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The last thing Jiji expected while visiting his childhood friend was to nearly get ran into a living autonomy mannequin. He also didn't expect Momo to grab onto it with giant, teal ghost hands, and obviously he couldn't let her go alone, so he was holding onto her for dear life.
And now he was being chased by another demon! This just wasn't his day.
Momo called out, although Jiji didn't catch what she'd said. And then the next thing he knew, they were nearly about to be ran over by a bus. He held onto Momo tighter, desperately wishing that he was in front of her to shelter her from the blow.
Suddenly, he was riding on the back of said demon that was chasing them. Great! Just great!
The thing that was carrying him was hunched over, running at a breakneck speed that made his eyes burn with tears. It bore a thick, black mask with set firm teeth as it circled to the back of it's head. White ghostly hair whipped into his face as red streaks danced with ease. The outfit was unremarkable, aside from a deep red spike that trailed down into its lower back in a flame like fashion. As the creature made a large leap to another roof, Jiji could see black skin from the open collar of its white shirt.
"Let Momo go, you monster!" Even if it was a bit foolish, it was the little courage Jiji could find, and so he whacked the back of its head.
The creature didn't really react, other than its eyes glancing back at him in disinterest for a few seconds. Those eyes were a deep, ruby red that Jiji could almost lose himself in. Almost. But then the moment shattered when Momo smacked her arm into his face.
"Stop it, it's Okarun! The guy with the glasses!" She yelled, turning back at him to glare with one of her iconic Momo-glares that always made Jiji's stomach do flips. "He's on our side, dummy!"
The monster— the guy— Okarun— craned his neck back at Jiji again to give him a simple nod before looking ahead again.
"Oh. Sick!" Jiji did his best to sound enthusiastic, but his throat raised and made him squeak just a little. Wasn't that the nerd from earlier? Who was working out and stuff? Suddenly, he thought about inviting the guy out to play soccer with him sometime. Especially with his speed, he'd probably be really good at!
After the anatomical demon thing exploded, Okarun finally came to a stop in the side streets, kneeling down to let the both of them off his back. Jiji couldn't help but wonder if they were the same height, when he was all… demon-y like this. It was tough to say, especially with how he was hunched in on himself. For a moment, his glasses hid his eyes, the sun catching onto them and making them shine brightly.
In retrospect, maybe Jiji could've been more helpful, what with how Momo squeezed the monster's heart, leaving it gasping for breath. He was just. Completely and utterly lost the way the monster— Taro, apparently, — proposed his love for Hana, another anatomy being like him, burying her out of the dirt and rubble. It was a beautiful confession, and it nearly brought tears to his eyes. And when Momo said she wanted to help the two lovers out, well, how could he say no?
"I'll bring Hana to my grandma's place. Okarun, can you and Jiji get back to school and cover for me till granny can call?" Momo held the doll in place, looking at the both of them.
The shorter boy nodded, and suddenly his body twisted and grew. His hair turned white as a teeth-filled mask encircled his face. He gave Momo a thumbs up, and then knelt down.
"Er…?" What exactly did he want? Weren't they heading back to the school. Jiji was a bit lost.
Okarun shot him a disappointed and unimpressed look. "Get on my back, Jiji."
"Well, as long as you promise not to bite!" He joked awkwardly.
Okarun stared. "I bite off the fingers of a Flatwoods Monster."
"I'm sorry, a what?" That sentence didn't really seem to phase him.
"Get on and I'll tell you about it." He demanded.
Well. It seemed they had a deal. Jiji quickly climbed on, a bit awkwardly, he wasn't usually the guy who was getting piggyback rides, after all. He threw his arms around Okarun's shoulders as he rose, desperately trying to erase the fact from his mind that his back was defined like this, just a bit of hardness to tell that apparently, this nerd had been working out for a while.
He glanced back at Jiji and said, "Hold on tight." Before running off like a bullet train.
Even with it because his second time riding the Okarun Express, it was quite jarring for Jiji. The first time around, he had a bit of a barrier between himself and Okarun, so he didn't need to be pressed up against him like this. Now though? Well, even if the guy got a few more inches on him when he changed, the guy was still just short enough for him to fully wrap his arm around him. He was a little bit bulky, Jiji had to admit! The guy must've been dedicated to his routine.
"S-so, a Flatwoods Monster? What's that?" He decided to ask, at least so he could distract himself from Okarun's firm hand holding onto his legs. Okay, Jiji wasn't usually the type of guy to recieve piggy-back rides, it was a bit… new to him! Not in a bad way! But in the way he hoped that Okarun didn't look back at him again, less then he saw his face turning red.
"Hm? Oh, it's a cryptic, they're usually about three feet tall, and they're most easily identifiable by their cowls. That usually looks like an ace of spades card, and they wear black metallic armor that kinda looks like pipes." Okarun explained with ease, moving to jump onto the roof of a building. Whoa, his voice was deep like this. Nothing like the quiet, squeaky tone he had when he first met him. Was it bad that he wanted to hear him talk more? "Did ya know they spit out black gas? It made me cough up blood."
Jiji winced in sympathy to that revelation, realizing that with how trained his movements were, this wasn't the first time he dealt with monsters like before. "How the heck did it do that, bro?!"
He shrugged. "Dunno, but it was sick as hell."
"And… how'd you get all, uh, ghosty like this?"
"Got cursed by Turbo Granny. Now I got her powers."
"…How do we undo the curse?"
"Leave that to me and Momo."
Jiji held onto him just a little bit tighter. Was he… embarrassed? He shouldn't be, he wouldn't judge him! He couldn't imagine getting cursed by a yokai, the poor guy. At least he still looked half decent, despite it all.
He'd help him out, no matter what. After all, it was what friends did! Did friends find each other hot? Jiji didn't think so.
"C'mon man, I can help!" Jiji whined, resting his head on Okarun's shoulder. "You don't gotta do this alone!"
"…Maybe." He relented, just a little.
Jiji grinned, before letting out a triumphant whoop. Oh yeah, he'd be uncursed before he knew it! It was only a matter of time.