Archive of Our Own ^beta

Momo was officially fed up with dealing with supernatural shit.

This was all because they heard a rumor about one of The Golden Balls, something about how a golden orb had appeared out of the blue one day, and how it was tossed into a koi fish pond. The last thing either of them expected was to bump into a Kitsune of all things.

It had three tails, meaning that it was young, maybe even around her or Okarun's age. Worse, it was fucking muzzled by the Serpoians who accompanied it. It's golden fur was dulled, its ears flattened, and all Momo knew was that she needed to help it.

She broke the muzzle off of the Kitsune, after finding a rock sturdy enough to snap the locking mechanism. She whispered comfort to the young yokai, and even gave it a gentle stroke behind the ears.

But no, the stupid thing tugged off her choker with its fangs and ran off. See if she tries to help a stupid yokai again.

Okarun ran to her side, offering a hand to help her up. "Miss Ayase! Are you okay?"

Just peachy, she tried to say, but Momo frowned when the words wouldn't form. She winced and rubbed her throat in confusion. She opened her mouth again, and still nothing.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Hold on, let me make sure you're okay!" He kelt down, and took her in, his eyes scanning for any visible scarring.

Momo pushed him back and stood up. It was disorienting, being unable to say the words, I'm fine, and yet it was the most frustrating thing in the world. She sighed through her nose and made an x with her arms, hoping the message would be clear.

"Maybe we should take you to see your grandmother, if this is a curse or… something." Okarun argued, setting a hand on her shoulder. If he didn't look so worried, what with those big, dumb beautiful brown eyes she would've pushed back a little bit more.

Then again, he wasn't wrong. Her granny would know stuff about a Kitsune, at least more than she did. She shrugged off his shoulder and nodded sharply.

"Whelp, she's cursed alright." Seiko rose from her mat. "Four-Eyes, you said a Kitsune did this?"

"I think so? It- took her choker. But I didn't see any flashing colors, er—" Okarun stopped, nervously fidgeting with his glasses.

She grabbed a cigarette and lit it. "Those are tricky little bastards, let me tell ya. They ain't as flashy like other curse wielders—" Seiko gestured to Turbo Granny, who stuck her tongue out at her. "—They're a hella lot more subtle. And if one plays a prank on ya? Well, they wanna be as discrete as possible. Momo, how many tails did it have?"

Momo held up three fingers, grateful the question was easy to answer. So far, she'd been subjected to using a worn out old notebook for the time being.

"Shit." Seiko took a drag. "A young Kitsune? Those are always the worst. They're younger pups, always getting in over their heads, and then pulling cheap tricks when things don't go their way. If it was annoyed in any capacity, anything really would've made it wanna mess with ya."

Momo frowned and grabbed her pencil. So how do we undo the curse?

"My guess? We gotta find that necklace of yours." She frowned. "We'll probably find the Kitsune, too, but they're almost impossible to reason with when they're young. They'd rather think about all the fun they're having, rather than anything serious."

"After everything you and Miss Ayase have done for me, please allow me to assist you!" Okarun stood up and bowed towards Seiko. "I understand what its like, losing such an important part of yourself. Its only right that I join in the search!"

"Quit groveling, Four-Eyes, I was gonna ask ya for your help anyways." Seiko waved him off. "You were there when the whole shebang happened, so you might know where the Kitsune hid it. If not, well, you'll certainly be able to keep up with it."

"I would do anything for her." He whispered, raising his head to look her in the eye.

Suddenly, Momo was a bit grateful that her voice was gone, otherwise she probably would've had to hold back some squealing from just how good Okarun was. She blushed and turned her head away, wondering how the hell she'd gotten so lucky? And when the hell was he so smooth all of a sudden?

She punched his shoulder, her face a bright red as she decided that the Baketona her granny left on was much more interesting to look at. Even if the slap-stick humor was kinda stupid.

"We'll start the search in the morning." Seiko stated, standing up. "Momo, go get the spare futon set up for Four-Eyes. I'm assuming you're staying the night?"

"W-well, if its alright with you…" Okarun glanced at her, a hopeful glimmer in his eyes. Was he aware that he didn't need to ask, at this rate?

Momo nodded firmly at him, and she used his shoulder for support as she got up, much to his displeasure. Hey, she was missing her voice, it was the least he could do!

"Looks like you're sticking around. Door stays open when you're up there, ya hear me?" Seiko crossed her arms at her, but Momo was already on the move, heading up the stairs.

