How am I Supposed to Pretend?

by Xylveon

Summary:

Ken really has the worst of luck. Always has, always will. Even his good luck, like being the object of some weird form of affection of a freaking dragon, feels more unlucky to have than not...

Oh well, it couldn't get much worse than that... right?

Haha, the world just loved proving him wrong.

On top of everything else he has to deal with, he has to hide the fact that he is aware of the supernatural around him, or risk getting targeted and killed by just getting caught in the crossfire of evil yokai and an easily pissed off dragon.

Yaaay...

Chapter 1: You're Making Me Go Crazy… No, Literally. I Think I'm Actually Going Crazy.

Ken groaned as he picked all of himself up from the concrete floor in front of the grand library of the campus. ‘Even in college, I attract bullying like it's my superpower or something…’ He grumbled as he picked up his sprawled out books and writing utensils, thankful nothing seemed too badly battered. ‘I swear, all my luck goes into my glasses never breaking.’

He never could understand it. He didn't exactly stand out, even without uniforms being enforced. He wore simple clothes, his hair was a dark shade of brown, almost black, his eyes were brown, he was just slightly below average height and he never bothered anyone. He didn't even broadcast his love for aliens and the occult!! He read his magazines (the newest issues he could afford tucked safely in his backpack) in the furthest corners of the library or quiet classrooms not currently in use. 

There was nothing special about him. 

‘It’s the indestructible glasses. That's gotta be it… that, or me being a slouching loner attracts them. Eh, probably both.’ He halfheartedly joked with himself. He had long given up trying to understand his fellow species at this point, having been tormented his whole life just for existing it seemed. Not even his parents cared, only sending him enough money for the bare essentials throughout highschool as they worked overseas. 

“I really just have the worst karma, don't I?” he said to no one in particular, hoisting himself and his gathered belongings up. “At least that jerk had the mercy to not shove me over on the stairs.” He sighed with an eyeroll, ‘Though, I have no doubt these glasses would come out unscathed regardless.’ He hated how true that most likely was, but he still counted it as a blessing.

He trudged up the deceivingly long staircase (an optical illusion caused by the grand width of them, he loved noticing it every time. ‘The mind sure does like playing tricks on us.’ ) despite how sore he was already feeling from the rough fall. He could manage himself just fine, regardless of how average his fitness was. Hell, technically that was below average too, and it was still a breeze climbing it; normally, when he didn't have a sneaking suspicion he bruised a hip, rib and shoulder-!!

He straightened up out of his hunch when he opened the doors to an alarming, but not all too surprising sight.

“Hey, ya jack-off. I asked you why you shoved Okarun out there.” 

‘Oh no, not this again…’ Ken just about dropped his books again in exasperation. There was no chance in this life or the next that he could get past her.

The offender who had the inkling to shove Ken over was currently being held up against the wall as the latest Feral Gyaru’s victim. She effortlessly pinned him in place, despite being not much taller than Ken himself ( again, he wasn't short, just a bit below average, is all!!). Her cherrywood eyes glinted a bit pinker than usual now that she got all fired up, her level sounding voice a flimsy facade for how pissed off she really was. In spite of everything, she could never ignore the call of her sense of justice, her conviction even scaring off all possible disciplinary action from the school executives. Even now, the librarian at the front desk couldn't bring himself to ask her to be polite to the other guests by quieting down.

There was no stopping Ayase Momo when she had her vengeance revving at full throttle.

“I'll ask again, dickweed… why did you shove him over? That kind of shit could kill someone if they land funny, especially that close to a staircase. A stone one at that. What, did you want to be a murderer?” 

He squeaked for the jerk when he saw her grip tighten, looking about ready to tear him to shreds. He cried out against his better judgement, “Ayase-san!!” He wasn't about to let her beat up another bully on his behalf… he already told her numerous times it just made things worse!

Especially since…

Her rage seemed to billow out in waves more palpable than before as she snapped her attention to him, dropping the jerk with no care whatsoever. “You…”

… she only ever seemed to hate him more each time she stood up for him.

‘Ha… guess that's my cue.’ He promptly swiveled on his heels and started to open the door-

Even though he saw it coming, he still let out a startled yelp when she leapt over and snagged him by the collar, not bothering to grab his backpack. She stopped doing that from the moment he escaped her by abandoning his belongings to run free from her wrath (which, in hindsight, was a horrible decision, because she somehow learned where his apartment was. She personally delivered his stuff to him by shoving it into his arms the morning after, gloating at his shocked reaction that she found him so easily. Now nowhere was a safezone from her). 

