Chapter Text
Festivals were supposed to be fun.
Beautiful lights, delicious stall food, little knick knacks and bric-a-brac, carnival games, colorful outfits, fireworks? Momo loved being able to goof off at night and enjoy the crazy festivities formed around ancient traditions. She wanted nothing more than to explore the Mask Festival grounds with her group of friends after not having gone to any festival in what felt like forever… especially since a certain someone never experienced them before- er, well… technically two members, Momo corrected, since Vamola is an alien and had never been to any festival before.
So it felt like a special affront to the spirit of the thing to be told by her grandma that the group was only going to the Mask Festival on order of exorcism business. Sure, they were all allowed to dress up if they wanted, but it was only to blend in better and not draw attention from all the normies enjoying the festivities! She wanted Okarun- a-and Vamola!- to be able to just enjoy the night!!
And Okarun, sweet Okarun, picked up on her frustration boiling under the skin once again as they walked around the grounds on the lookout for some dumbass yokai who couldn't just let people have fun. He gingerly patted her shoulder, hesitant as always to initiate physical contact when lives weren't on the line. “Ayase-san… we can still have fun. Maybe if we find the yokai soon and take care of things, we'll still be able to relax afterward and watch the firework show! You wanted to do that, right?”
She perked up a bit, his puppy eyes searching her for signs of distress warming her up like hot chocolate for her soul. “O-oh, yeah. Yeah! That'll be fun…”
The fact that he hung in the back of their group with her while she pouted, while Jiji, Kinta and Vamola goofed off ahead, with the skank berating them for being noisy as Hell and Rin trying to help reign them all in like her class rep role was a full-time gig, made Momo feel incredibly worse. Here she was, stressin’ over Okarun not having a fun time, and yet she was only making him more concerned with her and her problems rather than trying to enjoy himself in between searching for that damned yokai.
His round glasses caught the lights from the booths around them, but even with his expression partially obscured from her, she knew he was still staring directly into her. It was times like this when she wondered if he secretly could read auras too, because he was pretty much always on the money when clocking in what she was feeling. How did he always manage to do that? It didn't seem fair, especially since she was the one with the aura reading powers! ‘What are you thinking, Okarun?’
“Ayase-san, you're not usually this tense during,” Okarun looked around, making sure none of the festival goers were close enough to listen in, lowering his voice like a dork, “ exorcisms. You're usually more, I don't know… pumped up? Kinda devil-may-care?”
She rolled her eyes at him. Of course he'd notice the difference between her normal go-getter ‘tude and her grumpiness. “Dude, I'm fine. Really. I'm not bothered by the yokai being here.” Grumbling as she looked ahead (and away from those adorable eyes), she grimaced, “I really don't want to be ‘working’, ya know? You were right: I just wanted to have fun at the festival.” Her knuckles popped as she gripped her fist tightly, “When I get my hands on that ghost, I'm gonna wring out its stupid, meddling neck…”
He visibly shuddered, attempting to placate her rage, despite it being far from targeted at him, “A-Ayase-san, you'll scare the other people…”
“Ugh! To Hell with caring what they think!” She threw her hands up, her kimono sleeves slipping down against her shoulders, “We're the ones keepin’ them safe! It's not fair that we can't enjoy the festival when we're the teenagers! Doesn't that bother you at all?!”
Again, his glasses obscured his expression from her, but he rubbed the back of his neck, “Um… yeah, I guess. I mean… I feel a little jealous. I don't really remember going to festivals, so this is… an interesting experience, to say the least.”
Momo nearly let it slip out that yeah, she already knew that about him, but held her tongue. If there was one thing she didn't want him feeling right now, it was him feeling that he was pathetic over something that was both his parents' and previous peers’ faults.
But right as she was about to distract him from coming to that conclusion himself (she just had a feeling he would), he looked back up at her, “But wouldn't Seiko-san get on your case if she found out you were complaining? You always fight with her and make a big deal about being your own adult over other things.”
She felt her eyebrow twitch. “The Hell you sayin’!? What’s she gotta do with it??”
He furrowed his eyebrows, his eyes still infuriatingly blocked from her view, “Ayase-san, you can't go telling your grandma that you want to be treated as an adult, be told to do adult things, and then go complaining that you can't act like a kid. She'd never let you live it down, you know-!!”
He let out a squeaky yelp when she grabbed hold of him, smooshing his cheeks and pushing his glasses up a little with her fingers. She didn't think about it, she just needed to pounce. She wanted nothing more than his squishy, lil face to stop saying the truth (and she knew it absolutely was the truth; it made her insides churn with embarrassed electricity). “You callin’ me immature, Four-Eyes!?” She yelled, now making some of the other people around them nervous.
“A-ack!! A-A-Ayase-saaaan!!!” He tried escaping her hands, his brown eyes scalding her as he snapped, “Ugh, yes!! That's exactly what I was implying!! You're being really immature!!”
His feisty bristling only made herself prickle with energy. She released his face only to launch at him, wanting to lock him in a chokehold. “You dummy! Quit calling me that!! There's nothin’ immature about wanting to have fun!!”
Funnily enough, he reacted in perfect defense and caught her hands, blocking her attack, as if he'd been put in a chokehold recently and now knew exactly how to respond. She couldn't remember having done that to him before, nor did she remember an enemy doing it… unless it happened when she wasn't around? The thought of it angered her deep down, because how dare anyone else try that with him, be it playful or not!? Either way, he fought back against her grip, no longer concerned with making a scene as he growled directly at her face, “You are such a pain sometimes!! Why do you have to take it out on me??”
“Why do you have to go and point out my issues so bluntly!?” She shoved against his hands harder, tempted to cheat with her ghostly ones.
“Wha-!?” He wanted to stay heated, she could tell, but they both knew he was losing his edge when he struggled to fight back his snorts, “S-says the one who did that constantly when we first met!”
She stopped trying to actively shove him, although her grip remained tight. A snort of her own bubbled up, because damn it, he was right! And he looked so tilted between his aggravation with her and his desire to start laughing his ass off at their shared antics. She blew a small raspberry to the side, caving to the ridiculousness of it all. “Yeah… I did, didn't I?”
He shifted his grip on her to a more comfortable, loose hold, neither of them pulling away. “Such a handful…”
“You're one to talk.” She stuck her tongue out a bit when she smiled with her eyes closed, shielding herself from those soothing eyes of his that made her want to melt into Oblivion-!!
“What’cha guys up to?”
Both Momo and Okarun leapt away from each other as if they had electrocuted themselves though their hands that totally were not laced together at the fingers with Okarun running his thumbs over the backs of her hands in little circles. Absolutely not. No way. Nope!
Jiji giggled as he bounded over, the human golden retriever beaming as he asked, “Were you two playing a game, or something? We heard you shouting!”
“Game! Game looks fun!” Vamola held out both hands, mimicking how the two were- weren't holding hands. Kinta made a semi-pervy comment about being willing to play the game with her, clearly just wanting to hold hands with the cute alien he simped for (not that it was what she and Okarun were doing!!).
“What was that she-devil doing to you, Takakura-kun!?” Aira snarled, already rearing up to bicker with Momo over her delulu assumptions. “Enjoji-kun, clearly it was not a game! Ayase was shouting at him!”
Jiji shrugged, “Yeah, but so did he! And then they were both laughing! I don't see them all angry with each other! Right, guys?”
Rin peeped up, “I-it was rather loud, regardless of their intentions.”
“U-um, yeah…!” Okarun's voice rang out noticeably quieter- no, that wasn't the right word. He was plenty audible still, but there was a restraint to his voice, no longer sharp like when he talked back at Momo. “W-we were just… talking.”
