As usual big thank you to my betas: FlourChildWrites, C's Melody and 666-HyuugaNeji-999.
And thank you again to everyone who left a review! Like seriously
Fencer29 - Lol, maybe that is true, but Tokoyami still doesn't know Todoroki well enough. And Todoroki hasn't really gone out of his way to show other sides of himself to Tokoyami either.
Can't keep dragging out this arc forever, so some things will be a mystery but Emi isn't one of them. :P
HAHAHA! I haven't even thought of Nezu's role or if he will appear, but maybe he is secretly Zeus. HAHAHA. Mice do like to procreate...
KeroKeroNayo - You hit the nail on the head. :) As outcasts at the temple and with a war raging Momo and Tokoyami bonded together to survive, however, now that the war is over and time "has started again" they are beginning to realize they are separate people with different thoughts. It doesn't mean that they don't still love and care for each other, but their paths are diverging. It's sad, but happens.
Also, how they deal with the aftermaths of 10 years of fighting is different. Tokoyami has a more "we" verse "them" mindset. He sees Todoroki as a symbol of everything "Greek," and so his hate and mistrust is deeper. While Momo is starting to see Todoroki as an individual. I'm really glad that you are liking the added dimension I'm trying to bring to Tokoyami's character. Sometimes I don't know if its coming through because he's basically a side character, but I'm really trying to show his motivation and thoughts in little comments and his actions.
Snowflake100 - Ahh! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you are liking this. As for Tokoyami and Asui, you can interpret their relationship however you want. :) Besides TodoMomo there will be very few relationships actually defined. :)
Mihairu7 - First off, your review sounded so poetic while I was reading it! Hahaha. But, moving onto the story, you got it right. Momo is torn. The kiss feels right, but everything and everyone is telling Momo she shouldn't feel for Todoroki, leaving her confused and upset not knowing what is right and what is wrong. I don't even think you need to jump to modern times. Society has always been telling women how to act and how to feel and Momo is stuck in this debate.
Yeah, I didn't go into detail about it, but if Todo didn't fight (kill, r***, pillage) he'd have been labeled a coward in Sparta and denied all rights of a free man. He'd become an outcast that could only be redeemed if he died in battle doing an epic deed...so, unfortunately he doesn't have much options with saying 'no.'
Haha, I agree. I like the thought of Emi and Aizawa together. But for this story, any relationships (besides a very few) outside of TodoMomo will only be implied. So readers can imagine there is something more there or you can see those relationships as just friendships.
I KNOW! Perfect husband material. I don't know a woman who doesn't feel soft seeing a guy play with kids. So of course Momo is seeing this and melting inside. All of these little encounters, that may seem inconsequential are slowly making Momo fall for Todo.
AHh! I'm so happy you like Tokoyami's character. :D I was nervous that people would see him as too controlling and ooc, but I've always believed that characters don't evolve in a vacuum so needed Tokoyami to have his own development. Also, I wanted to show how everyone is dealing with the war differently, so although I never go into Tokoyami's pov, we can see that he holds a lot of hostility and anger for what happened to Troy. And I think that mirrors the real world well. Everyone deals with events differently and Tokoyami, with his more stubborn personality, is dealing with what happened very differently than Momo. As far as overreacting, yeah...I can see your argument. But Tokoyami is stubborn and because of being an outcast in Troy, he's had to develop a personality that sticks to "his guns" so to say. So its not that he doesn't care for Momo, but he thinks he's right and is annoyed that she isn't listening to him, as he has been used to. Back in Troy, Momo and Tokoyami only had each other and although Momo is smarter, she relied on him a lot, so Tokoyami is used to being the 'big brother' who influences Momo's actions. Now that Momo is developing into her own person, they are butting heads and Tokoyami ends up frustrated and being like 'do what you want.'
Nap-Tyme – I know! Tokoyami is being a bit of a meanie, but he thinks his points are valid and that Momo is the one not listening to him.
