Chapter Text
The Mokke have come together and decided that something must be done to repay Yashiro Nene for her kindness. First she changes their rumor so they aren’t bad anymore, then make it so they can have all the candy they want. She protects them from the fox demon and her sharp teeth, and makes them snacks and sweets.
It is only appropriate, they decide, that she becomes the Mokke Queen.
When they run this by No.5, who tolerates them for the sake of the girl, he brings up several points the Mokke had not thought of. That she would not wish to be a Mokke had not occurred to them, nor did the immediate thought that No.7 would not take kindly to them mokkenapping his dear Assistant.
They bound out, trying to think of something to repay her when they happen to bounce past her classroom. She was still inside, talking to the pretty girl that is her best friend. There's a crinkly package on her desk that smells strongly of sugar, and they dive towards her.
The pretty girl departs with a wave as they make it to the desk, and Nene pops the other half of her treat in her mouth as the Mokke jump up to inspect the package. ‘Strawberry rice cakes, my favorite.’ she says as she splits the last one into four rough pieces. She takes the empty package and tosses it on her way out the door; she has cleaning duty with No.7 today, and the Mokke begin to plot.
It's a risk, so only one Mokke is sent to the broadcasting room. It carries the empty packaging carefully to make no noise, otherwise the bitey one might hear and ruin the plan. Luckily, only the Lady is here. The Mokke bounds across the floor and into her lap.
The Lady seems surprised, but sets her book down to inspect the offered packaging. The Mokke points to the fruit on the label with a squeaky ‘Please’. The Lady tips her head, glancing between the package and the Mokke. ‘I’ll see what I can do’, she says, and the Mokke bounds off before she can change her mind.
Sakura watches the Mokke go, intrigued. They’ve come to her for candy on occasion, though they tend to avoid the broadcasting room when Tsukasa is here. But they've never asked for anything specifically, except the cough drops; to ask for strawberry rice cakes of all things, how odd.
The next one the Mokke tackle is No.5. They need the boy, the one who can cook well with Nene. He can make them for her. Tsuchigomori takes the offered package, and asks why they don’t just ask for someone to buy Yashiro a new package.
There is a mild uproar as the Mokke all try to get their point across. Nene hand makes them treats! She deserves the same! Packaged isn’t good enough! Tsuchigomori manages to calm them down, digging through a drawer to throw candy at them. Once they are placated for the time being, Tsuchigomori tells them if the boy isn't with Yashiro and Honorable No.7, he might be with his brother.
A shudder runs through all the supernaturals in the room. Minamoto Teru might tolerate the Mokke for the sake of his little sister, but it was still a risky game. The Mokke hurry from the room, and Tsuchigomori watches them bounce away with a sigh.
They find the Minamoto brothers in the old building, and deciding that swiftness might be best, tackle the younger. Between one heartbeat and the next, Kou has disappeared in a sea of pink, and Teru can only blink in confusion as his brother is swept away.
They drop the boy at Tsuchigomori’s feet, and he’s half a second away from panicking. He hauls the boy to his feet and shoves the discarded package into his hands. ‘The Mokke want to make these as a thank you for Yashiro. You’re going to help them.’ he says as the boy blinks up at him.
Kou looks down at the empty package of strawberry rice cakes that Yashiro-senpai had brought with her to lunch today. She’d been excited to open them for lunch, even giving Hanako and Kou one when they had asked what she had.
Senpai was always doing sweet things for all of them, so this was perfect! ‘Of course’, he says, startling both Tsuchigomori and the Mokke, ‘These shouldn’t be too hard to make, and Senpai will love them!’. The cheer the Mokke raise cuts off quick as they all attempt to hide beneath the desk as Teru steps into the room.
Luckily, Kou intercepts him before he can say anything, hauling his brother out by the arm as he rattles off a list of things he’ll need. One Mokke is shoved from the group, bounding to the brothers to tell them the strawberries have already been retrieved.
The brothers share a look as Tsuchigomori steps from the room, pulling his wallet from his pocket and depositing several bills into the younger's hand. ‘Here,’ he says as he heads back into his office, ‘She’s always leaving me desserts, so it's only fair I pay for some of this. Just tell me when you need the home ec room and I’ll make sure it's clear’.
Kou shoves the money into Teru’s hand as he drags his phone out to start looking up recipes, and Teru follows behind his little brother with a smile. The Mokke cheer and hurry out to tell the rest that everything is nearly in motion. Tsuchigomori drops his head to his desk and decides it's not his job to tell Honorable No.7 what the pink terrors are planning; let him deal with them on his own.
The Mokke attack Hanako after Nene has left for the evening, pinning the ghost to the floor as they explain what they want to do. They’re going to have the boy make her the strawberry cakes she loves, and then she’ll love them even more, and they’ll always have candy.
