Protectors of Umbra [Umbra's Fate #1] ✓

ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ ꜱᴇᴠᴇɴ: ᴍᴏᴍᴏᴛᴀʀᴏ

The lid of the container opened, and the shadows that lived inside Momotaro escaped. An immeasurable pressure tied the young man to his mistakes, with his mindset on the past he couldn't live in the present.

Even if he managed to free himself from regret, the deep voice inside reminded him of every little error he made. Everything led to a spiral of darkness and the more time he let it take control the more he lost his conscience.

During the previous days, Titan followed Momotaro everywhere. He showed more attachment than usual, it didn't matter the place or the time, a part of the dog's body was always touching his owner's leg. Still, not even the company of his best friend decreased Momo's sorrow.

People started to notice his change of attitude. He could see the other members getting out of his way, and avoiding eye contact with him, as he walked in the direction of the new training room.

Tired of the awkward environment, Momotaro lowered his gaze to the ground. For an instant, he would have sworn that his shadow looked bigger than usual. Still, he dismissed the idea using the size of the light bulb as an excuse, the hallways near the training room had better illumination so his body was probably directly receiving the light.

"Perfectly on time, as always," said Gellert once Momo and Titan made it to his destination.

"It's part of my charm, and also part of my anxiety," answered the young man.

The new training room was an exact replica of the one they had at the previous headquarters. Stefan explained to Momotaro that he was aiming for familiarity, and according to him it'll help to increase the spirit.

"Are you okay? You seem a little off lately." The older man asked, he tried to get closer to them to pet Titan but the dog began growling. "I see you're not the only one in a bad mood today."

"Titan, sit," Momotaro ordered the Pit Bull who obeyed without hesitation. "Sorry, I don't know what's happening to him, he's more sensitive. I'm good, don't worry about me."

"Are you sure? I can take care of the job if you need to rest."

"I don't need your help, I can handle my problems."

"So, we're accepting that there's a problem?"

"Even if I had a problem I don't have the obligation to tell you about it." Hissed Momotaro, the darkness was escaping through his words.

"What the hell is going on with you? You know what? I won't ask you how you're anymore. Let's finish these plans." Gellert spat back.

"Maybe we should divide the job. You take care of the power usage training, and I'll prepare them for physical combat. Lorcan and Bertram can take the new people. We each make a plan and then we talk about it or something like that."

"Okay, I'm only accepting it because I don't have enough energy to put up with your shitty mood," said the firefighter. "But we're talking about the plans in detail tomorrow."