Your right, this arc isn't over and the stymphalian will be back. However, there motives will slowly be revealed. Hope you like the surprise.
Chapter 11: We Can (Not) Pause
49 days post the fall of Troy
Shouto adjusted the wooden crate on his shoulder as he pushed his way through the suffocating hallway and out into the courtyard.
The pirates had arrived the evening prior, bringing with them much needed food and supplies. And, with the additional bodies, the house was overcrowded. A cacophony of curses and shouting ricocheted off the walls as fifty or so pirates spilled out of the various rooms and into the courtyard, unloading wooden crates and setting up quarters.
It made the house feel more like a military encampment or a shipyard than an orphanage. The whole scene was nostalgic, and Shouto was surprised by how at ease he felt.
He dropped the crate on the ground and drew in a deep breath as he ran a hand through his damp hair. He could feel sweat beading his forehead and sliding down his neck. He straightened and looked up.
The summer had been unnaturally hot, and that day was no exception. Even in the shade, Shouto felt the abrasive heat dancing along his skin, searing his flesh.
He wondered briefly if he could actually burn. His magic had always protected him from the heat in the past, but now that he couldn't access his powers, he wondered what would happen if he stood out under the scorching sun all day — or if he had to face Dabi again.
He looked down. Turning his arm, Shouto studied his skin for that telling reddening, but, as far as he could tell, it appeared the same. Perhaps his magic was still inside him? Shouto drew in a deep breath and tried to focus, but as he suspected, he still couldn't feel anything.
Sighing, he looked up as movement across the yard drew his attention; his eyes immediately gravitating towards her, like they always did. Like the earth was pulled towards the sun.
Yaoyorozu stood at the fountain filling vases with water. She set one down and gathered her long, dark hair up, lifting it off her neck and fanning herself with her other hand. A light sheen of sweat coated her skin.
Shouto stared at her, and his fingers twitched. In the back of his mind he wondered, with how his eyes were pulled to her, if the story about soul mates were true. Had the human body once been composed of both male and female halves? Perfectly balanced, with the male half created from the sun and female from the earth, before Zeus separated them. Forcing the separated souls to roam the earth looking for their other half?
He pressed his lips into a hard line and dismissed the thought. It was only a myth, and while some myths were rooted in fact, this one couldn't be true. It would mean that he was capable of love and being loved.
As if feeling his gaze, Yaoyorozu looked up, and her onyx eyes met his. They stared at each other for a long moment before her expression abruptly flickered, and her lips thinned. She dropped her hair and turned back to her task.
Shouto's chest tightened, and he looked away. His hands twitched slightly at his sides, and he brought his left up to rest on Endeavor's hilt. What was he thinking? He knew Yaoyorozu didn't want anything to do with him.
She may have started speaking to him again, but it felt forced. He could see it in her expressive face. She spoke to him with a cautious air, as if she thought he'd transform into a monster at any second.
And could he blame her?
He'd fucked up.
Shouto rolled his jaw. He hadn't meant to force himself on her that night. But, when she looked at him so vulnerably under the moonlight, the curse had activated, pushing him to kiss her. Or at least, he had thought it was the curse that had forced him to lean down and capture her lips -
Fuck. He closed his eyes and pressed his right fist into the center of his forehead. He was no better than his bastard of a father.
Shouto felt his insides curl at the thought. It had been haunting him since the incident, swirling in the back of his mind. He inhaled slowly as the sour taste of guilt, which was becoming all too familiar, filled his mouth.
Where had he gone wrong? Hadn't he promised himself that he would never be like his old man?
What a fuck up.
He unfurled his fist and rubbed at his temples.
It had been their first real conversation too, and he had ruined it by acting impulsively on imagined feelings.
He didn't know why the curse had made him think that Yaoyorozu would be okay with him suddenly kissing her. Shouto reasoned it was some misplaced fantasy derived, most likely, from the magic and the hope that she'd felt the same pull as he had that night.