The best she could do was stick her tongue out at her grandmother in protest. Half the time she had to drag Okarun into her room, why was she acting like that? She stopped in the middle of the stairs to keep an eye on Okarun, who was slowly following her. With a roll of her eyes, she dragged his arm and pulled him behind her.

The spare futon hardly ever left her closet these days, with how often Okarun ended up staying the night. Momo didn't really know the details about his personal life, and every time she tried to pry, he would give nonchalant answers like, "Oh, they're just busy" or "They're really laid back!" that told her nothing. Sometimes she found it ridiculous, how Okarun would worry that he was being a bother, when it was obvious that here was more home to him than wherever the hell he lived. Still, maybe one day she'd get to see it.

Momo dropped the mattress next to her bed, the thump filling the empty room. Then, she climbed onto her bed and tossed a blue duvet onto it, along with a few spare pillows.

"Thank you, Miss Ayase." He took a seat on it and looked up at her. "Are you… doing okay? Without your voice?"

She sighed and gave him a thumbs down. It sucked, a lot. Momo wasn't typically a silent girl, she liked to be loud, brash and heard, damn it! She had too many thoughts to keep to herself, and half the time, she'd share and explore them all with Okarun, who always was a happy listener to her rambles, even if they were a bit incomprehensible at times.

"I'm sorry." Great, he was apologizing when he shouldn't be. "Its my fault this happened, since we're looking for my family jewels and all…"

And Momo wasn't gonna let that sit. She dropped down onto his futon and whacked the back of his head, sticking her nose up.

"Ow! Miss Ayase!" He whined, leaning back to rub the sore spot.

She made a signal with her hand to stop, and then crossed her arms at him.

Okarun exhaled through his nose. "We really should get you a notepad."

With a frown, she threw an arm tightly around his neck, pulling him down to noogie him with her free hand. She relished in the softness of his hair, which, that just wasn't fair. What also wasn't fair was his soft noises of protest, now he tried to wiggle and squirm away from her. Momo smiled wide, and she missed the ability to laugh oh so terribly.

"Gah! Okay, okay, I get it!" She let Okarun go after that, watching as the boy fell back onto his futon with a soft "oof".

This would be easier if she had a phone. Maybe when all of this was over, she could finally convince granny to replace her old one?

Momo flopped down beside him and exhaled, staring at her ceiling. She traced a hand over her neck, where her choker typically stayed secured. Her neck felt so… naked without it. There was never a day she went without it. With a shudder, she shifted closer to Okarun, turning onto her side to press her face into his arm.

"We'll get your voice back." He whispered, his voice steady and determined. "I promise."

Momo took in his words of comfort, and desperately tried to believe them.

"After it!" Seiko yelled, chasing after the tiny blur as it tramped through the house.

Somehow, the Kitsune had slipped through the barrier, Seiko mentioned something about how it must've used Okarun's exception as a way sneak inside, but it was all beyond Momo. Either way, it seemed especially focused on wrecking her room, appearing and disappearing into corners of her room. What the hell was so interesting about her room of all places, anyways?

Seiko huffed as Okarun fell flat on his face, falling just short as the Kitsune ran out of arms reach from him. "Gah! Where'd it go?"

"Probably in the In-Between. Kitsune love to settle in spaces they don't belong in." Seiko sighed and stood up. "Make sure it stays in here. I'm gonna rummage around for stuff to trap it in."

Momo tried to stop her grandma from leaving, because what the hell even was the "In-Between" she was talking about, but it seemed that she wasn't even worried about it, strolling past her without looking back. She crossed her arms and glared at the old lady. Was it a bad thing that she missed cursing? She had a few choice words to exchange with the old hag.

Turning back to Okarun, she yawned silently, stretching her arms up as he rose back to his feet. It was too early in the morning to go hunting for a yokai. Let alone this damn one.

"Me too." He agreed, rubbing an eye with one hand. "Have you seen where my glasses fell, by any chance?"

Momo paled. No. No no no. The last thing they needed was this stupid fox stealing Okarun's glasses. She raced inside her room and towards her bed stand, where she was certain he'd set them down last. Fuck, was he even wearing them when the Kitsune came in? Momo gritted her teeth together, frustrated with her useless memory.

"Don't worry, Miss Ayase, we'll find them." Okarun waved an arm out to her, but… he was far away to even make contact with her. Shit.

