Thank you C's Melody and Flourchildwrites for betaing!

Disclaimer: Boku no Hero characters are owned by Horikoshi.

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Chapter 4: We Can (Not) Trust

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Momo washed the blood off of her hands, scrubbing her arms and between her fingers ritualistically. The golden hues of the setting sun cascaded through the house's single window and highlighted the water in the basin as the liquid turned a deep cooper. In the distance, the sound of a lute started, accompanied by the muffled singing of the Greeks as they began their celebratory feasts. In the air, Momo could detect the faint scent of roasting lamb over the smell of decaying bodies and smoldering smoke.

It made her stomach churn.

She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at Tokoyami. The temple guardian was still unconscious. The human parts of his body, sticking out from under a wool blanket, were pale and covered in sweat.

The operation had taken the whole day. The wound on Tokoyami's stomach had been severe, but the more concerning problem had been the amount of blood he had lost by the time she had been able to treat him. It was a miracle that he'd survived at all, and the foul stench of the Styx River still sat thickly on her tongue like molding bread.

Momo looked back at the darkening water and paused as her chest tightened and her breathing grew fainter. The terror and anxiety that she had carefully sealed away during the procedure began to slowly leak through the cracks of her control. And Momo was helpless to stop her thoughts as all the possible scenarios began to flicker through her mind, reminding her of how precarious Tokoyami's situation was.

Closing her eyes, she swallowed nervously over a dry throat, clamping down on her thoughts.

She wasn't going to panic.

She had been the Temple's top healer, known for her calm demeanor under pressure and extensive knowledge of medicine. She had stitched hundreds of injuries before, some worse than Tokoyami's wound. There was no reason for her to get emotional now.

Momo took a deep breath and returned to rinsing her hands furiously. Tokoyami would pull through. He had to. He was the closest thing to family she had left. He would never abandon her.

She didn't know if she could be alone again.

A stabbing pain shot through her wrist, pulling her from her thoughts. Momo stopped and frowned, touching her hand. She had neglected to treat her wrist before beginning the operation, and the constant movement and precision needed to sew Tokoyami's wound had only aggravated the sprain. With the amount of strain she had put on it, it wouldn't be surprising if it swelled up, and she'd be unable to use it for a couple of weeks. It would hinder her from protecting Tokoyami, but it had been a risk she had knowingly taken.

Momo pulled a towel from the back of a chair, her gaze sliding to the side to discreetly look at Shouto Todoroki as she dried her hands. He had watched her the entire day, barely moving from his spot leaning against the opposite wall, except for when he had wordlessly left to change clothes or the few times he had replaced the water she'd used during the operation.

Momo diverted her attention as he looked up and his gray eyes caught her stare.

Until Tokoyami could protect himself, she'd have to be careful. There were plenty of men who wouldn't hesitate to use the temple guardian as leverage to bend her to their will. She doubted Todoroki would be any different. She was just another person for him to conquer. Even if he had helped her more than what their agreement had stipulated, he would most likely ask more from her in return.

Her stomach curled. Momo frowned. She'd have to stay on her guard around him. She'd already shown too many of her weaknesses; it was just a matter of time until he used them against her.

Momo picked up the water basin and emptied it outside. She turned sharply back towards Tokoyami, and black spots danced across her vision. Momo stumbled, catching herself on a warm arm that suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a hard chest and steadying her body. Momo stilled at the contact.

"You're exhausted," Todoroki's deep voice rumbled. The sound seemed to travel through her back and down her spine.

She pushed down a shiver and forced herself to look at him. Todoroki's face was tense and his expressionless eyes steely. He had cleaned the blood off and changed into a regular blue chiton. Up close, she could catch the faint smell of olives. The muscles under her fingers rippled.

Momo pushed herself up. "I'm fine. I just tripped," she said, taking a step back and out of his arms.

Todoroki let her go without any resistance, but his eyes seemed to narrow. He looked her up and down. Momo was uncomfortably reminded that she was still in her torn chiton as his cold, gray eyes examined her. In the back of her mind, she wished she hadn't taken off his cape, no matter how impractical it would have been to perform surgery with it on.