But, of course, she wouldn't feel the same way. Yaoyorozu wasn't under the influence of a curse. She was only entertaining him to maintain her side of their bargain. That's why she had apologized last week and why she still forced herself to speak to him. It was because she thought she had breached their agreement, not because she cared for him.
Shouto dropped his hand and raised his head to watch some of the pirates set up tents in the courtyard. Slowly, he loosened his hold on Endeavor's hilt.
Fuyumi had raised him to be better than this. Even if it was within his rights as Yaoyorozu's master, was he really so weak that all it took was a little push from a spell for him to start forcing himself onto an unwilling woman? Hadn't he promised himself, after seeing what that bastard had put his mother through, that he'd never make a woman do something against her will?
And not only that, he had kissed her twice. Shouto sighed. He should have apologized properly last week when she had.
And maybe he should've told her about the curse.
The thought made his stomach twist viciously, and he clenched his jaw. It was hard enough for him to admit to himself that he had been cursed, but thinking of speaking it aloud made him feel sick. And angry. It felt like a moral and physical failing on his part.
Sparta's top warrior brought to his knees by a low-level fucking god.
Shouto swallowed over the bitter taste of pride that had lodged itself in the back of his throat like a stone. He ran a hand through his hair before unconsciously glancing back at Yaoyorozu as she continued to work.
Maybe there was another way to apologize? It wasn't like he expected her to ever fall in love with him, but maybe they could have a tactical peace. And, if he ever could get the magic under control, maybe they could even be on friendly terms.
The sound of cursing and grunts from the doorway broke through Shouto's thoughts. He turned to watch as two pirates emerged from the hallway carrying crates identical to his own. Shouto stepped to the side as the men dropped their boxes on the ground next to his with heavy grunts.
"Fuck, that was heavy," one of the pirates said, as he straightened and cracked his back. He was slim with short brown hair. "I can't believe this is only vegetables. It feels like Emi has stuffed a body or two in there as well."
"Stop complaining, Haimawari." The other man looked up at Shouto as he wiped at his brow with the back of his arm. He had black hair down to his shoulders, which he had tied into a low braid. And the skin on his arms looked dry and flaky, reminding Shouto of a reptile's scales. "Hey, Todoroki," he said hesitantly.
The other man, Haimawari, turned to look towards Shouto as well and smiled. His expression lacked the hesitation of his companion's.
"Thanks for the help, Todoroki. I'm Koichi Haimawari, but you can call me Crawler, and that's Rin Hiryu," he said, pointing with his thumb over his shoulder to the man with black hair tied in a braid.
Shouto nodded slowly. "It's not a problem." He dropped his hand from Endeavor's hilt as he turned towards the two.
Haimawari's expression flickered, and his eyes glittered as he took a step towards Shouto. "But you're a beast, Todoroki!" he said excitedly. A genuine smile spread across his face. "Being able to carry your crate so fast up the mountain. We were struggling."
"You were struggling," Hiryu emphasized under his breath.
Haimawari ignored him as he continued. "And you are unexpectedly nice," he said with a laugh. "When the aurai showed up and told us that you'd be here, I placed a bet with some of the other men that you would be an actual monster — like the stories — but you're a lot nicer than people give you credit for."
"Crawler, you can't say things like that to people's faces," Hiryu whispered behind him, grimacing.
Shouto's lips twitched. He had never been the social type, but he found himself not hating the two pirates. If anything, Shouto felt the weight of his earlier thoughts fade slightly. "And you don't seem particularly like pirates."
Haimawari grinned. "Well, most of us weren't. Emi saved us." He lifted his chin in pride. "We are living upstanding lives now."
Shouto snorted; he highly doubted that.
"Most of us were slaves or from overtaken villages in the South," Hiryu clarified, stepping up next to Haimawari. "You wouldn't think it, being a pirate and all, but Emi makes us decent. Unlike others, we only steal from the Persians."