She knew he was thinking about it, too. “Like Hell you're getting away from me that easily, Okarun!!” With no effort at all, she yanked him away from the exit, his shoes’ soles squeaking against the waxed tiles as he gave up all hope of escaping her coming tirade about him being so freaking pathetic.

Mīko and Kei, Momo’s two gyaru best friends, both watched on in casual amusement, both with their teas and snacks with no respect for the no food policy of the library.

“Girl, it's literally our first day back from Summer break.”

“She's already obsessin’ over the favorite…”

They both looked on, sighing in unison as Momo continued to drag Ken further into the depths of the library, “Yeeeaaah…”

Ken didn't even bother to look at them, knowing well by now that they'd never help him no matter how sorry they felt. ‘Favorite? Do they not see how much Ayase-san clearly hates me?’ He then wondered if by favorite, they meant he was her favorite person to vent on and yell at, drawn to the amount of negativity that loomed constantly around him. At the very least, she didn't seem to feed off of it like the other bullies; no, it just seemed to simultaneously annoy the Hell outta her and give her fodder to beat up whenever she needed to hit somebody.

He didn't even bother to wonder why she was so dead set on stalking him. Surely there were other jerks on the other side of the campus who needed to be put in their place. ‘I guess it doesn't matter, because she's here right now and I can expect more people hating me for it.’

Like a sack of potatoes, she swept her arm out and flung him over with scary ease to his usual spot next to a window overlooking the courtyard where many students sat covering the stone pathways and manicured grass. She had the decency to wait for him to collect his bearings, although she impatiently tapped her foot as he shambled upright and pulled his backpack off his shoulders. 

He subconsciously signaled that he was ready for whatever she had to say this time by adjusting his glasses, looking shyly up at her from the side.

“When are you gonna grow a backbone, Okarun!?”

He grimaced, “That's not my name, Ayase-san.”

She growled, “I don't give a damn. You're not allowed to use that other name, so why bother complainin’?”

“You mean my real name?” He really hated how this was still an ongoing issue. ‘Why the Hell does she hate my name so much?’

“Too bad. I gave you a new one. You can't change it.”

He turned more to face her, “You do know that this has only caused more people to be cruel to me, right? They even say I'm like your pet or something.” 

She only shrugged, “Yeah, because I do all the fighting and you don't fend for yourself whatsoever. You wouldn't need my help so much if you'd stick up for yourself for once.” She grinned maliciously, “Besides… you like it, Okarun~”

He really hated how she held that over his head. ‘Is it a crime to like my first ever nickname that isn't an outright insult?’ He turned away, knowing that there was no getting through to her, not after having to deal with this all of their first semester together. “I never asked for your help. I would've preferred to be left alone.” 

“And that's why you're bullied so much. You make yourself an easy target.” She came over, leaning over the table as he pulled out his magazines and class notebooks.

Right as he was about to call her out for saying such a bitchy statement, he furrowed his brow, ‘Wait… her voice is not nearly as heated as it normally is.’ He looked up at her, scrutinizing her appearance. Something was different, and he didn't like it. Unpredictability when it came to Ayase Momo was dangerous. “What's wrong?” 

She squinted her eyes, cocking her head to the side, “Huh?” 

‘Crap!! I said that out loud!!’ He cleared his throat as he continued to pull stuff out of his backpack, organizing as he went, “N-not like ‘what's wrong with you’ kind of ‘what’s wrong’!! Just that… usually you go yelling at me for ten to twenty minutes after making a scene. Sometimes up to forty if you're super mad.”

She deadpanned, “Did you want me to yell at you?” 

He rolled his eyes at her, “No, obviously not. You just… you can't blame me for expecting it after all this time.” He paused his organizing, but he still kept his gaze low, “We're not exactly friendly with each other. You not yelling is pretty weird. It's making me nervous.” 

She pushed off of the table, crossing her arms behind her head as she rested against them, “Maybe I just didn't feel like it today. I haven't seen you in a while. I was surprised you were still alive and wanted to go easy on ya.”

‘Okay, I know that is bullshit. She isn't putting any heart into it.’ He groaned, completely exhausted with her. “Well, you did what you came to do; you scared the life out of the guy who shoved me over and brought the likelihood of me getting even more bullied up through the roof; so thank you and goodbye.” He waved her off in more of a shooing motion as he sat down. “You'll find plenty more to beat up later, just be patient-”

He did not expect her to sit down next to him, sharing the booth as if it were no big deal.

