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Momo sighed heavily and slouched farther.
The girl was sitting on the stairs of the school, a whole half an hour after the final bell had rung. She was sitting with her chin in her hands with her elbows perched on her left knee. Her other leg was stretched out in front of her on the step two below. Her right ankle was wrapped up in a thick bandage and her knee sported another after an accident in gym class earlier. There was even an ice pack that she had popped to activate a bit ago when it became apparent that she was going to be waiting a bit.
Curse her luck but Momo had somehow skinned her knee AND sprain her ankle pretty early into the school day during gym class. She hadn’t been paying attention where she was and had walked backwards to tell her friends something when she missed how close she was to the steps leading down to the field. Momo hadn’t even noticed the missing step at first when she stepped backwards, expecting solid ground below, and had blinked in surprise when the next thing she knew was that she was laying on the landing below with a bleeding knee and a throbbing ankle.
Jiji had been quick to abandon his soccer game with the other boys when he saw Momo being carefully led to the nurse’s office by Kei-san and Miko. With her permission, Jiji had carried her piggy-back style to the nurse who had fixed her up, sending her on her way with orders to rest and a handful of ice packs. Momo had been totally fine otherwise which both of them had been glad for as neither wanted to make a trip there.
Now, at the end of the school day with a bum leg, Momo was stuck waiting. There was no way she would be able to get all the way home with her ankle the way it was but she wouldn’t be able to call her grandmother to come pick her up. Apparently there was some disturbance in another region and Seiko set out to check it out. Seiko had told her that she would be home by nightfall but Momo didn’t want to wait that long.
At the current moment, Momo was waiting for Okarun to return. He had been waiting at the door of her classroom when class had ended, hands braced on the doorframe as he stuck his head in. Momo was half convinced he used his Turbo Granny powers to zoom down the hallways because there was no other way he would have been there so quick. It had been just a quick word but Okarun had told her to wait for him by the front stairs of the school and that he would be back.
Okarun had taken off just like again and Momo was left wondering what he had been going on about. Jiji, bless his stupid and idiotic but well-meaning heart, had carried Momo down the stairs from their classroom’s floor to the ground level. He had even offered to stay with her until Okarun had returned but she waved him along as Jiji had been talking before about how he excited he was for the amateur soccer game set up by a few soccer enthusiasts in the school earlier. Momo didn’t want her friend missing it just because she was dumb and missed the fact that she had been right by the stairs.
Now that she was alone, Momo was wondering if she should have taken up Bamora’s offer for her to stay. Aira, though, had stolen away the alien for a planned outing to get her some of her own clothing instead of always using Momo’s. As much as she would have liked the company, Momo didn’t mind the thought of having her closet back to herself.
Well, except for the fact that she shared half of it with Okarun’s clothing that he left behind so he had back-up outfits in case his got shredded from their fights against the yokai and aliens but that was beside the point.
Deciding that she had time to zone out, Momo hummed as she thought back to lunch.
“Sorry again about this, Jiji,” Momo apoligzed as they painstakingly shuffled down the hallway to the outdoor eating area the group now met up at for lunch. She had an arm hooked around his neck with his closer arm wrapped around her waist and the farther hand holding her wrist to keep her supported. With his height being taller than Momo’s, Jiji also had to stoop down a bit so he didn’t dangle half of her body above the ground.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Jiji said as he shot her one of his beaming smiles that didn’t immediately get pulled into one of his weird faces. “You would do that same for me.”
Momo had smiled, glad that she had such great friends she could rely on – for big and small.
“Where is she?” Momo heard Okarun’s voice fret as she shuffled along closer towards their usual meeting spot. “And do you guys hear a weird shuffle?”
“Maybe Momo is getting all of us pampy,” Bamora said excitedly. Momo rolled her eyes – she was so not getting them drinks after the boys still owed her for buying them those little toy robots.
“Oooh, that sounds like a good idea,” Jiji murmured quietly.
Momo snorted breathily and flicked Jiji between the eyes with her free arm. “Not happening,” she said, giggling softly at the pout on her friend from childhood’s face. “Though, I might get you one for helping me out.”
