Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 11 ~ Part 2||

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.