure and the yearning to see something new, no matter how small.

The path they followed was nothing like the path to the mines. The path was unused and therefore covered with moss and grass that hissed before the light touched it. Skeletons hung as warning signs telling the travelers to turn back, lest they end up as décor among the branches like them. Trunks and roots creaked in the distance like a floor at midnight. Leaves rustled and fluttered about just out of sight of the light like moths or wasps.

All the strange sounds made the groups' throats dry. Stomachs twisted into tight balls, giving an uneasy feeling. They tried to ignore these feelings and continue on their way but Denki had a harder time. He kept jumping at every sound, his heart taking a painful "thump!" now and then. He hated the woods, more than anybody. Everyone else seemed used to it, but this place creeped him the hell out. If it was up to him they'd all leave and never come back, but of course-

"BOO!"

Toru suddenly cried out with a shriek and a laugh. Denki screamed and subconsciously released a charge of lightning that hit one of the trees. The wood seemed to groan and even growl at them as smoke rose up. The group huddled closer together.

"Denki!" Tenya hissed.

"It's not my fault! Toru's the one who screamed!" Denki defended.

"I was just playing!"

"This is not the time or place for playing!" Tenya scolded. "Look at what you did!"

Everyone glanced around at the dark trees around them. The trees seemed to lean in as close as they could, wooden teeth bared in a snarl that shouldn't be possible for wood.

"D-do you think it's mad?" Ochaco asked in a low voice. It was an odd question to ask, but considering where they were it was a valid one. The tree Denki's bolt hit had its bark peel and fall off like scales before somehow regrowing them.

They all gulped.

"This is your fault, Toru!" Tsuyu berated, but not daring to raise her voice above a whisper.

"I just-"

"Enough!" Shouta hissed. His eyes darted back and forth, watching the looming darkness. "...Let's keep walking. And no more fooling around!" They slowly started to continue along in silence, Toru quieter than the rest as she pulled into herself.

The group continued their journey till they came to a large stream—or river. Shouta never learned the difference. If he read the map correctly—and he, to be honest, wasn't sure he was—then they had to cross it. This would have been simple except the bridge was completely destroyed. Oddly enough it looked like it had been done recently, though that would have been ridiculous—right?

Ochaco asked the obvious question.
"How are we going to get across?" Shouta looked down at Momo.
"I don't suppose you could conjure a boat, could you?" he asked. Momo shook her head.
"Not one big enough to carry all of us," she said.
"We shouldn't swim either," Tsuyu added. "The current's really strong and the water's super dark. I might be able to make it across but you all won't. Plus we can't hold our lamps and swim at the same time." None of them needed a logical reason NOT to go into the river, but that last point sold it. Without their lamps and runes, the forest would munch them alive.

The rational and logical thing would be to find another way across but Shouta had a feeling there wasn't one. Yet unless they could think of a plan, it seemed that would be their only option.
Izuku glanced around, brow bunched in thought.
"I know!" he said after a minute.

Cautiously he approached a log. The log growled, making Shouta move to pull the boy back before he was bitten. Once the light of the gems touched it, however, the wood became lifeless and limp. Izuku reached to grab it. He almost fell in the water doing so but Tenya managed to snatch the end of his tunic before he did. Izuku was able to grab the log by a long branch that was sticking out. Shouta had to help him pull it to shore, though he didn't understand why.
"We can use this to float across!" Izuku explained, panting. Shouta frowned. He wasn't thrilled with the idea at all, especially since the last log he saw almost took his leg off. Still, it wasn't like he had any other plan except wander around lost.
"Will it support us?" he asked, folding his arms. Izuku nodded.
"Mm-hm! It should! We just need one to hold the lamp while the other pulls them across." the boy explained. Denki crinkled his nose slightly.
"What do you mean 'pull?'" Izuku turned to Momoyao.
"You can make a rope, right?" Momo nodded.
"Yeah…" She held out her arm. From the fattest part, she pulled out a string of rope. Izuku took one end and handed it to Ochaco.
"Here! Float to the other side and tie it to something." Ochaco jumped slightly at the suggestion.
"I have to go alone?!" She paled at the thought.
"Just to the other side!" The green haired boy assured her quickly. "We'll join you soon! And we'll watch you the whole time." Ochaco gulped at the idea but nodded.
"O-okay…" She took the end of the rope, her skin in a cold sweat.
"Be careful," Shouta told her. With the rope clutched in a death grip in one hand and her lamp clutched in the other Ochaco took a deep breath. As her cheeks puffed up she started to float into the air.

The others watched as she bobbed like a bubble of light over the dark waters. They found themselves holding their breaths as their stomachs knotted with concern. Finally, they heard her call out.
"Okay! It's tied!"

The others let out a sigh of relief. Izuku told them the rest of the plan.
"Right. Now one of us will have to go back and forth to move the log between shores."
"I'll do that," Tenya volunteered. "I'm the strongest and fastest." The others agreed.

