maneuvering through

More of You

*This chapter contains mature content but nothing explicit just implied.

The voice was partly muddled to be coherent, but when he added a firm tone to the name, her heart made a jolt. She hoped her face hadn't shown any signs of acknowledgment.

"Creati!"

Heads whipped around the incoming Saya, diving towards the female villain who was caught off guard, said villain hardly defended herself against the whiplash to her face.

"Yuki!" The male villain's artificial arms extended, wheezing straight to Saya who nimbly evaded. Saya leaped effortlessly on the walls, pushing herself back in the air smoothly in a somersault, eventually landing on all fours on the male villain's extended arm. Using the pad of her left hand as a pivot, she twisted the right side of her body, and landed a kick at the side of his face, releasing Momo from his grip. Landing on all four, Saya growled showing off her fangs, pouncing for another kick to the villain's jaw that sent him backing into the wall.

Her skin glowed with another creation. Throwing her classic matryoshka stunners, the half-machine villain easily swathes it tumbling away.

"So it was you!" The female growled picking herself up, glaring fiercely. "You are Creati!"

Momo didn't give the time to introduce herself and threw another stun grenade toward the villainess then directed a jab at her face at an opening. The villainess fought her off, thrusting a kick on her abdomen that threw Momo to the grimy street floor. The villain woman then loomed above her. Momo stuck her legs together bending and kicking them forward hitting the villainess' torso, outbalancing her opponent. Momo propelled herself above the villainess, the latter struggled to reach for her temples, gnashing her teeth furiously grabbing the Creation heroine closer by her bangs.
In bated breath, the villain chanted. "You will not remember this moment Creati..."
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A couple of winks after, Momo finally convinced herself she wasn't in her room or Shouto's apartment room. This room had a cozy feeling rocking and lulling her back to sleep, so peaceful and welcoming. Reminds her of her grandparents' decade-old traditional abode. A stark contrast to her mother's extravagant tastes.

A hearty blanket over her and the soft pelting noise from the outside.

It was raining.

So that explained how peaceful it felt. Shifting to the sleeping Shouto beside her in his own futon. He was softly breathing, an arm stretched to her side. Like it had been around her waist if she had not moved to face the other way.

It must be the welcoming solitude or her half-asleep existence but something really felt different. She ran a hand on her face.

'Odd'

Turning then to the closed shoji door that leads to the outside where the soft ambient drizzle of the rain lingered. A glow of muddled light stretched from the decorative stone lanterns that were breaking through the blanketing dark. Shuffling carefully out of her futon and slowly with as much less noise as she could, dragged the door open, revealing before her a pond rippling from the sporadic free fall of the rain. A cool breeze brushed through her face inviting her further out and settled contently at the engawa, lured to lend an ear to the silent humming of the receding rain.

Dark navy skies snatched what minuscule wash of light was left after being forced into hiding when the clouds could no longer carry its burden. What was left of the heavy downpour were the shy, sporadic trickles that kept the soil sodden.

She could live in this.

The peace. The comfort.

Her eyelids fluttering meek and slow as seconds go by unguarded.