Momo wondered for a moment if it was just him putting up face because of what it looked like they were doing (which they absolutely weren't holding hands like a couple of dorks!! ), but even as she chided Jiji and Aira for being noisy as well, “So what if we were being noisy!? We're at a freakin' festival,” she watched as Okarun grew more and more reserved as the seconds ticked by-!!
The air… the atmosphere shifted.
Momo knew she wasn't the only one who noticed. Everyone in their group tensed, while the other people idly chatted and went on their ways as if they weren't being stalked by a creepy ghost that now was on the hunt.
Momo used her aura sight, closing her eyes to focus. It didn't help; every single noh mask, worn or decor, gained a new, eerie glow to it as whatever entity was there crept around, a hidden tiger who’s pattern rendered it invisible between the brush. “Damn it…” Momo growled, “I can't get a read on where this asshat is.”
Aira furrowed her brows, “Yeah, the vibes are all off. It feels like we're surrounded, but not by many…”
Momo nodded, understanding what she was getting at. It felt like they were being swallowed. “We need to find this thing and find it fast.”
Aira nodded, “We should split up. There's seven of us-”
“Eight, bitch.” The apparition of Mai faded into existence like raising the opacity of an image. “Don't forget that I'm here.”
“Mai!! Don't call Shiratori-san that!!” Rin chastised the spirit fruitlessly.
“Naughty Mai!” Vamola chastised as well, both her and Jiji pointing at the bratty spirit.
“Foul language, Missy Mai! Naughty, naughty!” He boisterously jabbed.
“Shut the Hell up, you imbeciles.” She spat, her puppy-ish face still smiling despite the nasty tone.
Aira rolled her eyes, “You two count as one unit, moron. You're useless on your own, so quit throwing a hissy fit.” She continued her original thought, “Anyway, there are seven- and a half- of us. That means we can go two, two and three and a half,” she shot the spirit a dirty look, the little turtle thing begrudgingly accepting the terms from the designated group leader.
Kinta interjected, “Would it not be advantageous to stay as one whole unit? If this entity is indeed powerful, surely it would be ideal to not spread our forces too thin.”
The perv had a point, Momo couldn't deny it. “Yeah, it wouldn't be a terrible idea, but there's also the problem of us not finding the thing in time. It could totally decide to attack an innocent person, and we could miss it.”
“Exactly,” Aira nodded, “Splitting up has the advantage of finding the demon sooner, before tragedy can strike.”
Momo clapped a hand down on Okarun's shoulder, earning a startled (and adorable) yipe from the boy, “And besides! How strong can this yokai be? It's not even making the normies unsettled!”
“R-r-right…” Okarun took a quick breath, before mumbling, “We've taken on worse, even with less of us in the group. We should be fine.”
The aura intensified, just for a brief moment, but enough for Momo to notice it, rather than the whole group this time. “There… it's on the move. Let's get going.”
Aira nodded, “Alright: Vamola-chan, Sawaki-san, Sakata… you three and the half-wit go together.” She ignored Mai’s profane objections, “Perv, before that, make some communication devices, like ear pieces.”
“Already on it.” Kinta worked his nanoskin into small shapes, sculpting them into total spyware that was admittedly pretty cool, not that Momo would want to say it out loud and risk the idiot fawning over her praise as if she had a thing for him, and not… er, someone else.
Aira continued, “As much as I hate it, Takakura-kun should stick with Ayase. You two have your co-operative fighting style, but also… I need to stick with Enjoji-kun, in case the Evil Eye shows up.”
Jiji nodded, “Makes sense. I've already had to dodge a few close calls. There's way too many water games going on for Autumn!”
Momo nodded, “Good thinking, and Evil Eye does kinda listen to you, so that works out.”
“Of course he does.” Aira flipped her bangs with an air of showmanship, “I am Heaven’s chosen one. Even the mountain yokai knows better than to disobey his angelic leader!”
Momo didn't even need to look to know Okarun was perfectly matching her exasperated expression, while Rin mouthed quietly to herself, “Chosen one…?” as Mai muttered under her breath something along the lines of, “as if Heaven could want you…”
Jiji giggled, looming over the girl, “He does have a soft spot for her, regardless! Maybe Aira-chan has some special power over him!”
She lightly elbowed his stomach, earning an over-the-top yipe from him, “You're insufferable…”
Momo tugged on Okarun's jacket sleeve, eliciting a small, clipped noise from him, “Come on. We'll go check out behind the stalls to the left, over here. You two,” she directed her attention to the odd pair that was Jiji and Aira, “you go to the right; there's no food stalls so there's less of a chance for Jiji to get splashed with any liquids.” She then looked at the second group, “You three- and Mai- stay on the main strip. There's better lighting and it'll help with Vamola’s sensors and help Sakata with visualizing things for his nanoskin.”
“Whatever the Lady demands.” Kinta saluted, “Good luck on the mission, M’lady and Private First Class! Here, I made earpieces for everyone.”
“Good work, Perv.” Aira plucked up one of the pieces, before handing one to Jiji. “We'll regroup in about an hour at the other end of the festival. Hopefully we'll find this devil before it's too late.”
The only other sound Momo heard from Okarun was a small “good luck, everyone.” Even now as they searched for any signs of the beast masking its aura from her senses, he remained aggravatingly silent.
“Okarun, you're making me nervous.” She looked over her shoulder, daring to allow herself to be distracted by his presence.
He squeaked, “O-oh! Sorry… I didn't realize I was-”
She cut him off, “Stop. I don't mean you're doing anything to make me uncomfortable. It's actually the opposite: you doing nothing, saying nothing… that's what's bothering me.” She looked ahead again, having come a little too close to bumping her shoulder into one of the adolescent trees.
“O-o-oh… really?” He quickened his pace a tad, just to match with her gait better. “I didn't- er, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just… didn't have anything to say, really.”
She could practically hear him retreat into himself again. “Dude, you're doing it again! Stop clamming up… I like it when you're out of your shell. You don't need to hide what you're feeling; not around our friends, and especially not around me.” She stopped walking, unintentionally making him stumble from not giving him the heads-up that she wanted a pause. “You are allowed to be more expressive. Don't feel like you need to hide who you are from those who care about you.” She gestured to all of him, “I mean! You say what you think in your Turbo Mode and we still all love you-”
… she knew damn well that they both were ten shades redder when she remembered the note she left him in that damn bunker.
He sputtered a bit, “A-Ayase-san!! Don't just say things like that… I don't like being reminded of how embarrassing I am when I'm that other me.”
“He's still you, doofus, just with little to no filter.” She bumped into his side, “It's not like you've ever been super mean or rude in that form. You're acting like everything you've said in Turbo Mode is awful. What, you don't want to shower me in adoration and tell me I'm a beautiful badass?”
He hid his face from her, making superfluous noises as he struggled to formulate an excuse she could've accepted, had she not already known it was going to be bullshit no matter what-
The air was electrified, the sudden crash of the entity’s aura was so potent.
“Okarun!! It's here!!”
The telltale crackle of his bones snapping and shifting into place met her ears before he groaned in his yokai form’s tone, “Yeah, babe, I felt that one. Bastard’s got a lot of negative vibes punching me in the chest. Makes me wilt, yo…”
“Yeah… I think I’m actually feeling what you're constantly saying this time.” She edged closer to him, still scanning the area for the damned thing’s main body, if it even had one. Whatever this creature was doing, it felt like her soul was being suppressed. It was unnerving her to the point she didn't know how to feel…!