Shouto nodded but didn't know what else to say to that. It wasn't his place to judge others; the gods did that enough for everyone.
At least, they didn't seem that bad.
"Hey," Haimawari said suddenly, clearing his throat. "Todoroki, you seem to be the type that's really popular with the ladies. What do you do when a woman's angry?"
Shouto blinked. "What?"
Hiryu rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."
Haimwari ignored him. His eyes glittered as he looked at Shouto. "I've got this really cute girl back in Crete. We actually met when we were younger — I saved her from drowning. Anyways -" He waved his hand. "I was thinking that it's about time I settle down and start a family, but I haven't been very good at staying in contact with her, so what does a man do to win a lady's affection and say sorry for not being around?"
"Beg for forgiveness. And pray to the gods that she doesn't kick you out," Hiryu said seriously, without missing a beat.
Shouto's lips twitched.
"Hey!" Haimawari's eyes narrowed. "I'm being serious."
"Okay. Okay," Hiryu said with a soft laugh. Then he tilted his head back and rubbed his chin. "Well, when I get on boss' bad side, I usually get her a present," he said thoughtfully.
"A present?" Shouto echoed, tilting his head slightly to study Hiryu.
"Yeah, women love getting things," Hiryu said with a firm nod. "Like fancy outfits and jewelry and food." He counted on his fingers.
"Oh, I see," Shouto said.
"Why? What do you usually get women?" Haimawari asked, his expression intent.
Shouto tilted his head back in thought. "I don't know."
Haimawari's expression flickered in annoyance. "Oh, the life of a good-looking man. You have it so easy."
"Crawler! Scales!" someone called from inside. The two pirates looked up.
"Anyways, we'll talk to you later," Hiryu said. Shouto nodded, and Hiryu smiled.
"There's a couple more crates we have to grab before it gets dark," Hiryu said in conclusion, pulling Haimawari after him back into the house.
Shouto watched them disappear inside before he turned his attention back to Yaoyorozu.
While they had been talking, three pirates had stopped pitching tents and had instead moved over to Yaoyorozu's side, crowding around her as she offered them water. They smiled shyly at her and rubbed at their necks as they spoke to her.
Shouto's jaw clenched, and he felt his hand touch Endeavor's hilt again as he watched.
His lips thinned. Red anger built in his throat, and he swallowed thickly as he tried to push the feeling down. Yaoyorozu could take care of herself. He'd seen her ward off a group of soldiers alone, so she could handle three men. And they weren't doing anything but speaking to her.
The thought didn't make the knot of annoyance in his throat any looser.
Shouto sighed and looked away as he tried to shift his thoughts back to what Hiryu had said about women. Presents, huh? He tried to remember what he used to get Fuyumi whenever she had been upset.
Flowers.
And bugs.
He snorted slightly at his childhood memory before his expression hardened, and he looked down at the ground. There was a haze dancing above the earth. Everything in the yard had shriveled weeks ago. Flowers weren't going to be an option. Shouto tilted his head back in thought.
He really wasn't good at this.
"What's on such a handsome man's mind that he's just standing out here?" a feminine voice teased from behind him. "Were you waiting for a beautiful lady, like myself, by chance?"
Shouto stiffened and looked down as a petite woman slipped up next to him. His lips twitched. "Shouldn't you be helping?" he asked dryly.
"That's a man's job," Emi Fukukado said with a light, airy laugh. She pushed green-dyed bangs behind her ear and turned her head to stare up at him from the corner of her eye. "Besides, I don't want to break my nails."
Shouto lifted an eyebrow. "Seems like you only like to say that when it's convenient."
She giggled, her eyes turning into crescent slits as she placed her hands on her hips. "Perhaps," she said in a singsong voice, lifting her chin. "But I'm the captain, so I get to decide the rules."
Shouto snorted softly.