“Ayase-san… wh-what are you doing?” 

“Sitting, obviously. You should check your prescription if you seriously can't tell.”

“My glasses are just fine, thank you. It's you that's not right!!” He bristled at the casual proximity, somehow this version of Momo making him more on edge than when she practically manhandled him!! ‘Wait, she's really close!! Why is she so close!?!?’

She completely ignored his comeback, leaning into the back of the cushions as she lazily hooked her arms across the top as she let her head rest against it fully. “Maaan… the Sun feels so good. No wonder you love this spot so much, Okarun. Perfect sunbeams year ‘round…”

“… uh, yeah. The lighting’s great.” He just couldn't get over how close she was, her hand nearest to him almost touching his head. It was close enough that even without his glasses he would've been able to tell how perfectly the nail lacquer was painted onto her nails, almost as if they naturally grew that vibrant teal that matched her favorite oval earrings (a different choice than usual, she normally sported more pink and coral colored polishes). He couldn't help but ask her, finally, “Um, why are you sitting here?”

She groaned, annoyed that he had the audacity to speak still, “Because I can? Got a problem with that?” 

“Uh, yeah. I kinda do.” Especially since he couldn't focus for the life of him. ‘This is really dangerous!! I have no idea what she's thinking!! She's never acted like this before!!’ Combatting his fluster the best he could, he shot back, “If that's not obvious, maybe you should get your eyes checked!”

She rotated her head just enough to glower at him for a brief moment, before correcting her head back up, relaxing yet again as she explained herself, “Alright, alright. I'm tired of you getting bullied. If I stay, it'll make other people stay away. You'll be able to read your nerd stuff in peace.” 

‘Like Hell I c-!!’ His incredulous anger fizzled out. ‘… why the Hell does she sound so… sincere??' His nerves flared up, along with his cheeks. He rapidly picked up one of his newer issues, one of the releases from a few months ago, just so that he had something to look at other than her and hide his blushing face. “I-I would've been fine!!” 

With a single, smug harrumph, she didn't even open up her eyes. “Liar. I know people have harassed you even here.” She hummed as she grew more comfortable in her spot, as much as she could without being able to recline, “This semester’s gonna be different for you. Just watch.” 

He lowered his magazine a little, a bead of sweat forming at his brow, “You're gonna send a bunch of people to the hospital, or something?” 

She breathlessly snorted at that, “No, but I'm Hella tempted to. That guy out there especially. That could've seriously hurt you, or worse-”

He heard her knuckles pop from her fists clenching hard. He felt the need to calm her down and immediately told her, “Ayase-san, I'm fine,” just to remind her that nothing bad happened to him- barring the bruising, not that she needed to know. He set down his magazine entirely, new concern bubbling up inside of him, “Are you sure you're feeling alright? You're not acting like your usual self at all and it's really starting to freak me out, here.” 

“Ugh, just shut up already ‘bout that. You said so yourself, we're not friendly with each other. You don't know anything about me.” She glanced at him with those burning eyes of hers, “I'm not all anger and aggression, Okarun. I kept thinking about you throughout ‘break. Like, ‘oh no, I hope those jerks don't corner him and beat him up,’ or, ‘what if someone else figures out his neighborhood and pulls a sick prank on him?’ I was stressin’ out…” She reached and poked his shoulder, her nail surprisingly sharp that it made him squeak (although he probably would've anyway just from the contact alone), “I'm too relieved to see you alive and well to give you a proper scolding for being a pathetic noodle boi.”

He was too busy reeling from the fact that Momo was worrying about him to process what she just called him. “A pathetic… what? ” 

She only shrugged, “You heard me.” 

“Uh- I- buh- wh-” He indignantly made a few more choked sounds, before he finally got out, “What does that even mean!? ”

She kicked him lightly, “Chill out, dude. Just read already. ‘m not gonna let anyone mess with you anymore.” She again glanced at him, her eyes shining pinker than normal again in the early afternoon Sun, “I’ll leave you alone after you learn how to fight for yourself. I'll even stop calling you Okarun. Deal?”

He quietly stared back at her for what felt like a lifetime, the atmosphere between them feeling insanely heavy and still all of the sudden. This girl… she was definitely something more than her human appearance. There was an intent that was palpable between them, and he knew she was hiding so much from him. She really had no idea how much he truly knew about her, did she?

He finally broke their eye contact, muttering, “Shut up… you'd never actually leave me alone. Don't go making promises you can't keep.” 