Just as she was about to run out to her grandma to try and explain that the yokai was only making things worse, there was a crash. A…very loud crash. One that came from the inside of her closet.

Got you now, little fucker! She thought to herself, throwing the doors open with triumph. However, she was only met with her journal, knocked carelessly to the ground alongside an old crate of art supplies, but mostly gel pens. Set on top of the destruction was Okarun's glasses, perfectly in tact.

The only issue was that Momo knew what was in that pink journal. She'd bought it after taking down Turbo Granny with Okarun, in a feeble attempt to try and decipher her feelings for him. Half the time, it ended in her rambling about the boy, small things like how she liked his new hair, how he never touched her without explicit permission, or gods forbid she compared him to her tuna-faced ex.

If she could groan, she would have. Fine. I get the message, ya three-tailed rat! Momo grimaced as she held the book close to her chest. It was official: this yokai sucked the most out of every other one they fought.

Momo flipped to one of the pages of her journal, exhaling through her nose deeply for the scrutinizing embarrassment she was about to put herself through. Well, maybe if it wasn't too embarrassing, it wouldn't do any harm, right?

And she wasn't stalling! She wasn't! She was just… taking her time to approach him, that was all! It didn't help that he was searching… on her bed, of all places. Yeesh, he really was blind without his glasses.

Momo tapped his shoulder, treasuring the way he jolted in place, his shoulders hiking up in surprise. "M-Miss Ayase? Is everything alright?"

Well. It was now or never. She held out her journal and glasses to him, letting Okarun clumsily clutch his hands around her own, which. Unfair. Was it so much to ask that they could hold hands without any of this supernatural shit going down?

"Oh, thank you!" He smiled, sliding them on with practiced ease, like he'd done this a million times before. Then, it seemed to click in his mind that he was holding something rather… important. "Wait, is this your journal? You must've given it to me by mistake. Here, take it!"

But Momo held her hand, refusing to take it back. She tapped the open page and crossed her arms stubbornly.

"I-If you're sure…" Okarun swallowed, before beginning to read.

Okarun stopped reading, looking up from the pages. "I… Miss Ayase? You… like me? Like that, I mean?"

Momo managed to nod once before looking down at the floor. She was blushing far too much for her liking, and with how Okarun was just watching her… Ugh. This sucked.

He set the journal onto her bed stand with care, before taking a few steps forward. "Wow. Erm. I didn't think you'd ever fall for a guy like me."

And just what the hell did that mean? She raised her head to glare at him, before giving his shoulder a firm punch. If there was one thing she hated, it was when he was too hard on himself.

"Gah, Miss Ayase!" Okarun reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it before she could continue her assault on him. "Can I say something?"

Momo could only nod again, holding his hand impossibly tight as she waited with baited breath.

"I really, really like you too. Like. In a way where I can't stop thinking about you, even when you're not around." He whispered, like it was something forbidden to even talk about. "You've… You've changed my life, in the best way possible. However you want me, I want to be apart of your's, always."

And then Okarun kissed the top of her hand and smiled so sweetly at her, how could she not gape at him like an idiot. Momo swallowed thickly, before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him close.

"I…" And now it was his turn to be flustered, as things were meant to be, and Momo didn't miss the way his eyes dropped down to her lips. Momo nodded her consent to him, and waited for him to make the next move.

But he didn't. Okarun leaned forwards and connected their lips together, the frame of his glasses bumping into Momo's nose. She couldn't bring herself to care, sighing as she reached a hand up to his cheek to caress him. Okarun shuddered and pulled back, leaning into her hold, not even bothering to take care of his fogged up glasses. God, she wanted to kiss him again…

Then, a tiny yellow fox jumped down from the ceiling and in between them, causing Momo and Okarun to jump apart with a start.

In its mouth was Momo's black choker. It turned to Momo and stared at her for a moment, tilting its head. It swished its tail at her, before kneeling down and setting it down on her bedroom floor. Finally, it ran off, scampering down the stairs. Momo was half sure she heard Seiko yell and run after it.

Okarun carefully picked up the choker, holding it from each side. "May I?"

Momo stepped forward, already brushing her hair into a ponytail to make it easier for him. She shut her eyes as Okarun carefully latched it around her neck, brushing the sides of it, making sure that it didn't pinch on her skin.

"Can you talk again?" He asked, dropping his hands.

She rolled her eyes at him in endearment, and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. "Shut up and kiss me, dork."

Nothing else needed to be said, after that.