Fukukado shifted, dropping one of her hands from her hip. Her expression flickered, and she changed the subject. "I heard from Nejire that most of the Greek soldiers are still fighting their way back home. The gods weren't happy with their temples being ransacked and have been making it difficult for the troops sailing home. Have you heard anything from yours?"
Shouto nodded faintly. "Yeah, the aurai said that Bakugo got our troops back to Sparta, fortunately."
The pirate captain's eyes flickered. "That's good. I've heard the king of Ithica has practically disappeared off the face of the earth. I would think your father wasn't too happy to lose either."
Shouto's lips twitched. "No, he wasn't." His fingers tightened around Endeavor's red hilt, and he could feel the metal biting into his skin.
Fukukado hummed. "I see," she said thoughtfully, tilting her head back. "I was actually surprised to hear you fought for the Greeks instead of aligning with him."
Shouto studied the pirate captain. "I may have Ares' blood, but I was raised in Sparta. My loyalty lies with the two princes, Bakugo and Midoriya," he said after a moment, avoiding her gaze.
Across the yard, the three pirates were still speaking amiably with Yaoyorozu. One said something, and she brought her hand up and laughed softly.
"You know," Fukukado said. "If you keep glaring like that, my men are going to catch on fire."
He turned around and scowled down at the pirate captain.
"Eep! There it is! The fierce glare of Sparta's top warrior. Just kidding." She laughed, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. "But why don't you go to talk to her?"
Shouto rolled his jaw and looked away. "She doesn't want to talk to me," he muttered under his breath.
Fukukado raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"
Shouto sighed. "I made her angry."
She hummed. "I see. I see," Fukukado said sagely, crossing her arms and leaning back on her heels as if she knew all the answers. Perhaps she did. Women were a mystery, no one understood them except other women. "Yet, she keeps looking over here."
Shouto's heart skipped, but he pushed the feeling down and twisted his mouth into a thin line. "She's probably scared and wants to make sure I'm not going to get angry." He narrowed his eyes at Fukukado and changed the subject, "What did you want from me? I can't imagine it was just talking about the Greek troops returning home."
"Oh, you're observant." Shouto jerked as Fukukado slapped his back. "Nothing much. I'm bored. Aizawa and I were supposed to catch up on our future marriage over drinks, but he's not here."
"He'll be back soon. He just went to put out another bushfire," Shouto said, adjusting his chiton.
"Yeah, yeah. He said that," she added with a playful pout. "It seems like he's been busy, though. With the new kid and hosting you three, it sure has been active for that old man." She laughed.
Shouto shifted. "If you don't have anything important to talk to me about, then I'm going to go help unload more crates. We only have an hour or two before the stymphalian become active," he said, taking a step back.
"That's no fun," Fukukado whined. "I need a drinking buddy." She tilted her head back and looked up at the sky; muted hues of orange and red surrounded the sun as it slipped closer towards the horizon. "But — it is strange — the stymphalian were never like this before, that's why Aizawa liked this island."
Shouto stilled for a moment, but Fukukado didn't say anything else.
Shouto made his way back to the front of the house, the pirate captain's words sitting heavily on his mind. He had been paying extra attention to the monsters' activities ever since his conversation with Yaoyorozu a week ago.
It was subtle, but it was becoming apparent that the stymphalian were acting strangely; it was as if they were saving their strength for something. And the fact that Fukukado also seemed worried troubled him more than he wanted to admit.
Shouto briefly contemplated whether a god was involved, but it was too hard to tell. The island was filled with the scent of magic. But it was unlikely — the gods favored using humans to do their bidding; using monsters was considered beneath them. Still, it was strange. With the bushfires that the stymphalian had been setting and the recent prints around the orphanage, it was hard to argue that they weren't up to something.
Shouto stepped outside. The aurai was busy playing ball with Eri and Hime as the men brought up the last of the crates. He could make out the white cloth of the pirate ship's sails docked over the hills to the south.
"Todoroki! Come play with us!" the aurai called playfully.