She forced herself not to shift under his stare. This was a game — cat and mouse. The best defense she had against him right now was to hide her fear; it would only be used against her.

Todoroki's gaze returned to her face.

"Go clean up. You're done for tonight," he said after a moment.

Momo's lips thinned; she pulled her shoulders back and turned away from him with all the grace she could manage. "I'm not tired," she said, making her way back towards Tokoyami. "I've had longer days than this. Besides, I still need to make more medicine and clean Tokoyami's other wounds. I'll rest once I'm done." She placed the water basin back under the window and turned back around. Todoroki was right behind her.

Momo swallowed.

She hadn't heard him move.

His eyes glittered as he loomed over her. "Do it tomorrow. You haven't eaten or rested all day. You're going to get sick." He glanced over at Tokoyami lying on the wooden table. "It will be fine for another day."

Something twisted inside of her, and then a fit of anger that she didn't realize she possessed roared through her. Momo clenched her hands into fists; her eyes narrowed. "No, I won't!" she said harshly. "The first twenty-four hours are the most critical for a patient's recovery. I need to monitor his condition carefully to ensure his body doesn't reject the sutures, or he doesn't come down with a fever," she explained, trying to keep her voice from trembling with rage.

Todoroki's face hardened. And Momo felt her anger disappear as fast as it had come; her heart stalled. She had overstepped. She could feel his mounting frustration beating off of him like waves onto rocks, and she braced herself. She still knew next to nothing about the Spartan, and Momo had seen women battered for smaller offenses. If he grew serious, she wouldn't stand a chance against him, especially with her injury.

Todoroki rolled his jaw. "That's fine and all, but don't forget that you promised yourself to me." His tone had an edge to it. He reached forward and wrapped his fingers around her left wrist. Momo hissed and flinched at the unexpected contact. Todoroki released her, and his eyes widened as she pulled back.

"You're hurt." He sounded genuinely surprised.

Momo brought her hand up to cradle it against her chest. Her wrist ached slightly. He hadn't grabbed her roughly, but it had been enough to aggravate her already wounded hand. "It's just a sprain," she said, looking away. "I fell. It's nothing serious."

"You were working this whole time without treating it?" he asked in a low voice.

Momo's lips thinned. "I'll wrap it properly after I finish."

Todoroki was silent for a moment. "Is that creature really that important that you'd neglect your own health just to heal it?" he asked coldly.

Momo looked up sharply and glared at Todoroki. "He is not an 'it'! Tokoyami is the most important person to me. He's all I have left...If anything...if anything..." Her voice trailed off as her vision blurred, and she felt wetness start to accumulate on her lashes.

Thinking about Tokoyami made it hard to breathe, and the additional emotional whiplash from the day was making her head hurt. She bit her lip as she struggled to tamp down on her anger and terror but it was too late. Her body had betrayed her. Momo closed her eyes in horror as she felt the first couple teardrops slip over her cheeks and patter onto the wood floor.

She heard Todoroki step closer. "Go to bed."

"No!" Momo's eyes snapped open; she shook her head as more tears flowed down her cheeks. She was drawing in short, rapid breaths as she tried to calm herself. Her chest hurt. He reached out to touch her and she flinched.

Todoroki sighed. Then, in one swift motion, he leaned down and swept her up into his arms.

Momo's stomach twisted. A strangled sob tore itself from her.

"No! You promised!" She gasped as he cradled her in his arms and turned around. "You promised."

Todoroki ignored her, and Momo's eyes widened as he carried her to the bed. Her chest constricted like it had been snared in a steel net. With every step forward, it clenched tighter.

He had no intention of letting her finish healing Tokoyami, she realized. And with Tokoyami barely hanging onto life and her own injury, she couldn't fight him. She was trapped.

Fear seized her; Momo squeezed her eyes shut as Todoroki laid her down on the bed. She sank into the straw mattress, shaking so hard that the bed frame rattled.

She had thought she had prepared herself for this moment, when Todoroki would extract his payment for allowing her to save Tokoyami, but she wasn't. She was terrified.

Momo tried to grab for that strong resolution that had steeled her nerves when she had first stood in front of Todoroki, but it was gone as if it had dried up like grapes left out in the hot, summer sun.

