Ashes of Love and War - TodoMomo

||Chapter 37 ~ Part 4||

The winter sun rose on the horizon, shining light down onto the bustling campsite. Snowflakes drifted down from a clear sky to melt as they touched the ground.

"He's awake!"

"He's awoken from his slumber!"

Men called out in congratulations as Shouto passed by the tents, trying to stop him and talk. But Shouto did not pause. He couldn't see Yaoyorozu. He frowned and walked around the last tent when he almost collided with a plain looking soldier.

"Sero?"

"Todoroki, you're up! How are ya doing?" Sero asked, adjusting his grip on a pot.

"I'm looking for Yaoyorozu."

Sero cocked his head, gesturing with his chin towards a hollowed out building a ways away from the circle of tents and up a small hill. "I think she went that way."

Shouto nodded. "Thanks." He stepped forward but paused and looked back at Sero. "I didn't expect you to come as well."

Sero blinked in confusion. "Why wouldn't I?" Sero let go of one side of the pot and bumped his fist against the middle of Shouto's chest. "We're friends after all."

"Friends..." Shouto repeated. He smiled. He liked the sound of that.

Sero's eyebrows arched up. "Huh?! Did you not think of us as friends?"

Shouto shook his head. "No. I just didn't think you'd say that after..." Shouto's smile faded. He looked at the ground. "I'm sorry for freezing you before."

Sero's smile faltered. "I didn't expect that either."

"What?" Shouto asked, glancing back at Sero in confusion.

"For you to apologize." Sero's smile returned, brightening his dark eyes. He laughed. "Yaoyorozu has changed you."

Shouto looked down at the black chiton. Yaoyorozu had made the garment, but he was sure he had been the one to dress himself.

"Don't think too hard about it," Sero said with another laugh. He shifted, balancing the pot with one hand, he held up his other. His fingers curled together to form a fist. "Glad you are back."

Shouto smiled. He raised his fist and bumped it against Sero's.

His footsteps felt lighter as Shouto left Sero and began the trek up towards the burned out building. It was a short walk from the Spartan camp, and as Shouto neared, he realized it wasn't a storehouse but, in fact, an abandoned temple.

Unlike the grand temples of Athens and Troy, this building was small in size and stature. Stone pillars ran around the outside, rising up to hoist up a domed ceiling.

The temple was deserted. The door had been removed, and vines now snaked up the stone walls that were covered with dirt and scorch marks. Bandits or a city-state must have come through and burned and looted the temple during one of the many skirmishes in the region.

Shouto stepped inside and blinked. When his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, he saw Yaoyorozu standing at the far side of the temple.

Wisps of morning light shone through holes in the temple rafters, glimmering like magic over Yaoyorozu and the decorated walls of the temple. She hadn't seemed to notice Shouto's approach as she stood studying the paintings, hands clasped behind her back. Her white chiton slid around her legs as she floated across the floor as delicately as a nymph.

Shouto's mouth felt dry. He wondered what he should say to Yaoyorozu. Was she still mad at him? Bakugou had acted like he should understand why Yaoyorozu ran, but Shouto didn't.