Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 11 ~ Part 1||

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 -