Jiji grinned in pre-emptive victory.
“Maybe she fell down a hole. I can see that happening,” Aira said snidely before it switched to something fake and sweet. “How about we go ahead and forget about her already, Takakura?”
“I’m here, ya dumb skank,” Momo scoffed as she turned the corner. “Don’t go starting the party without me.”
Aira had one of her usual counter insults locked and loaded on her tongue but Momo could see the moment it fizzled away when the yokai-powered girl saw Momo being supported by Jiji.
Okarun sat on one side of the bench and had been sitting in a way that showed he was trying to not be obvious in his attempts at keeping half of it open for Momo to join him. Aira sat on the adjacent bench to his right by herself with Bamora and Kinta on the bench opposite Okarun. There was one bench completely empty still that Jiji usually claimed when they sat there.
All eyes fell on Momo and the leg that was being gingerly held above the ground. Her knee had a new clean white adhesive bandage on it after stopping at the nurse’s office just beforehand after the previous one had started to show it being bled through. Momo’s ankle was currently wrapped up in a layer of bandages to keep it in place with sandal so she wasn’t going around barefoot. It wasn’t honestly that bad but Momo preferred keeping as little weight on it as possible.
“Miss Ayase!” Okarun exclaimed with his hands on his face, jumping to his feet. “What happened?!”
“Just an accident in gym class,” Momo shrugged. She started shuffling forward again and Jiji helped her forward. “Don’t worry about it.”
“You’re limping!” Okarun fretted. He cleared off the spot on the bench next to him and gestured Jiji to put her down there. Jiji leaned down farther once they were close enough to release Momo.
“Just a mild sprain,” Momo said as she sat down heavily, hiding the exhale of relief when she stopped putting pressure on the bad leg.
“Don’t forget your shredded knee,” Jiji supplied helpfully as he took the empty bench to Momo’s left.
“You shredded your knee?!” Okarun exclaimed in horror.
“I skinned it,” Momo corrected with a roll of her eyes with a huff. “It’s honestly not that bad.”
“Except the fact that you bled, like, a lot,” Jiji smirked and reached into his pocket to grab the ice pack the nurse had thrust into his hands for Momo’s ankle.
“Is Momo going to die?!” Bamora gasped in horror. “Is that something humans can die from?!” Okarun turned pale and kept looking between Momo’s ankle and knee as he tried to figure out which was the worst injury.
“I’m not going to die,” Momo deadpanned before punching Jiji in the arm. “Jiji, don’t scare her.”
“Sowwy,” Jiji said with his tongue sticking out in a cute expression that showed he was not sorry at all.
“What happened?” Aira asked with true concern in her voice.
“Was clumsy and didn’t see the step,” Momo groaned and dropped her head on the table. “Can we please drop it?”
“Like how you dropped down the stairs leading down the field?” Jiji asked with a shit-eating grin. Now that Momo was okay, he didn’t mind making jokes at her expense.
“Jiji, I swear to god—!”
“You fell down the concrete stairs?!” Okarun exclaimed in a voice that was becoming more shrill.”Miss Ayase! We have to take you to the hospital! You could have hit your head and be bleeding internally and not know it and—"
“Yes, I did fall down the stairs, but,” Momo interrupted her crush before he could spiral more and put a hand on Okarun’s arm in hopes of calming him, “I’m fine. Honest.”
“What did the nurse say?” Kinta asked, pushing his glasses up higher on his face.
“What I’ve been telling you all this entire time: that I will be fine,” Momo sighed dramatically. “Guys, honest, I’m fine. Just got to take it easy on this leg for a bit and I will be right as rain.”
“If you’re sure,” Aira pressed her lips together as she didn’t look convinced.
“I’ve had so much worse from fighting yokai and aliens,” Momo said with a small smile and a roll of her eyes. “This is honestly nothing compared to that.”
“Ha ha, that is true,” Jiji barked. “Our Momo is a tough girl.”
