Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 12 ~ Part 1||

Momo froze as if petrified by Medusa's stare.

The stymphalian bird was close. Too close. She had jumped to catch Eri without thinking and now was out in the open weaponless.

She needed to get away.

The gravel bit into her flesh as Momo scrambled to her feet, but she wasn't fast enough. The stymphalian was almost on her.

10 meters.

5 meters.

Terror welled up inside her chest as she realized she wouldn't be able to dodge.

It was only a few meters away. There was no time to think.

Momo twisted sharply, using her body to shield Eri. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the searing pain of steel shredding through her skin. Her pulse thudded feverishly in her throat.

CRACK.

She flinched. The sudden sound vibrated down her spine. Then, there was a heavy thud and silence. Momo did a quick internal assessment, and her body nearly collapsed with relief. She was uninjured. But it had been so close. So very close. Her heart beat furiously in her chest.

Tentatively, Momo cracked her eyes open and turned around. She gasped and stared in disbelief.

Shadows had surrounded her. They had risen up from the ground like an impenetrable wall of black velour.

Tokoyami.

He was protecting her. Her mouth went dry, and her legs wobbled at the realization.

Then there was a hiss. The darkness curled, and Momo's breath caught in her throat as it plunged towards the ground, like a black waterfall collapsing. On the other side, the shape of a man came into view.

Tokoyami?

No. It wasn't him.

She drew in a sharp breath; her eyes widened as the last of the shadows disappeared. Across the courtyard, Todoroki stood with the stymphalian at his feet. Its head lay contorted, as if its neck had been snapped, but... that couldn't be. No mortal was strong enough to kill a stymphalian with their bare hands — only a god.

Momo swallowed over a tight throat as Todoroki slowly raised his head. He was breathing raggedly. Black blood speckled his neck and jaw. And his expression was icy, but his heterochromatic eyes were ethereally bright. They shone like a pair of silver daggers and turquoise flames in the fading light as they met hers.

Time seemed to stop.

Her hands clenched tighter around Eri's small form. Todoroki was dangerous.

She'd always known that, but over the last weeks she'd also forgotten how truly terrifying he was. But... he hadn't hurt her. And a part of her whispered that, no matter what Tokoyami said, he never would. It didn't make sense, but at that moment, Momo didn't care. She drew in a deep breath and lifted her chin as she forced herself not to shrink away.

His eyes glittered, and he stepped over the stymphalian towards her.

"Yaoyorozu!"

The sudden voice jolted her. Momo tore her eyes away as Tokoyami appeared at her side. Panic shone in his bird-like eyes; his feathers were ruffled from the fight. He grabbed her roughly, his fingers dug forcefully into her shoulders as he turned her to face him. Momo hissed through her teeth as a sharp pain shot through her right side.

"Yaoyorozu!" Tokoyami promptly released her. His eyes were wide and scared as he looked her over, glancing over the tears in her chiton and the black blood that mated on her skin. Tokoyami hesitated; his feathers rustled in the humid breeze, now laced with the sickening tang of blood.