He looked back at the nymph as she floated over the girls' heads. She had faithfully told Midoriya his message, so perhaps she wasn't as bad as he had originally thought.
"Not right now," he said absently as movement from the east side of the mountain caught his attention. Shouto turned to see Aizawa and Tokoyami making their way back up the winding path.
Eri dropped the ball they were playing with and ran towards the orphanage master. Aizawa crouched down as she held up her arms, and he leaned forward to hug her. "See? Nothing to worry about."
Shouto looked to Tokoyami as he walked past him. "How was it?" he asked.
Tokoyami paused, his yellow-bird like eyes hardening for a moment as he surveyed Todoroki. Then, he shook his head and answered. "The stymphalian have figured out how to be even more annoying than they already were -" He hesitated. His gaze flickered towards the children before looking back at Shouto. "They left some half-eaten boar carcasses for us with the intestines all pulled out and arranged in strange shapes," he said quietly.
Shouto's jaw tensed. "Do you know what they were?"
Tokoyami shook his head again. "No, but I have a bad feeling. We must do our utmost to stop them."
Shouto nodded, and Tokoyami dipped his head and swept past him back inside. Shouto turned his attention back to the orphanage master.
Aizawa slowly stood up, holding Eri in his arms. His black eyes flickered towards him. "Todoroki, I need to speak to you. Nejire, take Hime and Eri back inside."
"Okay!" the aurai said, smiling brightly and returning to the ground. She took Hime's hand and reached out for Eri. The little girl wrapped her arms tighter around Aizawa's neck.
"It's okay. I'll be right there. I just need to speak to Todoroki."
Eri looked up at Aizawa's face and then nodded faintly. He put her on the ground, and she took the aurai's hand as she followed the nymph back inside.
Aizawa watched them return inside, before motioning for Shouto to follow him. They walked out to the edge of the hill, and then, Aizawa stopped and pulled a leather pouch from his chiton.
"Here." Azawai tossed him the bag.
On instinct, Shouto caught it. The pouch tinkled as it landed in his palm. Shouto hesitated and then opened the purse to find a handful of silver drachma. Enough to live comfortably for a year. Shouto looked up at Aizawa and raised a brow.
"Change," Azawai stated. "For the gold bracelet and your help."
Shouto nodded and drew the strings on the pouch closed and tucked it into his belt. He looked back at Aizawa. The older man seemed to be studying him. "How's your eye?"
Shouto shrugged slightly and looked away. "Better. It's not perfect, but I can see out of it."
"Good."
"And your magic?"
Shouto stiffened. "What about it?"
Aizawa turned and looked back out at the ocean. "You haven't used your magic since you arrived."
"It's fine," he bit out, avoiding the orphanage master's gaze as he looked out at the pirate ship in the distance.
The bright light of the sinking sun began to cast soft rays of red and orange across the blue sky. As Shouto looked out at the pirate ship, a shadow flickered in his periphery.
Shouto froze. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
It was only for an instant, but he was sure he had seen something move in the fading light. He brought his hand to Endeavor's hilt and squinted into the brush.
"Todoroki, what is it?" Aizawa asked. His voice was tense.
Shouto's lips thinned, and he tightened his hold on his sword. "I don't know. I thought I saw something." The words had barely left his mouth when it hit him.
Dark magic.
It was so thick in the air; he could almost taste it.
Stymphalian.
They had never come out this early before; Apollo hadn't even finished pulling the sun across the sky yet, but the magic was unmistakable.
"Get inside!" he shouted.
Aizawa nodded sharply. "Hold them off!" He turned and took off back towards the house.
Another shape flickered. Closer. To his left.
Shouto pulled out Endeavor and took a step forward. Aizawa was almost at the door. He just needed to keep the stymphalian busy until they got inside.