They discussed the order and it was decided that Shouta, being the heaviest, would go last.
After knotting one end of the rope to the trunk of a tree in the light, Tenya started to cart the kids between shores. The first set to cross was Izuku and Momoyao. While it was planned to only carry one across at a time, the team decided they should try two. That way Tenya didn't have to make as many trips. Besides, the log was long enough to carry three at a time.
Tsuyu and Denki were next. As they crossed Denki clung to Tsuyu, who seemed a bit annoyed by how tight he squeezed. The last one to go across before Shouta was Toru. This trip did not go as smoothly as the others.

Shouta took a sharp breath as the dwarfs cried from the other side. The current had almost pulled the log and Toru from under Tenya. Toru squeaked in terror.

"Toru!" Tenya cried as the log slipped from under him. Before she was pulled too far, Toru threw herself to the side. She managed to grasp his legs, her own hugging the log in fright. Tenya wasted no time in getting her to the others.

Once they were safely ashore Shouta calmed his breath and waited for Tenya to return with the log.
"I'll take us across," he said as he pulled him ashore.
"You sure?" Tenya said, sweat and wear on his face. He didn't want to admit it but the strain of carrying the others and the log across had exhausted him. "I can-"
"No. It's fine, I can do it easier. Just rest," Shouta told him. He secured his lamp to his belt and tried to position himself on the log that he didn't so bump Tenya off but also so that his legs didn't touch the water. He wasn't about to give whatever was under there another chance to take off his leg. The position was awkward, but Shouta managed to start to pull them across.
All in all, this seemed to be a good plan that worked out fairly well for them.
However, there was one little flaw no one thought of;
No one ever thought about what would happen once the tree was out of the rune's light.

The tree waited until Tenya and Shouta were in the middle of the river. Then with a slash from its branch, it cut the rope from its trunk.

The current immediately grabbed Shouta and Tenya then started to pull them down the stream.

"Mr. Aizawa! Tenya!" The others called out in worry and screamed as Shouta and Tenya's weight snapped the rope from the large rock it was tied around. The dwarfs quickly grabbed it but even together none of them were strong enough to pull the two out. Their refusal to let go resulted in all of them being yanked into the river.

"No!" Shouta barely had time to cry out before the current flipped the log over, allowing the water below to swallow them.

The rapids roared louder than any beast and threatened to drown Shouta and Tenya unless they managed to escape. But how? Shouta was never a powerful swimmer to start with, but against a raging river?

Water pushed at him from every angle, tossing him like a leaf in the wind until he didn't know up from down. It was dark within the rapids, pitch black. The water forced its way into his mouth and threatened to claw its way down his throat and fill his lungs.

Through a mix of desperation, adrenaline, and pure miracle Shouta managed to find and break the surface. He then reached out and grabbed a branch. In his arms, Tenya coughed. Before Shouta could take a breath of relief he heard a scream behind him.

'The kids!' He turned his head and saw the rest of the dwarfs flowing towards him.

"Hold on!" he yelled at Tenya. Tenya somehow managed to hear him and gripped at his shirt with all his little strength. With one arm holding on for dear life, Shouta used the other to catch Denki and Ochaco. The two then managed to grab hold of the others, creating a chain. Shouta grunted under the mass as his grip started to slip on the branch, which he was sure would have been attacking them if not for the light from around his waist. Thank goodness he tied it there.

"Quick! Climb up!" he called to the others.

"How?!"

It was taking all the kids' strength to hold on to each other against the current of the raging stream. Moving was impossible without letting go.

Just when Shouta thought things couldn't get worse a screech echoed out.

"Ahh!"

"Toru!" Izuku cried. Shouta's eyes widen as he searched the waters for the girl but while he could hear her cries get further and further away, he couldn't see her.

"Help me!"

"TORU!" No, no, no! This couldn't be happening, this couldn't-!

"Let go!" Tsuyu pulled out of Momoyoa's grip and swam downstream as fast as she could.

"Tsuyu-!" Shouta's hand slid slightly and his teeth clashed together. To make matters worse more and more logs were racing towards them. Outside of the rune's light, they had the same yellow eyes they had when Shouta first entered the forest. He needed to get everyone out of the water, now! Otherwise, he'd slip and they would all drown, or worse.

"Ochaco! Make everyone lighter!" he called. Ochaco did so to the best of her abilities. Shouta managed to pull himself and the others up onto the tree branch, which they all used to get to shore. After checking that Tenya still had his rune around his waist, Shouta raced along the stream to find the lost girls.

Once in a while, he'd see Tsuyu's head pop out of the water but even without the dark making things harder Shouta couldn't find Toru. Worse, her cries had vanished leaving him to fear the worse. What Shouta did see were the log creatures as they rocked in the water. Every once in a while their wooden maws would open and snap like a crocodile, trying to catch something. Shouta's heart beat fast, hitting painfully against his chest.