She saw a daunting figure scuttle over the tops of one of the booths ahead. “There!! I saw it!!”
Wordlessly, Okarun crouched down and took off the moment Momo seated herself safe and secured on his back, leaping over the tops of one of the food trucks and over the booths. Not a single person turned their heads, unless the two ran directly in front of them, but even then, the normal people didn't pay all that much attention. It made chasing that large, blobby thing at least partially okay in the public area, but it also made for a tricky terrain for Okarun to run through, lest he crashed into a person and left them horribly injured.
Momo really did not want to imagine what the outcome of that would be-!!
The many noh masks adorning the stalls and booths began to emit shadowy miasmas. Their expressions all began to shift, the joyous ones turning disdainful and the evil ogres becoming indifferent and judgemental. Every single one of them became creepier as they approached the illusive figure, one that Momo swore had multiple sets of arms and at least two pairs of legs, like some sort of humanoid insect… or centipede. She really hoped it wasn't centipede-like.
“Momo-chan, it's not targeting anyone.” Okarun wove through a group of friends, flawlessly dodging each of them as he did his best to maintain his speed. “It's leading us somewhere.”
“Yeah, I noticed. Good call, Okarun.” She readied her ghost hands, looking for an opening as she watched it surge over another stall-!! “EWWW!!”
He kept running, but Okarun perked his head up, alert from her outcry, “Momo-chan!? What's the matter, yo!?”
She gripped tighter on his shoulders, earning a startled sound from him, “That thing didn't have a face!! Like, it had multiple heads mashed together, but there weren't any faces!!” She shuddered, knowing damn well they'd have to approach it, “Uuuugh… I wish it was more centipede-like after all!! At least they have kinda cute, little eyes!! Not bulbous, faceless heads smooshed all together!!”
“Oh, sick, yo…” He wrinkled his nose, Momo perfectly imagining the disgusted grimace underneath his toothy mask, “I don't want to continue chasing that if it's that gross looking.”
At least there was solace knowing that they'd both be suffering together.
Momo pressed her ear piece, “Everyone! The yokai is headed back the direction we came! Okarun and I are in pursuit… and it looks incredibly ugly. Super, super gross. Come meet us asap.”
Their voices all came over one after the other.
“You got it, gurl~”
“Roger that!”
“Roger!” (They all could hear the smile in Vamola’s tone.)
“Good job finding it!”
“Be safe!”
Okarun shifted his weight lower the moment the crowds dispersed. He didn't hesitate to leap back up onto the roofs of the booths now that there weren't as many people around to see. “Momo-chan, think you can grab it?”
She gulped, nodding her head, “Yeah, not that I want to.”
“Sorry, babe. Let's kick its ass quick. Get it over and done with, ya dig?”
She chuckled at his supportive words, the normal gloom lessened to leave room for more cheery notes in his otherwise relaxed voice. He never sounded like this for the others in their group. He always seemed to make the effort for her, and it left a fuzziness in her stomach. ‘Dang butterflies…’ Still, she gave another acknowledging squeeze to his shoulders, “Thanks, Okarun. We'll definitely kick its ass.”
He looked about ready to say something, his pallid cheeks looking slightly darker than normal, but he held his tongue, a rare occurrence from his yokai self-
The monster stopped in place, a slithering, fat, lumpy snake with many legs hissing and skreeing at the two as Okarun skidded to a stop. Momo considered staying on Okarun's back, but it would only make it more challenging for him to get close once she snared the freak in place. She hopped off of him, throwing her powers at the thing and grappling its undulating torso between two sets of its mismatched arms-!
With no prior knowledge of where its mouth was, it was extra disturbing to watch as a lopsided gash split between some of the many lumps that were cheap imitations of heads, revealing multiple rows of jagged, hooked and serrated teeth against pink, squelching and goopy flesh. There was no tongue inside of its cavernous mouth, no defined jaws either. It was a leech, threatening to latch on and suck out whatever lifeforce they had.
And it was pissed at her holding onto it.
“Ewwww!! What the Hell even is this thing!?” She tightened her grip on it, but she wanted nothing more than to throw it kilometers away from them, hating every second she spared to look at the abomination of supernatural nature.
“It looks so disgusting, yo.” Okarun sighed, readying himself up to charge through it with one of his All Outs, “This sucks. I don't want to touch it. I'm sorry you have to, babe.”
“Yeah, it feels so squirmy-!!”
It bit down on her ghost hands. “Aah!!” Momo felt it sucking away at the apparitions, breaking her grip on it as it swallowed the Ki down. It smacked her with whiplash as she felt her real hands start to go numb, even after severing the connection the moment it dawned on her what it was doing.
“Momo-chan!!” He turned to her-
“Stay focused!” She hissed between her teeth, trying her best to chase away the godawful pins and needles sensation torturing her hands, “It eats energy! Careful, Okarun!” She kept her eyes locked onto the disgusting bastard that dared to feast on her like that, the humanoid leech snake clicking and snarling as it eyelessly stared down the two.
“M-Mo…” He still wasted the seconds to watch her numbly flex her fingers, wanting to say something but unable to bring himself to say it-
The monster wailed, scrambling towards them in a breakneck surge of unexpected desperation…
Only for a flash of red, black and white to come flying at it, Okarun tackling it off of the rooftops.
“Okarun!!”
Aira’s voice came clear through the comm, “What's wrong?? What happened to Takakura-kun!?”
“I-I don't know! He just leapt at the monster-!!” Momo jolted when she heard a distinct cry, followed by a horrific shriek. Thankfully, it did not sound anything like what has ever come out of her friend’s mouth or giant, toothy mask, so she was pretty sure it was actually the yokai that made the horrific sound. “Damn it!! Guys, I'll keep you updated! Just hurry over here, please!”
“We're on it!”
“Coming! Help Takakura!”
Momo used her powers to lower herself down safely, albeit roughly on the ground below. She cursed her noodle legs for not being any faster. She was no slouch (running for her life repeatedly within these last few weeks definitely helped a little with her stamina), but God was she too slow. Or, maybe she was just too used to being faster when on Okarun's steadfast back… or tucked safely in his arms…
She wanted to tuck him away, especially now that she had no fucking clue if he was alright.
Desperately trying to ignore the burning in her lungs and throat as she sprinted in the direction of where he and that creature got flung off to, she searched frantically with both her eyes and astral sight for any signs of them. It felt… wrong. His aura… it seemed to seep out in multiple directions, almost similar to how that creature’s presence was originally, the beast’s aura itself seemingly dispersed, having run off most likely. “Damn it…!!”
Her heart slammed against her ribcage and all breath was whisked away when there, on the ground, laid a body. No white hair. No red streaks. Almost… lifeless…
“OKARUN!!”
She didn't care that she'd get dirt and grass stains all over the kimono she wore; she slid over to him, hurting her knees in the process, but she couldn't give a single fuck. He was just lying there, not making a single sound as she checked his aura-!? “Wh… wh-what the…?” She looked again, now unsure of what she was seeing.
The curse was still there, burning underneath his still bright aura. It hardly looked like any of his Ki had been consumed, if any at all.
No, what made her gawk at the little flame inside of him was the fact that it no longer was that comforting swirl of navy and blue she had come to know so well.
It… it was grey-
He grunted, propping himself up without so much as acknowledging her sitting right next to him. His lips stayed downturn, his brows relaxed. There was… an emptiness to him.
“O-Okarun…?”
He turned his head to face her. He didn't say a single thing…
“H-hey…” She nudged his shoulder, her anxiety spiking when he didn't so much as push back or question her touch, “Y-you’re scaring me. S-say something… please.”