She smirked with a devilish glint in her eyes that shone like bloody rubies, “Or, you just don't like the idea of me not calling you Okarun anymore…” 

He slapped the magazine down, the light from the library catching in his lenses. Oh, he hated how the thought of her no longer calling him that sent actual panic through his mind. He hated how the potential of losing that little bit of familiarity had its claws sunken deep into his being. And he hated how she knew how down bad he was for that little glimpse of what friendship was like, that he wanted her to never stop calling him that damned nickname that he coveted so much. 

He plainly responded, “I hate you.” 

For making him feel this way, for making him feel so pathetic, for making him feel so warm despite how cruel she was…

“Hmph. Liar.” She turned her nose up with a triumphant huff, gloating again over his failed attempt to make her want to leave, and his own unwanted desire for her to stay.

“You're such a pain in the ass, Ayase-san.” He gave up trying to relax, deciding to instead go over his notes for his next class. He always struggled with Social Studies (gee, he wondered why), so it wasn't just an attempt to get rid of her. Maybe if his personal, stalker she-devil noticed him actually trying to be studious rather than reading his beloved occult magazines, she might just leave him alone-

“Whatcha studying for?” She perked up as he took out his notebook, having completely ignored his cold remark. She even moved her arms off from the top of the cushions and leaned forward to see his notes.

‘She’s even more invested!?’ He shirked away, “J-just boring Social Studies stuff… nothing interesting-”

“What? Soc? Boring??” Had her tone been any less genuine, he would've thought she was being sarcastic with him. Instead, she looked genuinely stricken by such a statement. 

“Er… yeah? I didn't expect you to have any interest in it… or anything one hundred percent academic, really.”

Her eyebrow twitched, finally showing a sign of annoyance with him, “Dumbass… I actually do love learning stuff, especially about different cultures. Why the Hell do you think I'm spending money on getting a civil services degree?” 

This was… the first time he heard anything spoken about her major. He knew roughly what she was studying, since she had many classes in the same part of campus as himself, but he guessed he never really took the time to deduce the actual field she was going for.

He had no idea when she managed to snatch his notebook away from him, especially since she didn't make a big show of it- when did she get closer to him!?!? She methodically scanned the tidy notes, humming in affirmation as she went over each and every one. “These notes are super detailed! I don't see anything missed… I'm guessing this is, like, your best subject, huh?” 

“N-no… it's actually my weakest one; not that I'm failing or anything, just not top of class-”

She looked at him with pure incredulity, “Okarun, are you serious?? I'd've thought you’d be into this stuff!! That occult junk you love so much is heavily connected to it, after all!!” 

She didn't give him a chance to snap at her for insulting the occult, invading his personal bubble as she growled, “Ghosts, gods, demons, even aliens… it's all the same when you consider why people make folklore and fables! They're heavily intertwined with culture! Why do people believe in what they do? Why have faith in the unknown and unseen? Agriculture, literature, war… all of it affects folklore! You can't just be fixated on the goofy stuff; you gotta get to the root in order to fully appreciate the why !” 

He was close to falling over on his back with how much he was leaning away from her intensity. This sort of chastising from Ayase Momo… was nothing like her usual tirades. This was passionate. “U-um!! Uh… w-wow, you really are into this stuff, aren't you Ayase-san?”

She let up, just a little. “Y… yeah. My grandma drilled culture into me from a young age. It's important in her line of work, since she has colleagues all over the globe…”

She didn't need to say it, he was already internally questioning the validity of a spirit medium needing world-wide associates-

So she snarkily snapped back to his quiet inclination, “- and it is a globe, by the way.” 

He gave her his nastiest glare possible as he narrowed his eyes and tried his best not to grit his teeth, “I've already told you, I'm not a Flat-Earther. I believe in aliens, not impossible physics- I literally have pictures taken from the Space Station right here in my magazines!!” He grabbed the one right next to him to emphasize his stance. 

“Chill out, just teasing ya.” She chuckled deviously, enjoying his reaction to that jab that always drove him nuts. “But seriously, you really should get more into the history of stuff. I know people are, like, totally not your thing, but unfortunately, the occult is directly tied to the people who tell the tales.” She looked away, sighing, “Not everyone is an asshole in this world. There are good people out there.” 

He scoffed at that, “I'll believe it when I see it.” 

She squinted her eyes at him, “And yet you believe in aliens without having seen one in person?” 