The tears kept flowing down her cheeks. Momo bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood as she fought to keep from hyperventilating. It would all be over soon. She just had to keep her eyes closed and think about something else, anything else, until it was over, and then she could go back and finish tending to Tokoyami.

The bed shifted, and Momo clenched her hands into tight fists on top of her chest. Something warm cupped her face. Momo started; her eyes snapped open and her heart stilled.

"Don't," Todoroki said softly. He was pale and his eyes were flashing as he looked at her. His thumb brushed across her cheek, wiping away the tears with unexpected gentleness. "I promise that I won't let anything happen to you or...him. You're mine now. I'll keep you safe, just let me wrap your wrist. I'm not going to let you continue unless you let me treat you."

Todoroki didn't wait for her to respond. He pulled back and strode across the room to grab the extra bandages she had thrown haphazardly onto a chair and returned to the bed, sitting down next to her. He reached out, drawing her hurt hand towards him and slowly began to wrap her wrist.

Three times around her wrist.

His fingers were rough and calloused.

Then, around the thumb to protect the thumb joint.

But his grip was gentle.

Then, around her wrist again.

Momo dragged in a deep breath as she stared at him, astonished as he continued to wrap her hand. It didn't make sense.

He wasn't supposed to feel.

Shouto Todoroki was supposed to be cruel and unyielding, and yet he had done nothing but treat her kindly, as if she were something precious. Like she mattered to him.

It made her head hurt. And another small sob tore itself from her throat.

Todoroki froze at the sound. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you? Are you hurt anywhere else?" he asked, looking her over critically.

Momo shook her head. "It's...it's nothing."

"Are you feeling sick? I told you that you'd get sick if you work yourself so hard," he said sternly, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"It's not that...It's just...nothing. Thank you," she stammered so softly she could barely hear her own words.

Todoroki paused for a moment and looked down as he returned to wrapping her wrist. His indolent mask settling firmly back in place.

Momo's heart slowly stopped pounding as she watched him. There was irony in the fact that the infamous Shouto Todoroki — who had killed so many Trojan citizens — was the one taking care of her. By every right, as a conquering warrior or as a master, he could have taken her, and she wouldn't have been able to refuse.

It left her confused, and she hated it. Momo was logical by nature. Her mind needed answers and Todoroki wasn't providing them. His actions spoke of a protective and caring man. And a part of her was desperate to believe it, but it didn't make sense. The feeling that she was overlooking a key piece of information swirled through her mind, but she was too tired to grasp it.

"Why do you care so much about him?" Todoroki asked, pulling Momo from her thoughts.

She opened her mouth, the truth on the tip of her tongue, before pausing. The day had taken an emotional toll on her, and she needed to be careful not to instinctively trust the gut instinct to divulge her heart to him, not when she was still picking up the pieces of her life. She glanced up at him from under her lashes; staring at him for several seconds, her gaze following the soft plains of his face that were almost too beautiful to be human as she weighed the decision to tell him the truth. Alternate scenarios flitted through Momo's mind, but she was too tired to ponder how he could use the information against her. She was exhausted from crying, and for all her worries, she couldn't think of any benefit to withholding the truth.

Momo sighed and looked down at her hand as Todoroki tied the bandage into place. He already knew how to hurt her if he chose. "Tokoyami is the only one that I have left," she said softly. "Everyone else was taken by one god or another."

Todoroki paused his movements and looked at her; his face was indecipherable as he studied her. He opened his mouth to say something more, but the front door slammed open with a loud bang.

Momo jumped and looked up sharply.

"Yo! Todoroki!" A youth with a high pitched voice slurred drunkenly. She instantly recognized the short boy with grape like hair who served Prince Bakugou. "You've been holed up with those glorious boobs all day! It's a sin against the gods not to share..." He looked at her and his eyes glittered.

A shiver coursed down Momo's spine; Todoroki had no intention of keeping his promise of protecting her and Tokoyami. Suddenly, all the fears and terror that had begun to subside with Todoroki's gentle words rushed back, cold and heavy. Momo jerked her hand out of his and stood up abruptly. She glared down at him with all the ferocious anger that curled in her chest.

