Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 7 ~ Part III||

The house was enormous — a two-story structure made of lime and plaster. Mosaic floors opened up into multiple rooms that surrounded an open courtyard, with wooden stairs that led to a second floor.

It wasn't a house of a commoner and in the back of his mind Shouto wondered who Shouta Aizawa was.

As they followed Aizawa through the house, Shouto could make out the big eyes of seven half-human children watching the party in a mixture of fascination and fear. Shouto's stomach twisted. Counting the young girl with the horn, that made eight children. All appeared under ten summers.

Shouto felt some of his anger dissolve. As furious as he felt for being tricked, the children were innocent. They hadn't asked to be the offspring of monsters. Didn't deserve the discrimination of humans and gods. His lips thinned; he didn't know if he could ignore the situation.

Aizawa paused on the stairs and spoke quietly to Asui. She nodded and turned into a side room as Aizawa led Shouto and Tokoyami upstairs and around an open veranda.

Aizawa stopped in front of a wooden door at the end of the veranda. "You can use this room," he said, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

Shouto walked past him. Inside was a bare room with two wooden beds and a shaggy, white flokati rug decorating the floor for warmth. A window on the far wall looked out at the ocean.

"Unfortunately, we don't have enough space for separate rooms," Aizawa added, as Shouto carried Yaoyorozu to one of the beds and laid her down gently, pulling a woolen blanket over her.

"I'll be back with medicine. There's a bath downstairs. I instructed Asui to get you new clothes and she'll bring a change for her as well," Aizawa drawled, turning towards the door.

Shouto's fingers traveled up his bicep and lingered on the golden bangles adorning his arm; he hesitated then grabbed one and slid it off.

"Aizawa."

The older man stopped in the doorway. Shouto tossed the bracelet to him. Aizawa caught it, and then glanced down. He raised a brow and looked back at Shouto.

"For our stay," Shouto ground out. "I won't be tricked again."

Aizawa nodded and slipped out of the room.

The bathroom was functional and bare, devoid of any frills or unnecessary comforts. Stone floors surrounded a marble tub that was deep enough for Shouto to sit in. He made quick work cleaning himself. Asui had given him a new chiton. He pulled it on, re-sheathed Endeavor at his side, and returned to the room.

Aizawa was back with the little girl. She sat on the edge of the bed as Aizawa hovered over Yaoyorozu, who was now clothed in a fresh chiton.

Tokoyami stood behind him. Some color had returned to his limbs and he didn't appear quite as deathly haggard anymore.

Shouto shifted as he watched the older man tilt Yaoyorozu's head back and pour an elixir down her throat. His chest tightened. He clenched his hands into tight fists at his sides and then swallowed slowly.

"How's she doing?"

Aizawa looked over his shoulder at him. "She'll be fine. I gave her a special medicine that I created," he said, standing up slowly. "Eri has a rare kind of magic that allows her to reverse spells. She can use it directly on creatures, as you saw on the stymphalians. But that's dangerous and could rewind a mortal's life all the way back to infancy, so I diluted some of her power and combined it into an elixir to be used on humans," he explained.

Shouto's right eye widened slightly and turned to study Eri. The little girl blushed and looked down at her hands.

Aizawa continued in a tired voice. "She should wake up shortly." He glanced over at Tokoyami. "You can go clean up now."