Razor-sharp feathers suddenly shot out of the bushes on his left. Shouto raised Endeavor, blocking the stymphalian's attack, but his spatial awareness was off, and the attack knocked him off balance. Shouto twisted, catching himself from falling. He looked up. The hillside was filling with stymphalian. They had used the bushes and shadows of fading sunlight to surround the house.
From his right, a shadow emerged, launching itself at Aizawa's retreating back, its talons outstretched. Shouto lunged forward, and with a quick movement, cut the legs off the creature. The stymphalian screamed in pain as its body skidded across the ground.
Another stymphalian leapt at him, and Shouto spun and buried Endeavor in its throat. From the corner of his right eye, he saw the rest of the stymphalian dash after Aizawa into the house.
Shouto cursed. He pulled Endeavor out of the creature's neck and rushed after them.
The house was a war zone. Screams ricocheted through the hallways, and the tile was already slick with blood. Bodies and limbs lay scattered throughout the rooms. They had been caught unaware.
He wondered if any of them were Yaoyorozu's.
Shouto's stomach plummeted. He hoped she had stayed outside. He hurried along the corridor, checking each body quickly. None were her. He almost breathed a sigh of relief but forced himself to move on.
He knew that she was smart and a fairly good fighter, but that didn't lessen the sudden worry he felt for her well being. Shouto ground his teeth.
A woman's voice sounded from the courtyard. It was Yaoyorozu's. He was sure of it.
Shouto rushed towards the back door.
Sharp-edged feathers suddenly shot out of one of the side rooms to his left. Shouto twisted, but not fast enough.
He stumbled back, glancing down, and found feathers embedded in his arm. Blood was flowing freely down his arm. He hissed through his teeth as he pulled the feathers out.
A couple of stymphalian had emerged from Aizawa's storeroom. The corridors were too tight for their winged bodies, but they were also too narrow for Shouto to be able to swing Endeavor around easily. He snarled and slid into a defensive stance.
One of the stymphalian sprang forward. Shouto readied himself, but before the stymphalian's talons could clash with Endeavor, two pirates jumped in front of him, paring the creature's steel feet.
Shouto's eyes widened as the men pushed the stymphalian back. It was the pirates from earlier.
"Don't worry," Haimawari said, bringing his sword up.
Hiryu moved closer. "We got this. Go help everyone else," he shouted, stepping up next to Haimawari. "We're used to fighting in narrow spaces."
Shouto nodded and turned, rushing out towards the courtyard and the sound of metal clashing.
The yard was bathed in dusty blues and reds of the setting sun and the thick stench of blood. The tents that the pirates had erected earlier were torn piles of cloth on the ground. The flock of stymphalian had climbed over the wall and roof and destroyed everything in their path.
Shouto looked up, and his eyes immediately fell on Yaoyorozu fighting on the second floor. Asui and Eri were with her.
Immediately the tightening in his chest lessened as he watched her slash one of the creatures. She could do this. She wasn't weak. Shouto took a quick breath and forced himself to survey the rest of the chaos.
Everyone was spread out.
Some of the pirates were on the roof, trying to keep the stymphalian from landing. Aizawa and Tokoyami were taking down the few in the courtyard, but with the sun not yet set, Tokoyami's power wasn't as effective.
He tightened his hold on Endeavor's hilt and rushed forward. A stymphalian turned to attack, but the creature wasn't quick enough. Shouto's blade slid through its chest. He twisted and pulled his sword out and jumped back as feathers rained down onto where he had stood.
There was a scream. Shouto spun. A pirate fell back, metal talons embedded in his chest. Shouto leaped at the creature, cutting its head off with a clean movement.
He knelt down to check the man's pulse. It was faint but still there. He was lucky.
A child's high pitched scream rang out through the yard. Shouto looked up sharply. A stymphalian had grabbed hold of Eri. It had sunk its talons into her shoulder.
"Eri!" Aizawa roared, shooting knives at the creature, but it flexed its steel wings, and the knives bounced off.