The mood seemed to finally settle as the attention as pulled off of Momo’s minor injuries and onto whatever was happening in their classes. Aira was showing Bamora something on her phone, to which the alien looked at in interest. Kinta and Jiji were talking about a new model of toy robots that was coming out and potentially meeting up some weekend to get it. Okarun was the only one that didn’t look ready to move off the topic of Momo’s leg and he kept poking his fingers together anxiously.
Okarun finally sat down but he looked on edge as he kept looking at Momo’s leg. Deciding that he needed to chill, Momo swung her bad ankle up on Okarun’s thigh that was closest to her. The bespeckled boy’s eyes widened behind his glasses, looking between Momo’s ankle and her face.
“Hope you don’t mind but I have to keep this elevated,” Momo said with a cheeky grin. It was the truth but it was fun seeing how red Okarun got when any part of her touched him.
“Well, I can’t argue with that,” Okarun said as he shyly fixed his glasses.
Momo grinned with a nod and finally unwrapped her bento box. With a nudge at her arm by Jiji’s elbow, she saw him holding out her ice pack that he had already popped to activate. Momo nodded in understanding and took the cold pack from him. She leaned forward to put on her ankle and frowned when she couldn’t do it without it sliding right off.
Huffing, Momo reached forward more to try and balance it on her ankle. The whole thing kept falling to one side every time she tried to let it go. Momo’s brows furrowed as she fought against the ice pack that was supposed to be helping her. Okarun had been watching the entire time – he hadn’t taken his eyes off of Momo since she arrived but that more part of his crush on her – and saw her struggling.
“Here,” Okarun said and held his hand out towards Momo. “I’ll hold it on your ankle for you.”
“Don’t you need both your hands to eat?” Momo asked with a raised eyebrow.
Okarun shook his head frantically. “Not at all. It’s more important making sure your ankle is okay as well!”
Momo’s ankle was starting to throb again and she felt her resolve to doing this on her own fading away. She passed the ice pack into Okarun’s waiting hand and leaned back. Okarun was careful with how he placed it on the injured joint and Momo shivered at the cold touch of it.
“This good?” Okarun asked quietly.
“Perfect,” Momo quietly answered back.
Okarun nodded once and pressed his hand against the top of it so that it would stay in place. With his free right hand, Okarun carefully used his chop sticks to bring his food to his mouth. Momo played it cool by using her own chopsticks to dig into her food all the while poking fun at Aira who took the bait.
And the two tried to ignore just how intimate that little interaction had felt.
Momo was jostled out of her thoughts when someone turned the corner at the front gate. They were huffing and pedaling hard towards her on their bicycle. It was quick to recognize Okarun on the bike and Momo sat up straight once he was close enough.
Okarun braked a few paces in front of her, a leg braced against the ground to hold the bike up. “Good, you’re still here,” Okarun huffed as he tried catching his breath. “I was worried that you would get bored of waiting and go ahead.”
“You told me to wait so I waited,” Momo shrugged, trying to make it sound like it wasn’t that big of a deal.
“Well, I’m glad,” Okarun nodded with a gulp, fixing his glasses on his face. He kicked out his bike’s kick-stand and climbed off the bike. With a hand held out towards Momo, he plucked her bookbag that had been laying next to her on the stair off the ground. “C’mon, let’s get you home.”
“You ran all the way home just to get your bike to take me home?” Momo asked with slight awe in her voice. She put her hand into Okarun’s and let herself get pulled off the ground. Part of her mind noted just how warm his hand felt and just how nice it felt holding onto her’s.
“Well, yeah,” Okarun nodded. “It’s much easier and faster for you to sit on the back of my bike while I pedal us back to your place.”
“You want me to ride on the back of your bike?” Momo snorted but she didn’t fight the helping hand that aided her up on the flat space where a basket would usually would sit. Okarun was patient as she limped the handful of steps over to his bike.
“You’ve done it once before,” Okarun said shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
Momo furrowed her brows as she tried to remember and a lightbulb went off when she did. Because, yes, she did ride on the back of Okarun’s bike before. It was back on their third night of knowing each other as they rode away wearing the spirit clothing when they went to challenge Turbo Granny.