He wordlessly stared in her direction, the reflected light disappearing as he tilted his head down, eyes still locked forward.
She gasped when she saw that his brown, warming eyes… they were grey. Not a single ounce of color. They were devoid of interest, of recognition, of anything resembling spirit…!
He looked up at her eyes again, murmuring only a single word:
“Momo.”
That was it. There was no affection, no shyness, no tenderness… just her name. Nothing special.
He gripped the fabric of her sleeve, back to staring blankly ahead, as if she wasn't kneeling there on the brink of shattering to pieces.
“O-Oka…” He didn't respond. She didn't want to do this, but she needed to know he was still in there, “Ken?”
He didn't so much as flinch. He only looked up at her, as if wondering why she raised her voice. He didn't even look lost, let alone flustered.
There was nothing.
She cupped his cheeks, looking him over as her breath quickened. His soul remained steadily burning in that haunting, silvery grey color, nothing giving any indication that he was responding to her actions- to her. He wasn't registering anything she was doing, nothing like how he'd normally blush or squeak or just react to her proximity and antics. He still clung to her sleeve, and he rested his face against her hands, but his expression remained dull, dim…
Void.
She could barely register what she was doing when reaching up to touch her ear piece. “G-guys… I'm not sure what's going on, but Okarun… he's not doing okay.”
“Huh?”
“Momo, what do you mean?”
“I don't… I-I don’t know.” Momo shakily started to stand up, the hollow Okarun responding by following her while still remaining attached to the hem of her sleeve. It was the only single thing that suggested that he knew who she was to him, rather than just being aware of her name. She felt her heart lurch at the thought that he didn't know how special he was to her, how important he was in her life… she grabbed hold of his hand, thankful beyond belief that he at the very least curled his fingers around her own. “He's… he's acting off. I think the yokai did something to him. He's not responding like usual-”
“What?” Jiji cried out in utter bewilderment, but before Momo could try to calm him down, reassure him that his best friend was not injured (that she could tell), he stunned her, “Okarun's fine, over here!”
Momo froze, her grip tightening around her Okarun's hand. “Wh… wh-what…?”
“Yeah! Buddy, are you feeling alright?”
Sure enough, she could hear Okarun's voice on the other side through Jiji’s mic, with a laugh that mocked her nerves, “Yeah! Haha, I feel great!”
Her eyes were stuck wide open, struggling to make sense of what she just heard. ‘That can't… that can't be right. Okarun is right here. The curse is the same. It's his voice…’
This time, Aira cut through, “Why are you wearing your gym clothes, though? What happened to your other-!!”
Momo heard another laugh, and then both Jiji and Aira were yelling their confusion when the imposter Okarun apparently ran off.
Kinta’s voice came on, “We see Takakura over here-?” He made a confused sound, “Lady Shiratori, he is not wearing the designated uniform set for our physical education. That appears to be a set of casual wear and a cardigan jacket.”
“Eye color! Not brown!”
“Wait,” Rin directed her group’s attention, “I just saw Takakura-kun over there!”
Momo gently tugged on her Okarun’s arm as she led him around the stalls, listening in as their friends started playing Spot-the-Okarun, all while hers remained quiet and attentive to only her movements (nearly smacking into the side of one of the makeshift buildings in the process). She noticed hers also had the ear piece Kinta made, further evidence that this hollow one was the Real Okarun, if not… broken, as much as she loathed to think about it.
Something wrong happened. Whatever that monster did… it had to be responsible for whatever the Hell was happening with Okarun-!!
Another shriek tore through the air, but it was the guttural warcry that followed that garnered all of her attention. It hit her with a wave of bitter nostalgia, remembering the last time she heard that roar… when Okarun was convinced she had died within the spacial weapon of that Kur soldier.
“Momo.”
She went rigid when her Okarun stopped in place, his silvery eyes staring blankly in the direction of the cries. He seemed to know what she needed, because without any fanfare, he morphed into his cursed form, the shape familiar to her in a comforting way she would have never assumed could come from it. His sharp, stretched and unnatural features were irrevocably soothing to her frazzled nerves, in spite of the red being swapped for a cold, almost white grey. His silver eyes stayed trained on her as he crouched, waiting for her to mount so he could carry her where she wanted to go.
“Thank you, Okarun.” She climbed up, trying her best not to feel her inner turmoil over his Turbo Mode being almost completely silent, providing only an affirmative huff in response, before he took off. The feel of his arms wrapped respectfully around her to keep her safely locked on was correct, his strength the same… it was still him, even if different.
She pressed her finger to her ear piece, “Guys… I'm going to find one of the other Okaruns. Try to gather the others.”
“So there is more than one!?” Jiji yelled in total shock.
“Yes!! We just found one!!” Rin joined in, before Mai’s voice came through her mic, commenting on how they found him crying in a corner and that he still hadn't stopped bawling his eyes out.
Her Okarun squeezed her thighs a little, “Jumping. Hold on.” He waited for her to tighten her grip, patient as he continued to run.
“Got it. Thank you for the heads-up.” She tried once more to get more than a hum in acknowledgement, partially satisfied when he at least nodded this time. He seemed to pick up on her desire to get him to respond, though he still remained expressionless.
Leaping over the opposite stalls, they both heard crashing and various yells and growls, snarls mixed together in a way that made it impossible to tell which one was making the sounds. Before her Okarun could make it to the fight scene, however, a final death rattle split across their ears, Momo flinching and covering his ears with her hands, while using her ghost ones to cover her own. However, it did nothing to stop them both from hearing a sickening crunch and repeated splattering.
The headless body of the yokai was already starting to disintegrate into ashes, a lone figure looming over its vanishing corpse, while its lumpy mashup of heads stayed locked inside of his maw. He huffed heavy, drawn out breaths, growls echoing in between each one as his spirit flames stayed burning ferociously a brilliant red that rivaled a sunset during a wildfire. He noticed her and the Real Okarun's presence, stepping away from the blood splatters and ashened carnage. His toothy mask, face and hair were all stained red, the glowing streaks shining victoriously as he cooed, “Momo-chan… I missed you.” He unceremoniously dropped the mass from his jaws, further splashing his legs with blood and grey matter. “No more danger. It's dead, yo. It won't hurt you anymore, babe.”
She slid off of the Grey Okarun’s back, the boy uncaring to seeing himself standing across from them in such a horrifying light.
The Other Okarun swiped at his jaws, but it did nothing to rid the blood coating his face. A tongue like apparition flicked out to lick it off, smearing it further with a satisfied chortle. “Momo-chan… did I do a good job?”
She did not expect the pleased rumble tumbling from his throat, nor the strange inquiry. The whiplash of hearing him with a prideful, gloating voice made his words jumbled in her brain. “Wh-what…?”
He chuckled low, his entirely scarlet eyes flashing as he approached the two, also uncaring to the duplicate of himself standing silently next to her. “Did I do a good job, yo? I want you to tell me I did a good job.” He had no care toward his appearance, even if his mask faded away to reveal a smug as Hell smirk on his lips. He was eating her up with his overly burning gaze set upon her, as if she was the only thing that mattered in the world… as if she belonged to him.
It made her fidget, backing away from his encroaching figure. “You're… you're not Okarun. Stay away…”
He paused his walking, tilting his head with an irked look, “I am Okarun.”
She did not like how the flames on his collar and ends of his sleeves started to throw real heat, something she was not used to feeling from her normally cold half-yokai, except for the steam that would slip from his mask when running in an All Out. She shook her head, “N-no… you're not. Okarun isn't… he's not…!!”