“ Ah, but see: the difference is that everyone says that about people, when really, have you ever actually met a good person?” He snatched his notes away from her, “Everyone wants something from you, and if you don't have it, you're cast aside as useless and unwanted. Even hated just for the crime of existing.” He started packing everything back up, unable to stop his mouth, “And anyone who says they care is either paid to say it or they just want someone to be able to look down on so they can bolster themselves. Or, they just let you linger around because they pity you and can't own up to not wanting to be around you. It's all pretend! It's suffocating; and I'm sick of it. It's always the same thing.” 

He paused before zipping up his now hastily and haphazardly filled up bag, “Sorry, Ayase-san, but I guess I do agree with you on one thing: everyone makes up stories about there being good people in the world, because they too do not exist and we just like imagining there being something like that. It's all fake! Good people are as much of a cryptid as Nessie, Bigfoot, or Mothman. Hell, I'd even believe in ghosts existing before I believed in good people being out there-”

Her eyes flashed pink again, but… there was something else. He blinked a few times, his frustration fizzling out in exchange for confusion. He could've sworn he saw… blue- no, teal… teal strands of hair when she tilted her head and the Sun caught just right for a second… 

“You… little turd.” She stood up, her eyes burning holes into his body as she said with icy flames, “I believe good people exist, Okarun, just like how yokai and ghosts are real. Even those damned aliens you just love so much.” 

Her aura was so irradiated with rage, he almost couldn't process that she just said she believed in the occult-!!

Without warning, she slammed her hand down in front of him on the table, making him squeak. Her teal, manicured nails looked viciously sharper than he originally thought, glinting in the light. Her chilling voice broke his attention away from her hand, “But listen to me very carefully… you better not go and try searching for them; cryptids, aliens… or any of that occult shit. You should focus on the people around you and stop assuming the worst of everyone before they even get a chance to prove you wrong. Because I know good people. Don't you dare ever insult my loved ones again, especially when you don't even try to be a better person yourself.” 

When she hissed the last line, he definitely swore her teeth looked sharper than before…

She leaned away and quickly turned around as she held up the same hand she smacked against the table, huffing when she muttered, “Don't be such a shallow-ass. If you stopped pushing everyone away, maybe you'd get bullied less.” 

“A-Ayase-san-”

“No. Shut it. I'm pissed the fuck off right now, and you spoutin’ more bullshit is just gonna make me wanna break something.” She glared him down one final time, “I'm serious, though: drop the occult shit. Nothing good comes from searching for aliens, not even yokai. Stay the fuck away from it.”

He glared right back at her, not allowing her to intimidate him, no matter how inhuman she appeared right now in front of him. “… bitch.” 

She didn't even turn to look at him, but she did pause.

He rose to his feet as well, finding the courage to stand up to her without hunching over in his usual manner. “You have no say in what I want to be interested in, nor what I believe in. You can't tell me what I have and haven't experienced first-hand my whole, freakin’ life! No one has ever been kind to me, not even my own family! So don't be so gauche as to assume stuff about m-” 

It almost escaped his notice, but she left little scratches and visible divots in the table, roughly where each of her nails had been… as if they were hooked and not painstakingly manicured… actually, she even retracted her hand away from him pretty quickly, hadn't she?

“Argh!! You're seriously the worst!!” She tugged her bangs, another flash of teal snatching his attention again. “Why the Hell do I care about your stubborn ass!? It's like you want to stay bullied and miserable for the rest of your fucking life!!” She didn't look at him at all as she stomped away from him, not seeing the shock splattered all over his face from the weird things he couldn't believe he was maybe actually seeing, “Have fun being a hated hermit, asshole!! I'm never gonna save your dumb-fuck self ever again!!” 

Had he not been rubbing his eyes and internally calling himself crazy for thinking her cherrywood hair looked fucking teal and glowing in the sunlight, something that no one else was reacting to (but also maybe because they've grown used to ignoring him and Momo making a scene), he would've called her out for making another promise she has already broken in the past numerous times.

 

Ken could barely pay attention to the one class he struggled the most with. Granted, it seemed more of a recap day after their break, so there wasn't any need to take down a ton of notes like normal, but damn did he really not get anything out of the lesson. Was there even a lesson? He couldn't tell.

Not when the colors of everyone distracted him entirely, everything seemingly overly saturated, the lines bleeding out and over in his naked peripheral vision outside of his corrective lenses. 