Hanako extracts himself with a bit of trouble, colliding with both Yako and Mitsuba as they all attempt to get through the door of Tsuchigomori’s office at the same time. Tsuchigomori drops his head into his hands and, for the third time today, tells himself he needs to ask for a raise.
Kou barges into the teachers lounge early the next morning, and luckily there's only a couple people in there, so his shout of ‘Spider face-sensei!’ is mostly ignored. He’d like the home ec room for tomorrow after school, if it's possible. Tsuchigomori heads to the board and writes his name in the time slot, shooing him off immediately afterwards.
Kou spends the rest of the day, when not fidgeting in class, hunting down the rest of the supernaturals that might help him with the Mokke’s task. Hanako will obviously help, and Mitsuba will try and show, but only for Daikon-senpai.
Yako has offered to distract Yashiro tomorrow so they can all work, and the Mokke all breathe a sigh of relief. One Mokke pokes into the broadcasting room, but it's dark and empty. There's a quick conference of what they can do if the Lady does not bring the strawberries, but they decide to wait.
The next afternoon as they all pile into the room, there's a pretty basket on the table, several cartons of bright red strawberries tucked inside. There is also a package of Nene’s favorite strawberry rice cakes, wrapped in a pretty ribbon with a note; ‘As a precaution, in case there is a mistake’.
The kitchen devolves into chaos.
When Tsuchigomori finally pokes his head in an hour after classes have ended, he nearly walks right back out. There is flour and sugar all over the counter, Mitsuba looks close to tears, and Hanako and Kou are at each other's throats.
The Mokke are all over the place, and Tsuchigomori gets the impression they are attempting to finish this on their own. A sharp whistle brings the room to attention, and he attempts to wrangle these children and supernaturals into order.
The end product isn’t nearly as neat as the packaged version wrapped in ribbon, but it's presentable. One Mokke heads off to collect Yako and Yashiro while Tsuchigomori wrangles the rest into cleanup duty. Yako shifts from fox to girl as she enters the room, waving a dainty hand at the platter of desserts on the table as Nene steps in.
The Mokke crowd around her feet, bouncing into her arms as they all chatter at once. They made treats for Nene! As a thank you for everything she does! Because they love her and are grateful for their new rumor! And all the candy they can eat!
Nene bursts into tears.
The entire room goes silent before Hanako and Kou are at her side, asking what's wrong as she continues to cry. Then, a smile creeps onto her face, and she throws her arms around them in a quick hug. She’s still crying as she kneels down and gathers the Mokke in her arms, thank you’s spilling just as quickly as tears.
Relieved, Tsuchigomori leans against the counter, and beckons the girl forwards. She takes the offered handkerchief with a smile, dabbing at her cheeks as the Mokke crowd around her. She finally takes one from the plate, biting it in half before she freezes.
The assembled group shares a terrified look before she turns, smile bright, and they all relax.
The Mokke tells her that she’s the new Mokke Queen, even if she’s not Mokke; Nene isn’t sure how to respond to that, but the Mokke don’t seem to be looking for an answer. Tsuchigomori and Yako share a smile as Hanako and Kou begin badgering the Mokke as to what they mean.
Nene wraps a few of the rice cakes in parchment paper when the others aren’t looking, and the Mokke take them off to the broadcasting room as a thank you. Mitsuba catches her eye briefly, and her smile settles a warmth in the hollow of his chest. He ruins it immediately by calling her Daikon-senpai.
She drops a pat and thank you on each Mokke’s head as they bounce out the door, before turning to the rest of the human shaped group left behind. Hugs are given and returned, some hesitantly, others eagerly, and Hanako only has to be pried off when Nene struggles to get to her rice cakes.
Tsuchigomori finally shoos them from the room when Teru comes looking for his brother, smiling in a way that would have made Nene swoon if she wasn’t attempting to swat the ghost clinging to her shoulders for making rude comments.
Nene ignores Hanako for a moment to glance at the group around her. Yako’s shifted back into a fox, and both her and Mitsuba are scooting off to the safety of their Boundaries now that Minamoto-senpai has arrived. Tsuchigomori-sensei drops a soft hand on her head, and hands her a ribbon wrapped package of rice cakes, before wandering down the hall to his office with a reminder for them not to linger.
She shakes off Hanako long enough to pull Kou into another hug before Minamoto-senpai leads him away. Once they're alone, no other people, no Mokke underfoot, Hanako curls over her shoulder again. ‘Well’, he says, with a mischievous smile, ‘Just because you're the Mokke Queen now, don’t think you’ll get out of toilet duty’.
Nene swings at him, holding the bundle of homemade rice cakes and the gifted ones carefully as she chases him down the hallway towards the girls bathroom. Even so, she can’t help but smile, and wonder what tomorrow will bring.