How dare he.

He had played her, and she had been so desperate for kindness that she had believed him. Momo shook with rage.

Todoroki's eyes widened, and he stood up slowly, reaching for her. Momo stumbled back, away from his touch, and her back hit the wall. She pressed herself into the wood as Todoroki's face hardened.

The small boy moved closer, his eyes shining. Another soldier moved into the doorway.

It all made sense now. Todoroki had tricked her. He had pretended that he was different, that he was gentle and kind, but it had all been a rouse. He had been waiting for her to drop her guard so that he and his friends could catch her unaware.

The air around them seemed to grow colder, reflecting her growing anger and terror.

Momo's eyes darted around the room, landing on the scissors she had been using earlier when operating on Tokoyami. They still lay on the table. She curled her hands into fists. They were too far to reach. She'd have to rely on her own strength.

Tears began to prick at the side of her eyes again, and her heartbeat quickened. Momo's mind spun with all the possible scenarios.

The men moved closer and the thick stench of ouzo permeated the air. Their footsteps pounding in her ears.

It made her sick. She braced herself for the inevitable as Todoroki shifted closer, blocking her from escaping. She didn't know what to do. If she fought, Tokoyami would die. If she ran, Tokoyami would die. All she could do was let them rape her.

Momo squeezed her eyes shut. Despair curled within her. She felt so cold and her body was so tense she was trembling. She dragged in a rasping sob between her teeth.

Suddenly there was a thundering sound so abrupt that the house shook.

Momo's entire body stilled. She stopped breathing, as her eyes snapped open. The air had frozen; ice covered the floor. The smaller boy had jumped to the side, barely missing the frozen fury, but the second man wasn't fast enough as the ice twisted and encased him. He stood frozen in the doorway, as if he were emerging from a marble statue.

For a moment, there was no sound, just the strong smell of licorice that permeated the house from the alcohol the small boy had dropped. Then, the boy with grape-like hair fell to the floor with a thud as he quaked in fear, and time started again.

Momo glanced shakily at Todoroki. He had stepped in front of her and was facing the two men. She couldn't see his face, but his breathing was slightly ragged. She could see it mist out with his every breath.

"Don't…don't you think that is a little much?" the flat-faced man asked, his body shivering loud enough that Momo could hear his teeth chattering.

Todoroki flexed his right hand; ice that had accumulated on his fingers like white crystals crackled as they fell to the floor. He strode across the room and lifted his opposite hand. Red and orange magic bloomed in his palm, and he laid it against the man's chest. "Sorry," he said, lowering his head so that his red and white bangs fell into his face, covering his eyes. "I was angry."

The ice began to melt like candle wax, dripping onto the floor in large puddles as steam puffed up and filled the room like Chimera's breath.

Momo stared transfixed at Todoroki's back as he silently melted what he had made. She didn't understand what was going on. What had made him attack his own comrades? It had almost seemed like he was trying to protect her.

But that couldn't be right.

Momo's heartbeat quickened.

None of it made sense. He couldn't possibly care about her — his helot, his slave. And yet, all the evidence pointed to that. It was nonsensical, but in the back of her mind, Momo began to wonder if maybe her original assessment of Todoroki was wrong.

I know, I know! Some of you are probably sooo angry at me right now, but I couldn't see a scenario in which Momo wouldn't start breaking down. It's been over twenty-four hours since she last slept or ate and, with Tokoyami hanging onto life by a thread, Momo's emotions are unstable. Adding in Todoroki and the silent threat she sees him as, and she ends up breaking because how would she know that Todoroki doesn't mean to hurt her? As sad as it is, war is not pretty. Rape is not a possibility, it's a certainty in Momo's mind, so when Todoroki offers kindness instead of pain it throws her off and she wonders if she truly understands who the demigod Shouto Todoroki is.

Anyways, Happy Holidays everyone! I'd love to hear your thoughts. Did Momo's fear resonate? Was the chapter too fast? Too slow? All thoughts welcome!

Notes:
Helots - Slave
Styx River - In Greek mythology, Styx is a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld
Chimera - a fire-breathing female monster resembling a lion in the forepart, a goat in the middle, and a dragon behind.