He felt like he should've had a headache, or a migraine… maybe a delayed concussion? No, there was no nausea, or even pain, really. Some dizziness, or lightheadedness (was there even a difference?), but otherwise, physically he was fine. There was no logical explanation, that he could think of at least, as to why the world started getting soaked in these blurring, vibrant watercolors all around him. Admittedly, it was kinda beautiful, but it was a bit much.

‘Maybe I'm just exhausted?’

The thought, although most likely true, made him feel utterly pathetic. He didn't exactly do anything to exert himself at all; he only had three recap classes that day, it was just now sunset, so it wasn't even that late, he was only hurt once today…

But he did have that stressful encounter with Ayase Momo… and started seeing weird shit directly after that.

‘Did she… trigger some sort of anxiety response, or something??’ Well, she did regularly stress him the fuck out, and it had been awhile since he last had to deal with her shit. ‘Yeah, maybe this is all just my body going into shock, like jumping straight into an icy lake after being in a relaxing sauna.’  

He’d admit, he'd been very isolated during the break, having only left the apartment for groceries a few times. Yes, he kept up basic exercises and was productive with his time, but other than that… he had remained in a single box, alone and in relative silence…

Maybe he just needed a totally quiet spot? Away from people for a bit… and not… in that damned apartment. As much as he stayed there, he absolutely loathed the place, a constant reminder that he had nobody to turn to.

The next town over did have an interesting spot that he wanted to check out, after all. A common factoid that appeared in the Mystery Magazine MU issues was that people who see psychic phenomena also frequently see UAPs and cryptids, so checking out a supposedly super haunted tunnel may lead to some interesting results. At the very least, this tunnel in Shono City also had very mild light pollution, so he could always decide to stargaze in the quiet night if he grew bored of ghost hunting…

“Nothing good comes from searching for aliens, not even yokai.” 

Momo’s words replayed in his mind, threatening to give him an actual headache. Ken slapped his cheeks to wake himself up, not caring that it startled some of his peers who happened to still be around at that hour. ‘Stupid jerk!! She can't tell me what to do!!’  

Now, there was more of a drive to spite her rather than clear his head, and he knew it was petty as fuck, but at this point? To Hell with caring about stuff like that! He had to prove to that controlling she-devil that she had no power over him! Even if she stopped calling him Okarun, he'd stand up for himself by doing something he wanted to!

He pointedly ignored his nerves screaming at him that this was a bad idea, heading off to the train station while more colors continued to swirl and mix in a lovely cacophony at the corners of his vision. 

Even in the dim light of sunset, the colors around him, teasing their presence just out of direct view, stayed bright and shimmering. Living things were easier to notice as he walked, and it weirded him out greatly. It made no sense at all as to how he could still see things in the shadows, without really being able to actually see them! There was a cat that should've been obscured by the small car it laid under, a dog hidden behind a fence that he saw before it barked, he could make out the outlines of people when they weren't directly under the street lamps… all of it, only in the outer edges of his eyes, almost in his head rather than the physical stimulus.

He only began to wonder if it really was just in his head when shadows started to form with nothing there to make them…

The train ride was uneventful, although the fluorescent lights made the color swirling actually headache inducing. He had never felt motion sickness until that night, the visual swishing and dizziness nearly driving him to want to go home instead. But then, the thought of being alone in that dark apartment with the colors seemed like Hell just waiting to happen.

‘You know what? I'm not even going to go into the tunnel! Yeah, I'm just going to go up there and stargaze. I've got no classes in the morning, so if I konk out, there's no rush getting home during daylight to freshen up! And by then, I bet this stupid hallucinating will be over and done with!’

He repeatedly reassured himself as he walked the lonely, winding road leading up to the abandoned tunnel of Shono City, the crisp evening air providing no comfort as it blew past. It was still refreshing, though, and the quiet seemingly helped his mind rest at ease. Yes, the colors still danced, but with no one else around, they seemed to waltz slowly rather than tango around dizzily. So, at least he felt that he was, in fact, calming down…

The only problem was that now, with no other human being around, he had no way to justify the feeling that he was absolutely being watched.

‘Great, Ken. Swapping anxiety for full blown paranoia. Not a bad idea. Totally don't feel like I need to be admitted to a psyche ward right about now, nope!’ He groaned to no one in particular (he hoped) as he rubbed his eyes yet again, “I feel completely fine. My heart rate is normal. I eat healthily. I sleep… somewhat decently. There is no reason as to why now, of all times, that I should be going crazy-”

He involuntarily shuddered all over, stopping in place on reflex.