She didn't know when she lifted her hands into the defensive position they were in, but without warning, this Red Okarun snatched them up, his hold firm yet alarmingly gentle-!!
He kissed the palms of both, smudging yokai blood on her in the process as he shifted out from his Turbo Mode. Even as a human, his behavior remained the same, fierce and sure as he held her hands to his face. He lifted his hooded eyelids, revealing the piercing red of his irises remained ever vivid as he peered into her very being, “I'm not what, Momo-chan? Confident?” He furrowed his brows, but his touch remained so tender, it made her stomach do somersaults. She recognized bits and pieces of this behavior, of this tone, but…!!
“Momo!” Jiji cut through in her ear, making her squeak. “We found six OkaBros!! They're all super different!!”
“Heh…” The Red Okarun released her hands, practically throwing them down from his bloodied face, though she now saw the red streaks of his Turbo Mode stayed shining in spite of his transformation back into his human self, “If the hollow shell is here, and I'm here… then one's missing. If I had to guess who, then good riddance.”
Momo was torn between responding to Jiji, because what the fuck!? There's six others!? But she openly gawked at the smug-ass bastard wearing Okarun's skin, “What the Hell does that mean!? Good riddance to what!?”
He only shrugged, “Doesn't matter if he's gone, babe. It's bad enough we have to deal with his hollow-ass.” He tilted his head up in the Real Okarun's direction, the silver eyes of the quiet one staying trained on Momo, indifferent to the insults tossed his way.
She did not like it. Not one bit. It burned inside of her, hating how he was insulting himself so easily. She snarled as she grappled over his clothes, recognizing the hoodie as one of her own, with the Punch and Kick graphic designs. He wasn't phased in the slightest, seemingly enjoying her anger as she throttled him, “What the Hell is going on, you smug bastard!? Quit insulting Okarun and explain yourself!!”
His smile grew relaxed, though it made her insides squirm. “Wow, babe…” Him with Okarun’s human voice saying that did things to her brain that she would be ashamed to admit, “You look hot when you get mad; did you know that, yo?”
“WHU- HAH!?”
He made a sound of disappointment when she let go and scrambled backwards away from him, although he grew pissed when the Grey Okarun promptly followed after Momo to stay within arms length of her. “Momo-chan, I know you're not deaf. You're beautiful.”
“… like the Sun.” The Real Okarun murmured in agreement, although his eyes remained solely on her.
Momo felt sick, and warm, and elated… she turned away from both of them, the Grey Okarun that was all too attentive to her despite expressing nothing, and the Red Okarun who was all too vicious and bloodied from the long gone yokai corpse, and yet wanted to sing her praises with a heat she could have never imagined Okarun ever boasting.
Things only got worse when she finally approached the group once she came out onto the main strip, the two Okaruns following behind her obediently as ever, even if one in particular acted like a suave jackass. Sure enough, her friends were surrounded by multiple Okaruns, and even from where she stood, she could see the blatant differences between each of them, regardless of not being able to see their individual eye colors at their distance.
Two of them clung together, one shivering, wearing another one of her hoodies (she recognized it as the green workout hoodie she lent him the morning after she got abducted and he got cursed), while the other sniveled away, wearing another one of her Punch hoodies and baggy pants. The one wearing the blue gym clothes was goofing off with Jiji, laughing as they exchanged jokes (because of course Jiji would be able to joke at a time like this). One in a simple, white dress shirt, similar to his preferred undershirt for school, along with a dark undershirt, had his hair slicked back like his yokai hair, standing with a tilt to his hips as he tapped his foot rather impatiently. Another kept his hands stuck stiffly in his long coat pockets, Momo recognizing the outfit from when they rode the train to Jiji’s, and the similar, pouty demeanor when he lost the game of Old Maid repeatedly.
It was the last one that she looked at that startled her the most, only because his eyes widened in pure, unbridled excitement as he cheered, “Momo-chan!!” He wore a familiar graphic tee over a black long sleeve, along with baggy pants, and the brightest smile she had ever seen on any version of Okarun she's beared witness to. He ran over to her, not giving her a smidge of time to react before he tackled her into a hug, lifting her up off the ground and twirling her in the air. His vibrant pink eyes sparkled before he closed them as he rubbed his cheek against her chest as he held her high up, his overwhelming strength rendering her speechless, “You're here!! I missed you~!!”
“We all missed her, dumbass.” The one in the coat snarked, eyeing his antics with a visibly jealous glint.
One of the two Okaruns, the one trembling more than crying, whimpered quietly, “Wh-why is th-that one covered in… b-blood…?”
The other wailed, “We hate blood…”
The one in gym clothes and curiously super curly hair cackled, making both of the timid Okaruns shriek and cower, “Yeah! Especially when it gets stuck in our hair! It takes foreeeeever washing that shit out.”
“It stains our clothes, too.” Another piped up, running a hand through his almost styled hair.
Momo shook her head, snapping herself out of her hug-filled stupor. It just dawned on her that this Pink Okarun was still holding her close, nuzzling her and giggling merrily as he showered her with affection, threatening to knock off his own glasses with his antics. She squealed over the thumping of her heart, trying her best not to remain worked up by being lifted into the fucking air by an Okarun, “W-wait!! One of them is still missing!!”
“Wh-what!?” Rin squeaked, Mai rolling her beady little eyes at the implication that there was another one out there.
“Woah, wait what!?” Jiji snapped his attention to her, no longer joking as soon as he realized Momo was being serious, “There's another OkaBro!?”
“How do you know this, Ayase?” Aira furrowed her brow, “We searched the entire strip. Are you positive about this?”
Momo struggled, since Pink Okarun held her over her arms, but she managed to pluck up Red Okarun by his shirt collar, earning a disgruntled huff from him, “This one told me! There's a ninth one out there!”
“You're kidding…” Jiji whined openly, making the Gym Clothes Okarun snicker and snort. “We missed one??”
“Heh, more like he's hiding.” Red Okarun crossed his arms indignantly, “That miserable sad-sack is probably wallowing in some cleaning closet somewhere, contemplating sui-”
“Heeey!”
The entire group of teens and Okaruns turned their heads to a familiar, fatherly voice, even the Grey Okarun showed some recognition.
Red huffed, “Never mind… I stand corrected… or hang corrected, I guess.”
The one in gym clothes sputtered.
Their friend, Mr Shrimp, along with his adorable son, Chiquitita, came walking over to them in their human disguises. However, the teens were all shocked by what Mr Shrimp was carrying in his arms. He held a familiar boy, limply dangling his arm and legs over the cow farmer’s arms, the other arm tucked against Mr Shrimp as he listlessly kept his dark eyes staring into nothingness, similar to the Grey Okarun. He wore the familiar gakuran uniform from their school, and his hair… was that old bowl cut that Momo distinctly remembered Okarun having, before getting flame broiled by her grandma’s barrier.
It was like stepping back in time, to before they were friends. It hurt to see him look so depressed again, more pitiful than when she first sat in front of him to prevent more bullying. She wanted to pry herself away from the Pink Okarun, run over and snatch up this sad Okarun from Mr Shrimp, make him smile and tell him he was cherished, because damn it, she knew what the Red Jackass was talking about now with that disgusting remark.
“Oh, so there's other Takakura Kens.”
Momo’s eyes widened, her heart thumped hard, but… there was no over the top squeal or reaction from her. She was too focused on the Okarun, with clearly black colored eyes, silently being held.
Mr Shrimp sighed, “I was having fun with my son, enjoying what you humans call ‘carnival games’ and some of the desserts, when Chiquitita noticed this Takakura Ken look-alike lurking in between some of these buildings. He didn't say much- still hasn't- but he slumped over, so I carried him over to where he pointed. I figured he was pointing towards you folks, and it seems I was right.”
