Happy New Year everyone!
Thank you FlourChildWrites and C's Melody for the beta!
Also, thank you to my reviewers!
Isabel - I'm so glad that you are enjoying this and thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I'll definitely try adding more details to describe the environment going forward.
Fencer29 - Thank you for all your support! I can't express how much it means to me that you take the time to comment on every chapter!
Nap-Tyme - Thank you for the lovely words!
Now here we go! The action starts back up again. Disclaimer: Boku no Hero and its characters do not belong to me.
XXXXX
Chapter 6: We Can (Not) Survive
XXXXX
Momo gasped as Shouto's hand shoved into her stomach and she flipped over the railing and fell into the sea.
Water obscured her vision and rushed to fill her mouth. She quickly pressed her lips together as she tried not to breathe. It felt like there was a heavy weight on her chest, pushing her down.
Terror filled her, like claws sinking into her breast. Tearing her open. She needed to breathe. She needed to get to the surface.
Then there was a distant booming sound. The water warmed, and a force slammed into her, flipping her over suddenly. She fought to keep her mouth closed as the world spun violently.
She wanted to scream, wanted to call for Tokoyami, but couldn't. The spinning made her sick with fear.
Then the currents eased. Momo cracked her eyes open. Black snow and pieces of wood rained down in slow motion.
There was no time to contemplate it. Her heart was pounding so violently, she thought her chest would burst.
Where was Tokoyami? He had been pushed underwater too. She was sure of it. The notion made her cold. He couldn't swim. Tokoyami would drown if she didn't find him. What if he was already dead? What if his wound had reopened and he was bleeding out?
Stifling her fear and the acute ache in her chest, Momo turned. She spotted the dark outline of Tokoyami's raven-like head a short distance away.
He was kicking wildly. His eyes rounded in panic. Black feathers fanned out and bent at the ocean's unseen force as he thrashed and flailed to get to the surface.
Terror sunk into Momo's chest. She pushed herself over, reached out, and dug her fingers into Tokoyami's clothes, pulling him into her chest.
His elbow slammed into her stomach. Momo grit her teeth to keep from inhaling. She squeezed Tokoyami tighter and pulled him towards the surface.
He felt like a giant weight and Momo was thankful that he was on the shorter side as she pushed them up.
Then they broke the surface. Momo gasped. The pain in her chest lessened slightly as she dragged in ragged breaths. The sharp smell of burning flesh assaulted her.
She jerked her head up. Her eyes widened in horror. The trireme was on fire. Bright, blue flames licked off of the wood and twined up the masts like bursting sapphires.
Sailors and soldiers were screaming at the top of their lungs in pain and fear, their bodies engulfed in flames. They threw themselves into the ocean desperately, without thought; anything to get away from the burning inferno that was consuming the ship.
Their bodies hit the water with loud thuds, but the ocean didn't extinguish the flames. Instead the fire danced atop the waves like candles at a funeral. And so the men screamed and screamed as the putrid smell of burning flesh filled the air and their bodies began to dissolve into black ash.
Momo's throat contracted, her stomach felt like it was twisting and she thought she might be sick.
Where was Todoroki? Was he already dead? Had he really sacrificed himself to save them?
A sharp sound from the trireme rang out above the screams. Momo wrenched her eyes up. Todoroki was fighting Dabi, his body moving with a ruthless beauty as he dodged Dabi's attacks aboard the sinking ship.
Momo's heart stuttered. The sense of relief she felt at seeing him-
She didn't want to think about it. She swallowed over a lump in her throat and tore her eyes away from the brothers to look down at Tokoyami in her arms. He moaned as he coughed up water. Blood was leaking out of his wound, clouding the water a dark copper. Momo's chest tightened. It was as she had feared — his wound had reopened, and he was going to bleed to death. He needed to get out of the water.
She glanced quickly back up at Todoroki as he ducked his brother's flames, before steeling herself. She drew in a shaky breath and looked at Tokoyami.
"Can you move?"
He coughed, and yellow, bird-like eyes opened. "Yaoyorozu?" His voice was weak.
"Can you swim?" she asked again, eyeing him worriedly.
Tokoyami winced in pain. Momo bit her lip and looked around desperately at the wooden planks floating on the waves. A short way off, there was a piece big enough for two people to lie on. She looked back at the demigod. "I'm going to need your help," she said, treading water to keep them afloat. "There's a big enough plank that you can lie on. I need you to get on your back so I can pull you over."
Tokoyami gave a short nod. Carefully, she helped him onto his back and pulled him over to the wood. Her heart pounded furiously in her chest as she pushed him on the slab. She grabbed the edge of the wood to pull herself up but paused at a screeching sound from the trireme.
Momo jerked her attention back to the ship as ice shot like an arrow at Dabi. The god pulled back, but not quick enough as Todoroki closed in. Endeavor gleamed in the sunlight as bright as lightning.