The dark tunnel was meters away. He wouldn't have been able to hear anything quieter than a shout from the distance, wouldn't have been able to see anything shifting in the almost tangible shadows behind the blockade, nor would he have been able to smell anything had there been something dead or worse left inside. There was no logical, normal explanation as to what he reacted to.

It was the colors that began to vibrate like TV static at the edges of his vision that made him freeze up, feeling loose tendrils of something simultaneously bristled and slimy in the air. It left him feeling gross, almost sickened as the invisible waves rubbed against him. He turned his head away instinctively-

It was a mistake. A gasp slipped out when he could see what the colors were trying to warn him about. The gaping tunnel was vomiting out red and black ooze that angrily undulated. It rose to the sky and reached greedily for the surrounding area, like a distorted octopus made from its own, glowing ink. Every time he closed his eyes, the image was more clear, even without the aid of his glasses, burning into his brain with its lethargic lashing about.

The message was read loud and clear: he shouldn't be here.

‘This was a bad idea. This was a really, really bad idea!’ He turned around, laughing shakily, “I-I'll just have to find another, less haunted place to snoop around for things that don't exist! Yeah! Find something smaller and less… icky! Ha-ha…?” 

The colors… something shone within the red and black behind him. A few things did. They flickered and cowered, but their bright, little lights were still holding strong in a tight bundle… 

It made his heart ache and his feet stopped in place in response. Someone… a few people… he didn't know why or how, but he knew he could pick up on their fear and sorrow, even from where he stood. Maybe it was because… it felt like their lights mirrored his own, meek colors. Either way, Ken's feet carried him close to the gaping maw of the tunnel, even when those viscous tendrils phased through him and left him gagging from the disgusting feeling and resulting onslaught of static in his mind. He just focused on the sad lights behind the dark body in front of it, ignoring to the best of his ability the creeping dread crawling along his spine when he entered past the threshold into the inky void.

He only paused his descent into the madness of it all to pull out his flashlight he used when stargazing and searching for UAPs. ‘What is wrong with you, Ken!? Ugh, on one hand, ghosts aren't real, so the only danger posed is if some wild animal or something is here. On the other hand, though, if there is something bad in there and I left and ignored those people… I could never stand to look her in the eyes again-’

He grappled onto his head over his hair, plunging himself into darkness as he wagged the flashlight around overhead instead of in front of him, “Gah!! What am I thinking!? Who cares what that feral woman thinks, anyway!? So what if I turned back, now!? I'd just be practicing self preservation! No shame in running away!” 

But the words left a sour taste in his mouth as soon as he said it. He looked down at the dirty floor of the tunnel, filled with debris and weeds from years of neglect. ‘… it's not about what Ayase-san thinks. If I turned back now, I couldn't stand to look myself in the eye, because I wouldn't be any better than the people who've tormented me my whole life, especially since there's people like me within this tunnel. I can't turn back. I need to know they're okay, or if there's something I can do to help! It's not about proving Ayase-san wrong or right anymore, this is about me making sure no one else has to deal with what I had to-’

The colors blared in silent alarms.

As he lifted his head with a jolt and looked in front of him, an old woman with wild, stark white hair appeared right in front of him in the direct beam of his light. Her smooth, stone eyes lit up in yellow, the circles that mimicked irises staying unfocused to the sides as she scowled at him. She croaked at him, “What the Hell is some rookie medium like you doing in ‘ere?” 

At her words, the world around him flashed awash in red, the rich color drowning out everything else. Ken gawked all around as he could see the detail of everything surrounding him, the woman, despite her short, hunched stature, demanding respect in a way that even reality had to bend to her will. 

“Well? Gonna say somethin’? Or should I just kill ya and be done with ya? Ya damned rookie.”

He jolted again, tightening his grip on the now pointless flashlight, “Wha- hey! I'm not a rookie, so stop calling me-” He paused… she had called him a medium! He pointed to himself, “Wait a- I-I’m not a… a medium! I don't even believe in that kind of stuff!” 

She narrowed her glowing, stone eyes at him, the irises still unfocused, “Don't believe in that kind of thing? Then what the Hell are ya goin’ around followin’ after auras for!? Ya shitheel, I could feel yer pryin’ eyes from the road!! Don't mess with me, sayin’ you don't believe in it when you were goin’ lookin' for it!! I'll kill ya for tryna make a fool outta me!!” 

He squeaked, recoiling away from the crazy old lady- that had the same colors as the raging colors that hid the scared ones. “W-wait!! You!? You're the red and black thing!?”