“Heh…” Red Okarun scoffed, still being held up by Momo’s ghost hand (not that he seemed to mind all that much), “So he reached out for help? That's surprising.”
The Black Okarun wordlessly shifted in Mr Shrimp's arms, signalling that he was fine to walk on his own. Sighing as he stood himself up, he murmured once he straightened out his school jacket, “Thank you…”
“Of course, Takakura Ken look-alike.”
“I'm not a look-alike. We all are Takakura Ken.” He hunched over as he shuffled towards the group, the posture horrendous but thankfully familiar.
“Okarun!” Momo wiggled and broke out of Pink’s hold, expecting him to make a sound of distress. He did not, giggling as he accepted Momo’s need to be free, and both he and Grey followed after her (along with Red getting towed along in the air) as she ran over to the Gloomy Okarun.
He looked miserably up at her, accepting her touch as she checked him over. “Hey, Ayase-san…”
She flinched. She didn't know if she was more or less uncomfortable hearing him in almost his yokai voice using her family name than Red with Okarun’s human voice calling her Momo-chan or babe.
He noticed her reaction, leaning forward to rest up against her. He felt heavy, like the weight of the world was crushing him into her. “I'm sorry. I missed you… but… I didn't want to be in the way… I'm just in the way of everyone. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”
She felt her breath catch in her chest, wrapping her arms around him, “Wh-what…? What are you… Okarun, you're okay. You're… you'll be okay. You're not in the way of anyone.”
“Like Hell he isn't.” Red snarked, tilting his head up, “It's his fault we're stuck in this situation in the first place!!”
The one with his hair styled like his yokai form huffed haughtily, “He makes the rest of us choke. We can never get anything done with him snuffing us out!”
“Yeah, can't have any fun with him around!”
Momo was about to snap at the flashy one and the other clearly in the gym clothes, holding the depressed Okarun closer (he at least made a squeak of surprise, unlike Grey Okarun), when she squawked at the mischievous Okarun, “What the Hell are you doing up there!?”
The others in their group all blanked when they realized they had completely missed this playful Okarun climbing up onto one of the booths, merrily kicking his legs over the edge. “Oh, I just wanted to be tall! It's more fun being up here!”
“What the-!?” Aira shouted up at him, “Get down from there, you imposter Takakura!!”
Rin squealed, “That is completely unacceptable behavior, Takakura-kun!!”
“Woah, yeah! It's dangerous being up there!” Jiji gawked up at him, “How did you even get up there so fast?! Dude, that's awesome!!”
“JIJI!”
“ENJOJI!!”
“Idiot…”
The mischief maker cackled from his precarious spot, “Isn’t it!? I never give myself the chance to play around with my new abilities!! I'm super fit, and yet I never show off!”
The Okarun with his hair styled puffed his chest a bit, “Yeah, the moron’s got a point. We hardly show off ever. It takes a lot to let us flaunt our incredible abilities even when we're transformed with little filter, like what Momo says.”
“Th-that’s because we could get hurt… o-or worse, let one of our friends get hurt… o-or be d… d-disappointed in us…” The Okarun with light eyes and a stammer whimpered, before the tearful one warbled, “We already are a disappointment… w-we’d… we’d just make it worse by showing off…”
“Aw, guys!” The cheerful, Pink Okarun grinned ear to ear, “But what if we made everyone smile when playing around?”
The Mischievous Okarun pointed finger guns at Pink, “This guy gets it~!”
The grumpy one with the long coat grumbled, “I got it too… it's not that hard to think that.”
Red groaned as he stayed put in Momo’s ghostly hold, “I really hate this… they're all so goddamn annoying. It's too much.”
Well, Momo could at least agree with the jerk on one thing. “… o-okay, we need to get some help.”
“Huh… how ‘bout that.”
Seiko let out a low whistle as she watched the group of teens approach her home at the shrine with new additions- or rather, duplicated additions. There was her granddaughter, her adopted granddaughter, the ditsy pink-haired girl, Jiji the genius, the four-eyed strange guy who spoke weirdly and was obsessed with robots, the polite, meek class rep and her annoying ghost companion, the kappa and his son, and Wonder Nerd… and Wonder Nerd, and Wonder Nerd, and…
Okay.
Multiple Wonder Nerds.
All with different colored eyes, different hairstyles, different clothes and different personalities-
No, parts of a singular personality.
“Well… seems that Four Eyes’ pension for getting himself cursed seems to have struck yet again, huh?”
Momo snarled at her, prying herself away from Pink (she resorted to just calling them by the colors of each of their eyes) when he latched onto her again to give her a hug for the umpteenth time that night, all while allowing Grey to hang onto her kimono sleeve, “Yeah!! All because you sent us out to that damn festival in the first place!! That yokai did something to him, and now there's multiple Okaruns!!”
“Describe it to me. I think I know what's happening.”
Momo froze (allowing Pink to latch on again, humming happily as ever), “What!? You knew what was out there!?”
Seiko took a drag of her cigarette, “No, kid. I didn't know beforehand, I just recognize a Noh’s curse when I see it.”
“Noh…?”
Jiji tilted his head, “A Noh? I thought those masks were Noh!”
Momo nodded, “Yeah, that thing looked nothing like those masks! It didn't have any faces, just a bunch of squishy heads stuck together…”
“Ewww…” Aira grumbled, rubbing her arms, “That sounds awful…”
Green, the Okarun with the clothes from the train ride, grumbled bitterly, “Yeah. Must be nice not having seen it… you're lucky you didn't have to.”
Seiko nodded knowingly, “Yep… and seeing you now, you got lucky, Wonder Nerd. Bet that monster didn't expect for you to be able to fight back.”
Red guffawed, “That bastard stood no chance!! I ripped it to shreds for trying to hurt Momo-chan!!”
While the other teens gawked at his boisterous claims, unnerved by how proud he sounded over something so aggressive, Seiko merely shrugged, “Cool, so putting you back together won't be all that difficult… also, Momo: why are you holding him up?”
Momo didn't spare him a glance as she simply answered, “I don't trust him.”
He took offense to that instantly, now fighting against her hold, “WHAT!? Why not!? Orange over there is literally the troublemaker of the group!!”
She still refused to look at his disturbingly bloodied self, “Yeah, well Orange doesn't give off a murdery ‘ttude.”
Orange threw up a peace sign, “Yep! I don't want to hurt anyone, and if I do, it's completely unintentional!”
“You’re on thin ice…” Momo warned, already forming a second hand to snatch him.
“Shutting up!” He made the obnoxious gesture of zipping his lips shut, locking them and tossing the key.
Seiko merely shrugged at all their antics. “Well, either way, if we have all the pieces, then all we have to do is figure out how to fit them all back together. It's a simple fix, especially since the Noh didn't eat any of them.” She ignored their various outcries of confusion, stepping off the porch to get a better look at each of them. “The Noh is a yokai that targets those who repress their emotions; ya know, bottle them up to let them fester? It's the same concept of fermentation, like wine or mead. They'll eat just about any emotion or dream, but they go nuts for the fermented shit. Not surprised it targeted the Wonder Nerd, ‘ere. The rest of ya wear practically everything on your sleeves.”
Red’s eyebrow twitched, “So, you're saying… it was after me!?” He growled in even more frustration, “I bit into it for nothing!? No, wait- but it hurt Momo-chan!! It ate her Ki!! It hurt her hands!!” His collar caught on fire again, his hair wavering with his heightened aggravation. Momo could feel the heat even through her astral projection of her limbs.
