It takes two weeks before Momo has rebuilt her courage to venture back down the dark, quiet hallways towards the library. The hooded man isn't there, and she feels the tight knot in her stomach uncoil.
Slowly, Momo returns to her normal nighttime routine.
XXXXXXX
It's a moonless night when the dark bandit returns.
There is a soft click of a latch turning. Momo freezes as the air suddenly shifts and the hooded figure appears in the windowsill of the library. His cloak flickers around him, hiding his figure except for those piercing heterochromatic eyes that shine in the glow of her lamp.
There is a moment's pause as they stare at one another. His gray and blue eyes are wide. It is evident he didn't expect to see her again.
Momo's heart pounds. She can almost imagine him asking if she is going to scream once more. And part of her wonders if she should. It would certainly be the right thing to do. He is an intruder, a thief possibly but — if she alerts the guards — she will be found out and never be able to sneak back into the library.
More than that, the guard on duty, Iida Tenya, will be punished and it will be because of her. She will lose the only person kind to her.
Momo's fingers tighten around the book in her hands. She holds it up slightly, as if in greeting.
The stranger seems to relax at the gesture. He slides silently into the room and disappears down one of the aisles.
Momo sits silently for a moment. When her heartbeat is normal, she returns to her story.
XXXXXXX
The dark intruder comes more often after that. His visits are always irregular; sometimes he visits a few days in a row, other times he shows up after a week or two.
Momo suspects that he must have bribed one of the guards to let him in. A regular intruder without connections wouldn't be able to get past Shigaraki's men.
Then again, he isn't a regular intruder.
He moves through the library like a wraith. His magicked cloak swirls around him, blending him into the shadows as he pores over books but he never steals any. He's smart enough for that.
The walls are enchanted to alert the King's innermost guards if anyone removes one of the volumes. It's ancient magic that only those with connections to the royal family and a few select guards know about.
She wonders how he learned.
Perhaps it comes with the trade.
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The Stars Guide Us; They do not Bind Us - TodoMomo
FanfictionMomo is a princess trapped by her station in life. Destined to wither away behind the stone walls of the castle, Momo has accepted her fate when a dark intruder happens upon her in the dead of night. With an accidental friendship and maybe something...
