Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 20 ~ Part 3||

Happy New Year!

XXXXX

Shouto gaze darted around, looking for the danger but not finding it.

He sensed movement to his side as Gran Torino stepped forward. The old shopkeeper scoffed under his breath. "Trumpet."

Shouto glanced down at the old man, but Gran Torino was staring past him out at the port. Shouto grit his teeth and followed the old man's gaze. A tall man was walking down the street flanked by four guards. Their strides were in perfect unison, steel Xiphos strapped to their waists.

Shouto's gaze strayed back to the man in front. He was slim and dressed in a rich chiton of black. He had thin eyebrows and a small mustache. His dark hair was swept back with a single strand falling into his face. Nothing to be intimidated about, Shouto thought. Though he noted people giving the man a wide berth as if he were a wild boar to be avoided.

Suddenly, a skinny man rushed forward and began to grovel. "This way, sir. We have the woman you asked for. She's secured in a special container."

"You've kept me waiting," Trumpet snapped. "She better be worth it. And she better not have a scratch on her. I don't like damaged products."

Shouto watched Trumpet and the skinny man, who he assumed was a slaver, walk away for a moment before turning to look at Gran Torino.

"Who was that?" Shouto asked the old man.

Gran Torino scoffed under his breath. "Trumpet."

"I see. The innkeeper told me to watch out for him."

Gran Torino huffed. His lips twitched as if he wanted to say something more. "Yeah, you should be fine unless you have a penchant for buying slaves, specifically magical monsters."

Shouto snorted. He had never wanted a slave before Kaminari's arrow forced him to take Yaoyorozu as one.

Yaoyorozu!

Shouto jerked his head up. The sun had sunken low over the horizon, smearing the sky pastel crimson and oranges.

"Shit!" Shouto cursed, looking back at Gran Torino. "I got to go."

Shouto turned and raced back towards the market, praying he wasn't too late.

In the back of his mind, a voice wondered why Shouto even cared so much about purchasing a gift for Yaoyorozu. Midoriya had confirmed what Shouto had already known — Yaoyorozu didn't love him. Nor would she ever love him. Still, Shouto couldn't help the small shimmer of hope flickering in his chest that yearned for her affection. That urged him not to give up, to keep trying.

His legs burned. Shouto passed under the limestone pillars marking the edge of the market and skidded to a stop.

"Fuck!" Shouto hissed.

He was too late. Shouto stood there as a sense of failure washed over him.

He should go back. Yaoyorozu wouldn't know that he failed to get her a present anyways. He shouldn't be as upset as he felt.

What was he even doing? Yaoyorozu would never like him. Spending his effort and coin on her for a gift of little value would be a waste.

It wasn't like he was trying to spoil Yaoyorozu. This was a practical purchase, he reminded himself. He didn't have to go overboard trying to find the exact ribbon that Yaoyorozu would like. He could just get her a pin.

"Women love presents. If they say they don't want anything, that just means you need to get them something and make sure it's fancy." Haimawari's voice echoed in Shouto's head.

Shouto's fingers twitched. He couldn't give up.

Not now.

Not when he was so close.

Shouto hurried over to the stand Yaoyorozu had been eyeing earlier. An old woman, wizened with age, was dissembling a tent by herself. A donkey and cart stood by her side with finely decorated chests loaded on the back.

She looked up as Shouto approached. "I'm closed. Come back next week."

"That's too late."

"You should have stopped by earlier. I was here all day," she said distractedly, folding the tent up.

Shouto rolled his jaw. He knew he didn't have to. It wasn't as if Yaoyorozu would know that he failed. But he would.

Shouto grit his teeth. He couldn't go back as a failure.

"What if I pay you a gold drachma?"

The old woman jerked her head up and stared at him critically. "A gold drachma?"

Even Shouto knew that he was paying way more than a simple hair accessory was worth. But he couldn't turn back empty-handed

Shouto held up the coin. The woman hesitated a moment longer than nodded. "I guess I can make an exception."

She put down the tent and went over to the cart laden with chests. Climbing onto the back, she opened one of the chests.

"What are you looking for?" she asked, searching through the chests before she pulled out an embroidered diadem and a few silver bodkins. She held them out. "What about these?"

Shouto stepped forward and stared down at the hair accessories. His eyebrows pulled together as he tried to imagine Yaoyorozu's hair set high on her head with pins, but he had never had much of an imagination and couldn't imagine Yaoyorozu in the same hairstyle as other women.

"No," Shouto said finally. "Do you have anything else?"

The woman pressed her lips together. Her long knobby fingers tapped against the wood of the chest as if in thought, then her face brightened, and she looked back at him. "I was going to save this for a special occasion," she said, turning back to her chests and rustling through the contents. "But it's rare to find a man who is as dedicated to his lover as you, so I'm willing to part with this goodie." She pulled a string of fabric out of the chest and carefully unfolded it.

Shouto's breath caught. Even knowing it was the curse and that Yaoyorozu would never like him, Shouto couldn't shake the sudden feeling of victory that warmed his chest as he gazed at the piece of cloth.

"I'll take it."

The woman's smile widened. "I know you'd like it."

Shouto paid the old woman the gold coin then carefully took the ribbon.

It was beautiful.

Shouto wasn't used to handling delicate objects, but he did his best to fold the ribbon and tucked it securely into his chiton. A sense of victory washed over him.

He couldn't wait to give it to Yaoyorozu. He knew he had only bought it as a practical gift, but his chest warmed at the thought of her reaction. A small smile pulled at the corner of Shouto's lips, and he turned to go back to the inn when a high masculine voice called out.

"Yo, Todoroki!"

Shouto froze, and it seemed as if time stopped as he slowly turned around and met a pair of golden eyes.

The man smiled up at Shouto. He had spiky electric blonde hair with a black streak shaped like a lightning bolt drawn in a zagged line across the left side of his head.

"It's been a while."

It was like lightning struck Shouto. His insides burned. Shouto could hear his heart roar in his ears as an overwhelming furry coursed through him, bleeding the world red.

"Kaminari," Shouto hissed between his teeth.