'Come on, come on, come on-'

He was so focused on them that he didn't notice that he had tripped until his face collided with the ground. He paid no mind to that, however, nor the sound of something shatter. Immediately pushed himself up and kept running. His heart was about to give in to despair as he thought he lost the girls until a voice called out.

"Mr. Aizawa!" Suddenly Tsuyu's tongue shot out and wrapped around his arm.

Looking out, he saw that Tsuyu appeared to be holding something, but she couldn't swim to shore. Shouta quickly got the idea and started to pull her to shore with the tongue wrapped around his arm. The logs didn't make this endeavor easy as they tried to attack the girls. The only fortune was that the current worked against them as well, so they only had one chance to strike the girls who maneuvered to the best of their abilities. Tsuyu let out a grunted cry as one sliced across her back.

"Tsuyu!" Shouta moved even faster to get the to shore.

It was a fight but in the end, Shouta won out. Now he gathered the two girls in his arms.

"Toru? Tsuyu?" Shouta was relieved when he heard the soft whines.

He held both of them, unable to say anything as he choked on his relief. Both curled into his protective embrace, breathing heavily through whimpers. Tsuyu was clutching her mouth as her shoulders shook from crying. Shouta supposed that being yanked from a raging current by your tongue was a painful experience.

He couldn't see Toru but he could feel her shaking as well as she sobbed. He let out a breath, unable to say anything. Just as he was about to calm down he realized something horrible.

The lamp that held his rune was broken and the gem was gone.

'Shit!' As the creak of wood echoed out Shouta looked up in time to see a thick branch swing down at them. The man did his best to cover Toru and Tsuyu, praying that this would be enough to save them.

The attack never came.

Shouta opened his eyes. Behind him, he saw that a giant stone wall had taken the hit of the branch. Before he could say anything about this, several more stone walls appeared, placing a barrier between them and the trees.

"Are you alright?" Shouta turned and saw a tall, blocky statue. It took him a second to realize it had a face and was smiling.
"Who-?"
"Mr. Aizawa! Tsuyu! Toru!"

The dwarfs ran up and surrounded Shouta and the girls. In the rune light, Shouta looked them over. They were drenched in water and had a few scrapes and bruises on them—Izuku had a swollen bruise above his eye from bumping the branch as he had climbed, and Tenya's glasses were gone—but they were all alive, which was something.
Assured everyone was there and alive, Shouta turned his gaze to the stone man who watched them. Shouta thought he should be afraid of the stranger, but the man was so serene and had such a gentle demeanor he couldn't.
"You must be Mr. Aizawa and the dwarfs." the stone stranger said. "I'm Cementoss. Pleased to meet all of you. Chiyo said you might be in a bit of trouble and sent me to assist." He seemed to be trying to make himself look as small and harmless as he could. More than likely, the stone giant was trying to put them at ease.
It took a few moments for Shouta's brain to catch up to what was happening.
"Chi-Chiyo?" he questioned.
"The witch you're trying to see."

Izuku gulped from his spot behind Shouta.
"She knows we're coming?" he asked. Cementoss grinned a little wider with a nod.
"Yes. She's quite excited." He turned and beckoned the others to follow. "This way, please. It's not far now."
The dwarfs turned to Shouta to decide what to do. Shouta hesitated for only a moment. If this guy was an enemy then there was no rational reason for him to save them. Plus, the whole point of this trip was to see the witch. If he was offering to take them to her, then it would be irrational to refuse. Besides, Tsuyu was hurt, and all of them had almost drowned. He wasn't staying here any more than he had to.
Using every ounce of his willpower to force himself to his feet, Shouta faced the stone giant.
"Lead the way."

{To be Continued...}

A/N:

*I'm so sick of the trees. I wanted to see if I could make trees scary, but there's only so much you can do with them unless I go the "Evil Dead" Route.
*I realize that it's OOC for Shouta not to look for a bridge, but the reasoning I'm going with is that he was raised in a palace with little to no education. Occasionally he'd pick up a book or two, but the servants overworked him so much that he had very little time to read. As a result, while he may be a rational person, his commonsense goes up and down. Also—this is fanfiction. Once in a while, I get to play the "things need to happen for plot reasons without any logic" card.

Meta Notes:

*Nezu was originally supposed to have Cementoss' role but this worked better.

*Here's a slightly sad note; For their whole lives the dwarfs were only brave enough to go in one direction in their forest, towards their mines. They never even considered going in any other direction because they were scared they would die, or worse. Well, that's not true. One strayed and—well, remember how there are 10 beds and 7 children? The tragic part of this is that if they went in the direction Shouta came from they could be out of the forest in less than 30 minutes. That being said, they still wouldn't leave unless…

Golem Notes:

*Golems are magical creatures created by witches and wizards to protect them from threats. They can be created from any element, but it's best to use an earth element over others like fire, water, or air as they last longer and tend to be less destructive.

*Wizards and witches make golems differently; the ones made by wizards act like robots while ones made by witches act like humans or animals.