Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 37 ~ Part 2||

Shouto didn't know how long he had slept when he woke to the feeling of fingers pressed against his side. His body was heavy, lethargic in the common way bodies became with too much rest. And if it weren't for the fingers touching a specifically sore patch of skin, Shouto may have easily drifted right back to sleep.

Rousing himself, Shouto blinked the crust from his eyes. He was lying on a thick rug. Not an expensive kline made of wood or metal, but the standard military counterpane. A tent's hemp canvas stretched above his head. Through the thin walls, Shouto caught the familiar clamor of men's voices and the fragrant scent of cooking meat — likely a pheasant given the rich aroma in the air.

Fingers flittered over the healing patch of raw skin along Shouto's torso and pulled his attention back to what had initially woken him.

Turning his head, Shouto found Yaoyorozu seated to his left. She hadn't noticed him yet. Instead, she continued to busy herself applying a honey-like mixture to the injury he'd sustained during the battle with Shigaraki.

From what Shouto could tell, the wound was no longer bleeding. Rather, the new skin under the pus and scab-flaked edges was raised, raw, puffy, and incredibly sensitive.

However, it wasn't the ugliness of the healing wound that made Shouto pause; Yaoyorozu took his breath away. She was in a new chiton that was the color of snow. Her normal high ponytail was gone, replaced with a half ponytail. A matching white ribbon was braided through the strands. And behind her back, bright beams of sunlight glimmered off of sable black hair, creating a dazzling halo of honeysuckle gold.

Yaoyorozu was ethereal.

Shouto stared at her in a dreamlike trance, too afraid to move or speak for fear of waking. If this were a dream or a spell by the damnable gods, Shouto didn't want it to end.

"Yaoyorozu!"

An unfamiliar woman's voice rose in excitement, cutting through Shouto's paralysis. He hadn't noticed there was a second woman in the tent.

Slowly, his gaze slid away from Yaoyorozu to the woman sitting beside her. She appeared to be around Yaoyorozu's age, with shoulder-length brown hair and a warm, round face. Something about her seemed familiar, but Shouto couldn't place where he would have met her before.

"Is there something of concern, Ochako?" Yaoyorozu asked in a light voice.

"Look!" Ochako grabbed the edge of Yaoyorozu's chiton. Dark brown eyes glittered as they darted between Yaoyorozu and Shouto. "He's awake."

Yaoyorozu's head snapped around. She gasped. Letting go of the dull knife she'd been using to spread the honey, Yaoyorozu covered her mouth. And for the first time since the battle with Shigaraki, Shouto met her dark, soulful eyes. Emotions flickered across her features — surprise, relief, and then something deeper that Shouto didn't have a name for, but he felt his throat tighten in response to it.

"I'll go tell Deku!" Ochako's voice squealed with excitement. She jumped to her feet, and neither Yaoyorozu nor Shouto made any motion to stop her as she turned and rushed from the tent.

It wasn't until the flap closed with a whoosh, that Shouto finally found his voice. It was raspy and hoarse, but it worked.

"Are you —" He started, paused, and cleared his throat before trying again. "Are you real?"

Yaoyorozu blinked then let out a soft laugh. She dropped her hand from her mouth; her expression softened in understanding. She wiped her hands off with a towel, then smiled and held out her palm. Her skin sparkled. Stardust jumped from her hand, and a hair clip emerged in flakes of gold.