His anger annoyed (and started to burn) Momo, but again, he had a point. “Yeah! Grandma, it bit into my ghost hands and I couldn't feel my real ones for a while! It was weird!”
“Huh. I can see it. It is another extension of your person, just like your personality.” Seiko tucked her hands into her compression wrap, “It's basically the same idea. You're lucky it didn't make contact with you and ripped it out from the source. That could've been real nasty… if the dumb thing figured out how to do it. Noh are pretty dumb, so I doubt it could've really hurt you, let alone target you.” She didn't smile, but they all heard the humor in her voice when she sassed, “You don't know how to hide things for shit.”
Orange hooted with laughter, “Ooooo, Seiko-chan gotcha there!”
“SH-SHUT IT, JERK!!” Momo snapped at the jokester of the Okaruns, before hissing, “Grandma… I don't need that kind of bullshit right now! Can't you see how bad this is!?”
“Nope; because it's really not.” Seiko plucked her cigarette from her mouth, blowing smoke off to the side, “Normally, this curse sends the victim into spiralling madness of emotional overload... but Wonder Nerd here is already so screwed up to clinical levels, the curse ended up being therapeutic and allowed him to continue functioning. Go figure.”
Blue started crying more, “Why does she have to be so blunt about it? I don't like our issues getting tossed out like this for everyone to see…”
Black sighed, resting up against Momo and Grey again, “But she's right… we are pretty fucked up.”
Another, familiar voice joined the fray. “What the Hell's all this?” Turbo Granny exited the house, squinting her eyes at the group, specifically at the Okaruns.
“Kid got cursed by a Noh.” Seiko plainly answered.
“Thought so. Overheard a bit of what y'all were yapping about. Going insane? Peh… please, the kid’s already used to being cursed, and my power kept him safe from that wannabe. You're welcome.”
Red snarked, “I kept us safe-”
Pink grinned as he cut off Red, “Thanks, Turbo Granny!”
The old hag shuddered, scrunching her porcelain nose, “Eugh… that's weird as fuck.” She clearly did not like receiving positive input from the Pink Okarun.
Seiko stretched her arms up, “Yep… so that's that. His aura is stabilizing on its own. It's a good sign; usually, people cursed by a Noh have no chance of being pieced back together and made whole, let alone the fact that some parts get eaten. Most of the time, the individual just goes insane when their emotions get pulled out like this.”
Momo, Aira, Rin, Kinta, and even some of the other colors exchanged glances at Orange…
“Wha- heeey!” He stuck his tongue out, before puffing his cheeks indignantly, “‘m not crazy. You guys are so mean…”
Jiji supportively patted his back, “Yeah, buddy! You're not crazy! I think you're fine, if not just a bit energetic!”
“Thank you, Jiji!” Orange placed a hand over his heart, “I knew I could count on you, bro! I'm appalled that everyone else pinned that on me; and when the actual crazy one is being held up in the air, no less!”
“BASTARD.” Red snarled, “I'm not crazy!! I'm the only one keeping us alive half the time!!”
Purple shrugged, “Doesn't exclusively mean you're not crazy. You kinda have to be; have you not seen yourself? You're covered with viscera. It's disgusting.”
“Yeah, but he did do it to keep Momo safe and sound!” Pink offered… only to continue, “It's a good crazy! We are, after all, crazy in l-”
Blue, Purple, and even Yellow all pounced on Pink, tackling him to the ground in the process.
Momo cried out, “What the Hell are you guys doing?!”
Jiji and Orange busted out laughing together as they watched the unexpected attack on the Happy Okarun, Green grimacing at their loudness, while Aira and Rin… remained oddly quiet.
The dogpile of emotions ignored everyone else, locked in on their mission to stop whatever it was that Pink nearly said aloud.
“Don't say it!!”
“Not like this, dumbass!!”
“N-not when everyone's watching! Are you insane!?”
“But! I need to tell her how we feel-!!” He yelped again when one of the Okaruns poked his side, shutting him up.
‘Huh… so he's ticklish…’ Momo stared blankly at the chaotic mound of scuffling Okaruns-
Black murmured, “It's a terrible time to say it. Momo’ll hate us for sure… it'd be such an embarrassing thing for her if we announced it like that.”
“What-?” Momo looked at Black, who merely slumped more onto Grey’s unfazed self.
Pink pushed back, rolling his eyes with a lazy smile, “No she wouldn't. You guys are making too much of a fuss over the simple truth that we lo-!” He was muffled yet again when Purple took it upon himself to slap his hand over Pink’s mouth this time.
Green muttered to himself off to the side as he watched, “Oh, to be as stupid as you. Must be nice, not feeling any restraint. Happy-go-lucky moron…” He glumly glared off to the side, grumbling quietly to himself.
“I swear, I'm gonna kill him…” Red’s rage petered out, though his yokai markings remained steadfast on his face and his eyes stayed as sharp as ever.
Momo grimaced as she looked up at the Red Okarun, “And you wonder why I won't set you down.”
His breath hitched, his markings fading partially in patches. She didn't even know he could look hurt, so it rattled her when those crimson, doe eyes of his widened, his brows softening just enough to get the point across. “… Momo… I don't want to upset you. Set me down- please.” He quickly added, having to remind himself to be polite. “I won't… I won't do anything.”
Well, at least he could be calm, if he tried hard enough. She squinted at him, but his determination to prove to her that he wasn't just an unhinged emotion won her over. “Fine… but only because my arm’s gettin’ tired-”
“Daaaw~! See? She loves us~” Pink crooned, before getting knocked on the head by Purple. “Bwuh!! Ow!!”
Black bemoaned, “As a friend, maybe…”
Red’s markings came back, but this time with blush accompanying them. He visibly shook, before crossing his arms and biting his lip to hold himself back. She could definitely tell that he was struggling to control himself for her sake, all the while tearing at the seams because of Pink’s embarrassing as Hell commentary.
She wanted to diffuse his rage before it could explode. “D-don't get mad at him. He's just happy that I'm being nice to part of you, a-and…” She felt her own cheeks start to heat up. No one else was aware of the note she left him when he was recovering from the Kur attack that left him… so hurt… but she knew she needed to remind the angry piece of Okarun to dispel his irritation with himself, “That note. You didn't forget it, did you?”
All of the Okaruns reacted, even Grey, who’s blank eyes showed a bit of curiosity as his grip on her sleeve tightened.
He tilted his head, “Momo…?”
Black sighed, as bewildered as he could possibly be, Green, Blue and Yellow all stared silently with various levels of disbelief splashed on their faces, while Purple made preening coos as if he already knew, and Orange kept letting out sputters and giggles, hopping between both feet a little as he struggled to contain his excitement.
Seiko lifted an eyebrow, “Uh, the pink one’s… turning pink.”
Indeed, right as her grandmother pointed it out, Momo watched as Pink slipped into his yokai form. There was something to be said about how soft his colors made the Turbo Mode look, swirling together like a strawberry soft serve milkshake, his face markings colored a sweet pastel as his mask refused to form. All of the streaks of that bubblegum color began to glow vibrantly, his eyes sparkling as they grew wide, his pink claws digging a little at the ground as he keened, “Momo-chan loves us!!”
Green’s previously constant scowl faded away in exchange for an actual worried look, “U-uh, guys…”
Black stood up straight(er), his eyes locked onto the bubbling idiot as he faded into his Turbo Mode as well.