Eri screamed in pain as she tried to pull herself free. The stymphalian moved, beating its wings as it pulled her from the veranda. Asui tried to jump for her, but it was too late — the monster was already out of reach.
The aurai darted at them, aiming some sort of sparkling, yellowish magic at the creatures, but as if in sync, the flock suddenly took flight, filling the sky with their steel wings. The aurai's magic hit against their wings and bounced off, ineffective.
Shouto's breath caught in his chest. His mind raced. It wasn't possible. It couldn't be possible. The stymphalian weren't supposed to be smart enough to think of strategies like this, but they had.
The stymphalian carrying Eri climbed higher into the darkening sky.
There was no time to think further. The creatures were focused on blocking the aurai and the pirates shooting at them from the roof. The window to take down the monster with Eri was closing. Shouto tightened his fingers on Endeavor's hilt, pulled his arm back, and flung his sword.
Endeavor whirled through the air, cutting through the stymphalian's unprotected neck. Its head toppled off, and the creature's talons released Eri. She plunged towards the ground.
Shit.
She'd hit her head and crack her skull open.
Suddenly, Yaoyorozu jumped from the veranda and grabbed the girl mid-air, tucking her head into her chest. They hit the ground together with a loud thud.
Shouto's eyes widened. It felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. He couldn't breathe. His insides felt like they had cauterized as he staggered towards them.
Then, Yaoyorozu sat up slowly, and Shouto almost fell down in relief.
She was safe.
She was safe.
She was safe.
He drew in a deep breath when a feral screech of rage sounded to his left. Shouto wiped his head around, and his eyes widened as his gaze landed on the last stymphalian.
It was rushing across the yard towards Yaoyorozu.
Her eyes were dazed as she stood up shakily, Eri in her arms. She hadn't noticed the creature yet.
Everything within him went cold. Shouto's vision narrowed, and he stumbled forward.
He needed to get to her. He needed to save her.
Shouto broke out in a cold sweat as he lunged forward. He grit his teeth. He could taste a metallic tang on his tongue. There was no other sound besides the rushing of blood in his ears.
His heart was beating rapidly. Everything around him blurred as he bolted across the yard.
It was almost on her.
He wouldn't be able to make it in time.
Yaoyorozu's eyes suddenly widened, and he could see the fear flicker across her features as she finally registered her surroundings.
Then something white and hot exploded inside him, and Shouto felt inhuman strength rush through him.
Sorry, I know there wasn't a lot of TodoMomo interaction in this chapter, but hopefully it was enjoyable enough. Your feedback gives me life!
Notes:
"Sun to the Earth" - this line, used earlier, is actually in reference to a Greek myth around soulmates. According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with four arms, four legs and a head with two faces. The gender of humans had to do with their origin; the Men were children of the Sun and Women were the children of the Earth. In this state, humans were said to be incredibly powerful. And fearing their power, Zeus split humans into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves. Apollo, feeling bad for them, sewed them up, leaving just the navel as the only reminder of their original form. So, humans went from double face and double sex creatures with eight limbs, to single faced ones of a single sex, with two arms and two legs. And they forever longed for their soul and physical other half. Their physical nature would feel a burning desire to be completed with the physical nature of the other sex, and their soul alike would yearn for their soul's other half be complete, their soulmate.
Persia - Persia, which would have been in modern day Iran, built their empire around 550 b.c. At the empire's height, would have encompassed modern-day Iran, Egypt, Turkey and parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were generally considered the enemy of Greeks.
King of Ithaca - this is a reference to Homer's epic poem, Odyssey. The story is about the King of Ithica, Odysseus, trying to get back home after the Trojan war. To sum the story up, he angered the gods on his way home, and so they blew him off course and he spent 10 years trying to get home. Harsh...
Koichi Haimawari "Crawler" - is from the spin-off Vigilante series of Boku no Hero. In this he's a pirate. I've actually never read Vigilantes so sorry if his personality is completely off.
Hiryu Rin - is from class 1-B. In this he's a pirate.