Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 6 ~ Part 2||

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.