MHA Fantasy Quest for the SOL

Part 16: Hastening

After they had talked about the different events of the past two days, the party was exhausted and they made camp in a hollow that they tried to shield from any more attacks with camouflage spells. It seemed to work, nothing attacked them. But Shoto couldn't sleep much, he kept waking up to rehash what happened in his mind. He was still reeling from the fact that no one had been angry with him over what he did. Even been more understanding than he could have imagined, and risked their lives for him. Was this what it was like to have friends? These reflections finally brought tears to his eyes, though he tried to smother them as much as he could... but he realized he wasn't the only one awake. Momo was stirring, trying to shift her weight around her ankle. She wasn't complaining, but that must have hurt a lot, he still felt guilty about it... and concerned about what would happen if that monster ever found them again. "Are you all right?" he asked finally, in a hushed voice. "Hmm?" Momo was startled. "Oh...uh, yes..." "Did I wake you?" he asked. "I was already awake..." she replied. "Um, I didn't realize anyone else was though." "You're not a very good liar." Shoto shook his head. Silence. "It's all right to be a little upset after all that," Momo gave up trying to hide that she'd heard him crying. "Nothing to be ashamed of... I was going to pretend I didn't notice." "That's okay, you don't have to pretend that," Shoto sighed.                                                                                                                        "I just... keep thinking, no one's ever actually talked about the situation to me, so I didn't want to talk about it, but then I had to, and everyone was so...calm. Or angry on my behalf. Perhaps, I just felt weak." "But it's not weak," Momo insisted, propping herself up. "Kinship is not weak at all. Why do you keep saying things like that? Did your father tell you?" "My father would never bother to say anything about it," Shoto said bitterly. "One just learns never to show weakness at that house. I hate feeling like a liability, I know I said Bakugo was, but, honestly, I think my being hunted down is probably a far greater risk than a little reckless anger." If he'd known Bakugo was listening to this, he might not have said that so bluntly, but Bakugo was completely still. "It may be a risk," Momo was too honest to deny it. "But, we all pose our own threat, don't we? That man earlier didn't like warriors of Creati, they envy us, I think... and people are always after sprites, dragons, and bandits too. And then Deku isn't magical. Between all of us, I think we all risk a lot working together, but maybe that also makes it less risky. We can all have each other's backs. If that helps." It actually did, a little. "I'm sorry for bothering you again," Shoto said. "You don't need to listen to my concerns." "No, it's not a bother," Momo said sincerely. "Actually, it takes my mind off my own concerns. Besides, it's not as if all this isn't important. It's better to discuss it openly and have a plan--or at least an idea of where things are... Why do you keep telling me about it if you dislike it so much though? If I've pried at all, I apologize." "No, you're fine," Shoto said. "I... I don't know. It's just easier to talk to you maybe. I don't know why." Momo hid a smile. "I'm honored to hear that." Silence. "Do you need more ice?" Shoto finally asked. "I don't want to trouble you--" Momo began to protest, but he was already making it.

After that incident, the party quickened their pace. They now felt all the urgency of their position, if they stayed in the Dark Lands much longer. The only way to speed up was to ride. Shoto rode the horse that they still had, and Ei went for long stints as a dragon so he could carry everyone, except Mina, who just flew. Going farther and farther North, it began to get colder. They went through more towns, some of them were now ghost towns, but beat sleeping out in the open where monsters could attack. They began posting watches so that when monsters attacked, they could run instead of fight, conserving their energy. In this way, they made far better time, and got more rest. By the time a week had gone by, they were coming to the end of this section of the Dark Lands. According to Deku's map, there was more forest that was not Shadowed yet, then there was a channel of water that cut through the corner of the continent, and after that, more Dark Lands where the North had been occupied, this for much longer than where they'd been through already, which Kyoka said meant it would have even worse monsters. After that, at the very edge of the land, there was a peninsula, and the map said that was where they would find the 8th.