Honestly, Momo had forgotten about that. It was such a rollercoaster of events that night that it had barely registered in Momo’s brain but it still did.
“I guess I did,” Momo laughed. Okarun shook his head at her memory with a huff of a laugh. With his hand held out as a brace, Momo lifted herself on the back of his bike and gave it a squeeze when she was comfy. He passed her bookbag to her to hold, to which she swung her arms through the armholes to lay on her back. Okarun left Momo momentarily to climb back on the bike and push the kick-stand away.
“You ready?” he asked with a peek over his shoulder.
“All good on my end,” Momo grinned and held the edge of her small seat.
Okarun gave one last nod before he put his feet on the pedals and started their ride home. Momo had expected Okarun to be panting under the exertion of another body’s worth of weight on his bike but he showed that he was doing just fine. As they passed by the playing fields, Momo saw Jiji running around with a big smile on his face. He looked up at one point and he waved at the two as they passed by – to which they waved back in return – before he went back to the game to shoot another goal.
The bike took a turn out of the school gates and Okarun took them down the bike path of the road. Momo looked around at the scenery passing them. There was a small bump that had Momo grabbing the edges of her seat with Okarun apologizing over his shoulder. Momo looked around for a better way to hold for when they reached the bumpy parts of the road near her and her eyes landed right on Okarun’s waist.
With a smirk, Momo decided to be bold and wrap her arms around Okarun’s waist.
Okarun flinched at the contact, the bike wobbling for a second, and looked over his shoulder at Momo. “What?” she asked with a sly grin. “I have to make sure I don’t fall off.”
Red crawled up Okarun’s cheeks and he turned away, grumbling something under his breath that sounded like ‘what am I going to do with her?’ and it made Momo giggled underneath of her breath.
One of Okarun’s hands gently touched the forearm wrapped around his waist, making goosebumps crawl up the arm he touched. “Hold on tight,” Okarun said and went back to focusing on the road as he peddle towards the direction of the Ayase household.
Momo didn’t let the smile of victory slide off of her face as she hugged Okarun’s waist tighter. She had the side of her face pressed against his back and looked at the scenery solely on the one side as she had gotten comfy in this position. What she liked even more was how she could hear his heart with how close they were and it comforted her.
What she didn’t see was how red Okarun’s cheeks were from the arms of his crush wrapped around his waist.
For a while, the two of them just shared the ride through the city with soft comments about random things breaking the peaceful atmosphere for the two of them.
“I was thinking,” Okarun cleared his throat about halfway into their ride home which had Momo raising her head to let her eyes look over his shoulder at his face, “that I should come pick you up for school for the next few weeks. And then I could also take you home, too.” They were getting close to the outskirts of the city before hitting the road that was a straight shot home. “Y’know, for your ankle. Don’t want it getting worse.”
“I feel like that is putting a burden on you,” Momo said. “You would have to get up a lot earlier to bike all the way to my place just to double-back for school.” Off in the distance, Momo could see her house as a spot in the distance.
“Nah,” Okarun shrugged his shoulder which jostled Momo’s face that was leaning on it and peeked down so their eyes met. “I don’t mind if it’s for you.”
“Well, if you’re offering,” Momo said softly with a smile and red cheeks that she was trying to hide. “I can’t turn down such a generous offer.”
“Cool,” Okarun nodded once with the same smile and red cheeks on his face. “Then we’ll ride to and from school together then.”
“Cool,” Momo agreed.
“Cool,” Okarun agreed back.
“Cool.”
“Cool.”
Momo and Okarun laughed at how they were just repeating the same word back and forth with each other. They were both giddy at the thought of being able to get that extra time together before school but neither were going to admit it just yet. As much as they loved their friends, it was nice to get the moments with just the two of them.
A part of Momo was thankful that she had missed that step if it meant she got this personal time with Okarun – maybe if she played her cards right, then this could be a more usual thing between the two of them.
And a huge part of Okarun was thankful that he had a bicycle with a back seat – and he wondered if he played his cards right, then this could be something that they did more often after Momo’s leg was healed.
And they both thought, ‘here’s to sprained ankles and shared bike rides home.’