Dabi didn't have time to counter; Todoroki slashed the sword across Dabi's stomach, the metal of his armor tearing apart with a bone chilling shriek. The god screamed; then his hand shot out. Todoroki jerked back, but not fast enough as the god grabbed the left side of Todoroki's face and flames exploded in blinding blues and whites.
Todoroki roared and slammed Endeavor's hilt up into Dabi's face but the god was gone, vanished as if he hadn't ever been there.
Momo's heart pounded loudly in her chest. Was that it? Was it over? Had Todoroki won?
She nearly sobbed in relief when Dabi didn't reappear, but she didn't get the chance. The Spartan stumbled and Momo's eyes widened, her breath catching in her throat as she watched Todoroki fall into the sea.
Her stomach twisted viciously. This was the perfect chance for them to escape, part of her whispered. She could be free. She and Tokoyami could start a new life away from the war. But, if Todoroki had really risked his life to save them…
"Yaoyorozu, I know what you're thinking. Don't do it."
Momo's gaze darted up. Tokoyami pushed himself up slowly, and his yellow eyes seemed to narrow on her.
"He's the enemy."
Momo's lips thinned. She could feel the wood biting into her hands as she gripped the plank tightly.
"Maybe so," she said slowly, looking away at the debris shifting on the waves, trying to see the red and white hair of her captor. "But he protected us. There was no reason for him to. He could have saved himself, but he didn't."
"It's just a coincidence," Tokoyami said sternly, shifting to press his hand against his wound. "Don't think too deeply about it. He's the enemy. His path is paved in darkness."
That was true.
The world would be a better place if Shouto Todoroki was dead. He had killed hundreds of Trojans. And just because he hadn't raped her didn't mean that he was any less cruel. She had seen him cut through the Athenian soldiers without remorse and almost freeze his own comrade to death without hesitation.
He was too destructive.
Too unpredictable.
But, the thought of his calloused hands wiping away her tears bothered her. Could she really let him die? There must be some sort of kindness and caring in him as well.
Momo swallowed over a lump in her throat.
"Maybe so, but I can't just ignore him if he is alive." She looked into Tokiyami's yellow eyes. "What kind of priestess of Apollo would I be? What kind of person, if I didn't save someone I knew I could?"
Tokiyami stared at her. She dropped her gaze to the wood in between her hands. "I'm just going to look. If I don't see him, or if he's dead, I'll be right back. I promise," she said softly.
Tokoyami sighed and gave a begrudging nod.
That was all the confirmation she needed. Momo let go of the wood, took a deep breath, and then dived.
Under the waves, the ordinarily crystal blue water had become clouded by debris. She squinted to try and see the red and white hair of Shouto Todoroki.
She spotted him a little ways off. The water shimmered around his frame. The left shoulder of his chiton had burned away, leaving only the golden bangles circling his upper arm.
She moved closer and hooked her arms around his back. Heat scorched through her arms, and Momo almost gasped.
He was hot, as if his body housed Prometheus' own flame. It was too hot for any normal human. His demigod blood must have protected him.
Momo grit her teeth. Her fingers stung as she touched his skin, but she forced the pain away as she grabbed hold of him again and kicked up towards the surface.
They broke the water's surface, and Momo gasped for breath. She pulled Todoroki over to the plank, and together with Tokoyami struggled to lift the Spartan up.
"Careful."
Tokoyami hissed as he pushed the Spartan onto his back.
Momo looked at her hands. They were red, but it was nothing serious. She dunked them into the water to cool her palms, and then pulled herself across from him. The wood dipped precariously into the water from the added weight but held as she sat herself on the edge. She turned and looked Todoroki over, feeling her initial panic fade away as she watched his chest rise and fall rhythmically. He wasn't dead or dying. Relief washed over her.
She tried not to think about it as her eyes skimmed quickly over his chest and stomach. There were no cuts or bruises that she could see.
"Yaoyorozu," Tokoyami said sternly.
Momo looked up, but Tokoyami wasn't looking at her. "What is it?"
"His eye."
Momo's gaze dropped down to Todoroki's face, and she inhaled sharply.
His left eye, where Dabi had grabbed him, was completely swollen, burned shut. The skin around it charred black and bloody.
The magic that had caused the injury shimmered around the wound. Momo swallowed over a dry throat. She felt her lips tremble as she watched the mist of magic rise in wisps.
There was nothing she could do.
Even if they were back in Troy, all she'd be able to do was alleviate the pain and ensure it didn't become infected. No tool or medicine within her knowledge could heal burned flesh. Momo bit her bottom lip.
"There's nothing we can do," she finally said in a wooden voice.