Orange stopped laughing, but his smile remained strong as he nudged Jiji, “Hit the deck…”
Jiji, who had been quietly asking aloud what Momo meant by the note, eyed Orange nervously, before the two dropped low at Okarun's urging, Green crouching low too. Vamola repeated, “Hit the deck!” and mimicked them, Kinta following suit and just in time…
Because Pink surged up with a pulse of energy, making Blue, Yellow and Purple all tumble off of him. “Momo-chan loves us!!”
Momo gasped, feeling herself be targeted by his overwhelming aura of excitement. She didn't know how to respond when, in that split moment, Pink began to run for her yet again. His joy poured out all around them in a splash of cotton candy pink, rather than Turbo Granny's red aura tied to her powers, leaving a sense of sweet fuzziness rather than dread.
He was going to tackle her. She needed to stop him from tackling her. Was he going to tackle her? He was charging straight for her-!!
A flash of silver, a black shadow, a spark of red…
Grey stood solidly in front of her, the pink spilling out over the world vanishing as he blocked the lovestruck, happy-go-lucky moron with his body, Pink glomping onto Grey on accident, his face smooshed into Grey’s cheek and shoving his glasses askew.
Green and Purple both wrinkled their noses in disgust, while Blue covered his mouth and Yellow squeaked, covering his entire face with his hands.
Aira made a strange noise as both Rin and Mai stared silently, gears visibly churning behind Rin’s eyes.
“Pfft… BWAHAHAHAHA!! OH MY GOD, HE JUST-” Orange guffawed, rolling around and curling in on himself as he quaked with laughter.
Jiji struggled not to start laughing as well, but he knew better than to laugh at an accident… no matter how funny it was.
“Takakura kiss?” Vamola tilted her head, while Kinta bowed his head, lamenting the embarrassment for his first class private’s sake.
Pink pouted after pulling away, “Greeeey… why did you block me? I wanna hug Momo-chan, not myself!”
“No, you dumbass.” Momo felt Red’s hot hand on her shoulder, growling under his breath as his red claws grew sharper in his yokai form, “You scared Momo-chan…”
Black loomed from her other side, his cold presence shockingly soothing as he calmly chastised, “You need to ask Ayase-san first. You don't just go kissing a lady like that.”
Pink let out another low keen, his gaze locked on Momo yet again, although he remained slumped around Grey this time, “Momo-chaaaan… may I kiss you?”
She felt her cheeks start to burn, but… she wasn't exactly mad at the dork. If each of the Okaruns were one single emotion, that had to mean Pink had every single ounce of happiness Okarun ever had. He was elated to have confirmation that she did, in fact, love him-!!
And he loved her!!
Every single part of him. She covered her mouth, trying to remind herself to breathe like a functional human being. With absolutely no filter, Okarun (part of him) just announced he loved her and wanted to kiss her!! AND PART OF HIM CALLED HER A LADY!! The same punk that once called her a bitch (when she admittedly deserved it) just called her a lady. A-and earlier, when Red called her hot, and Grey…
Okarun thought she was like the Sun.
She could only manage to squeak out, “U-um… m… maybe… later…” Because yeah, she wanted so badly to kiss him, to hug him, to cherish him like he cherished her… but all of him, not just the single piece.
Red flared, misunderstanding her hesitation most likely. “You're overwhelming her again.”
“You're making Momo-chan uncomfortable,” Black added, chastising the over-eager emotion, “Think about it, Pink: you rushed it. She's not going to want to talk to us ever again if you keep trying to force it.”
“N-no, that's not-” Momo turned to Black, although she was hesitant to break eye contact with the lovestruck fool- damn, was she really that on edge? He just wanted to… but it… she gripped at her bangs, mindlessly twirling them between her fingers-
“C… cute…” Red rumbled, letting go of her shoulder as he backed away, shaking a little all over once again. “Ugh… I got more blood on your pretty kimono. Fuck…”
“Language, mister.” Seiko butted in, having carefully watched the scene. Even though Pink nearly made an utter fool of himself, the Elder Ayase showed no signs of further action, and no trusty Nessie in sight.
So why did Momo feel so frazzled?? If her grandmother was still relaxed, why did she herself feel so… uuugh!?
Momo drummed her free hand’s fingers against her thigh, still tugging her bangs from habit, “It's… it's okay, Red. I already messed it up from skidding against the grass.”
His crimson eyes became a softer, deeper tone of cherry when the glowing faded, shifting back into his human form with a scoff, the closest thing she'd get to acceptance, she suspected. Whatever, at least he was listening to her.
Grey shrugged off Pink, who finally resigned himself to just being happy she loved him (she loved him, and he loved her!!) , and turned to Momo. He said nothing as he returned to his human self and loosely gripped her sleeve again, unfazed by the impromptu confessions. He just wanted to be near her… the hollow one, the one with no emotions… still wanted…
God, he was amazing. Even with nothing, he wanted to be with her. It took everything in her to not grapple onto him and tell him that yes, he was allowed to want to be around her, he was wanted…
It… it felt like cheating, having all of his emotions completely on display for everyone to see. Was he… had he even been ready to tell her these things? Why didn't he…? Why did she take so long to realize how he felt? She was supposed to be his best friend…
He didn't seem to mind, all of his emotions fixated on her like she was the only thing that mattered.
Jiji chuckled as he watched the more volatile Okarun seem to calm down around Momo and finally call her cute out loud around her, even if it hadn't been outside of this awkward situation. “Get it, bro… I'm happy for you.”
“Heh, thanks!” Orange grinned, standing up from the ground, “Eh, it was bound to happen sooner or later! It was getting impossible to not almost slip up and spill the beans every single time we talked together! I really do love her! We’d do anything for Momo-chan!”
Yellow and Blue both nodded, Purple scoffing, “As if it needed to be said! We need to be a man worthy of Momo-chan~!”
Jiji clapped Orange’s shoulder after standing up, “Good stuff. Momo deserves the best! I believe in you-?”
Jiji, Vamola, Kinta and a few of the Okaruns all looked at both Aira and Rin, both of which were… oddly still quiet. Almost disturbingly so.
“Uh, Aira-chan? Class rep?”
“Giggling? Why giggling?”
“There's negative energy…”
Orange snickered after a second of consideration, something visibly clicking in his head, “Ooooh… I think I know what's going on~”
His teasing tone snapped Aira out of her stupor, her cheeks mysteriously growing brilliantly flushed. “Wh-whaaa!? Wh- I wasn't… kn-knock it off!!”
Orange didn't let up, pointing in her direction, “Ooo~! I was riiight~! You're as bad as Sawaki-san, aren't you?”
Aira let out a soprano screech, leaping over to grab Orange by his jacket collar, “Sh-shut up!! No I'm not!!”
He continued giggling, “Like Hell you aren't! I know what kind of magazines you've read! You're into-!!”
She smacked her hand over his mouth, but it did little to muffle his unending giggles.
Jiji’s eyes blew wide open, “What? What kind of magazines??”
“IT’S NOTHING!!” Aira screamed, shaking Orange more, only to earn more laughter and snickers. “Why did you say anything!? You're such an annoying jerk!! There's no way you're part of Takakura-kun!! You… you… you demon!! You must be the part that Ayase planted when she cursed you!!”
He sighed wistfully, “Yeeeaaah… I'm cursed alright… I'm so in love with her, I think about her more than I think about ghosts or aliens…”
Purple slapped his hand over his face and glasses, “I cannot believe you just admitted that…”
Orange held up his hands in mock surrender, “What can I say? Just because I'm the comedic one, doesn't mean I can't be honest from time to time~!”
No one wanted to snap Rin out of it… and risk touching whatever the Hell was cooking up in that mindspace of hers…
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