She looked away and out over the ocean. The blue fire that had originally danced on the waves was extinguished. Her eyes scanned the horizon; there was a vague outline of mountains in the distance but no signs of any other life. There was no way of telling when the next ship would pass. Momo curled her hands into fists as she came to her decision.
"We can't stay here," she said as she slid off the plank and back into the water.
Tokoyami looked at her sharply. "Yaoyorozu?" He called out roughly as she swam away from the makeshift raft to the debris still floating in the waves.
There wasn't much left. Most of the boat's contents had sunk to the bottom of the ocean. She found a scorched rope and wrapped it around her arm, returning to Tokoyami.
"We can't drift out here at sea. If Dabi doesn't come back then we'll die within 3 days without fresh water. The only thing we can do is get to shore. I'll have to pull us."
"No!" Tokoyami replied harshly, his eyes widening in horror.
Momo stared at Tokoyami.
"What choice do we have?" she asked evenly. "You're too hurt to swim, and Todoroki is unconscious. I'm the only one who is well enough," she said, examining the wood for a hole or hook to wrap the rope around.
There was a small hole in the far left side of the plank where the wood had been nailed to another piece of the ship. Momo forcibly pushed the rope through the hole.
Tokoyami was silent for a moment as he watched her.
"I'll use my dark shadow to help," he said.
Momo paused and glared at him.
"No. You're in no condition," she said sternly as she pulled at the end of the rope and tied it into a sailor's knot. "Besides, your shadows aren't strong enough during the day."
"I can't let you pull both of us."
"You're going to have to. I won't let you waste your life."
"And I can't let you waste yours," Tokoyami snapped, grimacing.
Momo stilled. Her wrist stung, and her whole body ached. But the thought of losing Tokoyami...
It left her feeling empty, like a giant hole had opened inside her chest. She had almost lost him once and couldn't handle that terror again. Her choice had already been made.
"I won't," she said softly, looking up at him. Tokoyami's eyes were bright with pain, and it hardened her resolve. "This is all I can think of, so that we all survive."
Tokoyami opened his beak, but Momo continued. "We can't stay here. I promise I'll stop when I get too tired."
Tokoaymi's eyes narrowed.
"You promise?" he asked in a hard voice.
Momo gave him a wan smile.
"I promise," she said, turning back around. She tied the rope securely around her waist and pulled.
As the sun rose in the sky, her fingertips began to shrivel and she stopped being able to feel the ache in her wrist as her whole body turned numb. It felt like she was made of lead, as she pulled them forward to an unknown destination.
She didn't know how much time had passed when Tokoyami spoke next.
"Yaoyorozu."
Momo's mind lifted from her daze. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. The demigod was sitting up and watching something in the distance.
"Look."
Treading water, Momo stretched her neck. Behind them, the ocean rippled as something ducked under the waves.
Momo's heart abruptly stalled. It was as though the world had suddenly stilled. There was no noise. No air. Nothing. Just a pressure that slowly grew in intensity until she felt like she was being crushed. She stared intently at the sea, but there was no more movement.
The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.
A sea monster.
One of Dabi's or...
She didn't want to think about it. She could barely breathe. How long had it been following them? Could it just be curious? It seemed unlikely, but then again, it hadn't approached. Momo swallowed over a dry throat. All she could do was pray to Poseidon that the monster would leave them alone.
"Let me know if it gets closer," she whispered, low and slow.
Tokoyami gave a small nod as he continued to watch the waves.
Hesitantly, Momo turned back around and began to pull the wood plank again. She didn't know how long she pulled the raft for and kept lifting her head to see if she could hear any sounds. However, there was nothing but the steady thrum of her heart and the crashing of the sea. She tried to increase her pace, but it felt like she wasn't moving at all.
Her eyes widened suddenly.
It wasn't her imagination.
They weren't moving. Or, at least, not in the direction she wanted to go. Her throat constricted tightly as the currents suddenly grew stronger, and she felt herself lurching back.
"Yaoyorozu!" Tokoyami cried as the water sped up.
Momo swam, but the ocean currents were strong. The raft sped backward. The waves began to claw at her, dunking her under. Momo fought to keep her head above the waterline.
Slowly, the ocean began to churn. Then there was a loud roaring sound, and in the middle of the whirling ocean, a giant monster emerged.
No. Not a monster. Just a mouth.
The creature had no eyes. Just a gaping hole surrounded by rows of jagged fangs that sucked in the sea with an insatiable thirst. The water sped up and tumbled into the dark mouth, pulling the trio along with it.
Momo's stomach dropped in terror.
It was Moonfish. One of the ocean's monstrous Charybdis.
Terror gripped her. She felt her heart stutter as the jaws sucked in water.
They needed to get out.
Momo tried to look around, but there was nothing to grab on to. They were whirling faster. She felt sick. Water kept filling her mouth and rushing up her nose.
Coughing and gagging, Momo struggled to stay afloat. She felt Tokoyami's dark shadows try to grab her, but the sun was still too high in the sky. He was still too weak to pull her out.
She needed to think of something. Anything. Movement caught the corner of her eye as she struggled.
"I'll do it! Let me help, Kero!"
Momo gasped as a young woman with long dark hair and large black eyes appeared.
She was a nereide. One of the goddesses of the sea and protector of sailors. She must have been attracted to the destruction of the trireme and been the one following them, Momo realized with surety.
The nereide moved closer. "Get up quickly. You don't have much time, Kero," she cried, grabbing the rope tied to the raft.
Momo didn't have time to deliberate. She quickly unwrapped the cord from her waist and handed the rope to the woman. Tokoyami shifted to balance the raft as she used the rope to pull herself closer.
"Yaoyorozu, quickly!"
Her throat and chest tightened. Momo clambered onto the wood and the plank dipped with her added weight. Her heart was racing in her chest, a terrible rapid thrum.
As she pulled herself up, something rough twinned around her leg. Momo's eyes widened in terror. She reached out to grab onto the first thing within reach. Her fingers skimmed over Todoroki's sword, and she grabbed the hilt. The appendage around her leg tightened and yanked. Momo screamed.
"Yaoyorozu!" Tokoyami lunged forward, his hand outstretched. The creature yanked at her again, and Todoroki's sword slipped from its scabbard. Momo fell back into the sea.
She didn't have the chance to take a breath this time. Water immediately filled her mouth and stung her nose as she plummeted down towards the creature's gaping jaws, the monster's tongue wrapped firmly around her leg.
She couldn't hear, could barely see. Momo tried to kick the appendage off, but it wouldn't budge. Her heart was pounding painfully in her chest and she held onto Todoroki's sword like a lifeline that was slowly growing thinner as the tongue dragged her closer.
This is not how I die.
This is not how I die.
She could almost see the razor-sharp teeth.
Then a thought stuck her. Momo's fingers tightened around the sword determinedly and she angled it down. She only had one shot. She needed to get it right. She had to get it right. If she hesitated, she might die or cut her own leg off. Steeling herself, she slammed the sword down into the pink flesh.
The water hindered her movement, but the weapon met its target. The creature screamed — a horrible squealing sound that vibrated through the water.
The tongue latched around her leg released her suddenly as the creature recoiled in pain. It closed its gaping mouth and retreated back into the abyss.
Slowly, the spinning stopped, and the currents lessened. Momo tried to kick up towards the surface, but her body felt heavy. She was suddenly so very, very tired. And then, she couldn't hold her breath anymore; she choked. Todoroki's sword dropped from her fingers as burning pain laced through her chest. It was as if her lungs were melting. Her head throbbed painfully like someone had cracked a vase over her head. Momo wanted to scream, but she couldn't breathe; she was choking, dying.
Not yet.
This couldn't be how she died. Just a little further, the words repeated through her mind as she forced her body to move. Blackness crept across her vision, and she fought to stay conscious. She needed air. Her arms were becoming too heavy to lift. And it felt like her life was slowly draining out of her. She realized she was terribly, terribly cold.
A shadow appeared above her, but her vision was fading and she could only make out a faint outline. The shadow moved closer. Suddenly, Momo felt strong arms wrap around her, dragging her to the surface.
She was vaguely aware as her body was pulled from the water and onto a hard surface. She shivered and tried hard to focus on her rescuer, but her eyes couldn't adjust. She felt the person holding her shift, and air puffed against her neck as their face nuzzled into her wet hair.
"You've done enough. I've got you. I'll take care of you," a deep, soothing voice whispered into her ear as the world finally tilted and darkness claimed her.
Hope you all liked this more action packed chapter! I literally decided to re-write some of it yesterday, so hopefully it's not too sloppy.
On a different note, after some thought, I have decided to take a break from posting until I have more chapters ready. I had originally thought that I would have 9-10 chapters done by now, but last quarter work killed me and I didn't get as far as I had wanted. I've also been dealing with some mental health issues and really need to take my time and work at my own pace. Thank you everyone for understanding. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story when I begin posting again maybe in a month or two.
Notes:
Nereide - The Nereids were sea nymphs in Greek mythology. They helped sailors on their voyages when they faced fierce storms. Unlike what we consider mermaids, they didn't have fins.
Charybdis - is actually Poseidon's daughter, but for this story I'm making her a type of monster to suit my purposes. The Greek Charybdis takes the form of a huge bladder of a creature whose face was all mouth and whose arms and legs were flippers and swallows huge amounts of water before belching them back out again, creating whirlpools. In some variations of the tale, Charybdis is just a large whirlpool rather than a sea monster.
Prometheus - is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of humanity from clay, and who defies the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity as civilization.