She snarled, “What the Hell didja call me!?” 

He didn't cower away this time, “You're the dark energy that's hiding those sad ones!! The sad colors- the… the auras!!” He pointed past her with the flashlight, just barely able to see the tiny blues, whites, greens and yellows shivering and flickering down in the tunnel, “They're here, aren't they? You know they're here!” 

The old lady’s ire stilled. He couldn't get a positive read on what she was possibly thinking, but at least she didn't outright try to kill him like she claimed she'd do. “… why the fuck do you want to know? Damn brat.” 

He stared at her in confusion, ‘What is with these insults? I'm literally just standing here, not doing anything- wait, am I being disrespectful?’ He gave up trying to understand the weird jab at him, instead answering the crone, “It's just… they're kinda like me, I think. I was worried… that they were feeling the same things I feel constantly, and I just… wanted to see if they were okay.” 

She scoffed at him, “Idiot; these girls are far from okay. They went through a Hell of a lot worse things than you, you sniveling whelp… but I can see where the idea came from. You've got one pitiful looking aura, regardless of that there blessing you've got latched onto ya.” 

“Huh? Blessing…” He furrowed his brows at first, but he deflated, sighing, “Ma’am, I can assure you, I am anything but blessed…” He looked out to the auras, their colors appearing more calm than before. ‘Were they… afraid of me?’ If that were the case, he was glad they stopped seeing him as something scary. It honestly was really worrisome, considering that he was not an intimidating person whatsoever-

“Well now~ if you really don't care for that ridiculously generous gift that you definitely don't deserve,” her stone eyes focused on him, glowing brighter as she grinned wickedly at him, “I'll gladly take it off your hands… that kind of pure energy is hard to come by, ya know?” 

He recoiled away from her gnarly hands as she approached him, eyes blown wide as her form started to change from that of an old hag to that of a… a… a large, floating head. Her hair flowed like flames, her yellow eyes became webbed, her teeth curled with her impossible, demonic smile… 

“A… a-a…” 

She grinned even more, sneering at him as she spoke without moving her mouth, “A what, ya little punk?” 

The frenzied colors flooding his mind stripped him of his ability to run, everything telling him that he should not run, no matter what. “A…” The colors, with all their warning, started to make him really dizzy… ‘Wait, is this… just her way of making it easier for her to kill me?’ 

However, she quickly grew disappointed, much to his dizzy surprise, “Why aren't you running? I like chasing my food, kid. Don't make this bor-”

GARAAOOOOOOOOOOW…

They both startled when a roar ripped down the tunnel, the red aura staining the sides vanishing with the thundering sound that traveled down it.

Ken turned away from the ghost lady that wanted to kill him, only to be met with the sight of a white snout and blazing teal flying in after him and the crone, the maw opening to reveal sharp fangs and a wicked, hissing snarl. 

‘… I'm going to die.’ 

The realization, the new flurry of colors and now the tingling burning throughout his body was too much to handle. Ken’s vision blacked out as ringing drowned out the creature’s cries and the ghost’s swearing.

The last thing he could think of before hitting the ground for the second time that day was just how unlucky could he be?

 

Cold. 

Everything was cold.

Really cold…?

‘Huh…? My arms aren't… or my sides.’ No, something super warm was wrapped tightly around his arms and torso, while cold air whipped past his face and legs… that were dangling. His head was dangling, too! ‘What the…?’  

He fought through the delirium, his head aching so much that it was a miracle he could manage to open his eyes even a bit. He felt his glasses barely hanging onto his face, but they were still close enough to their normal placement that he could still look through them, despite having no hopes of tilting his head up super high-

White scales. 

Glowing, glittering, pearly white scales with hints of teal and pink swirled into the shape of each one of them met his eyes, wrapped snugly around his body, wind whipping past him as whatever it was that effortlessly carried him… flew… above the city… 

Could one really blame him for fainting a second time when seeing he was hundreds of meters off the ground?

Chapter 2: No, Yeah! That Totally didn't Happen Last Night! Definitely Can't See Any of This!

Ken’s own snoring shook him awake.

He was warm. Everything was warm. Not feverish, no… or, at least he didn't feel like a fever. It probably should've, given that crazy dream he-

He shot upright in his be- on his couch. He was in his apartment!! He turned his head left and right, looking all over as he…

The colors. They were gone.

He let out a heavy sigh, gripping a hand over his thundering heart. ‘C-calm down, Ken… calm down.’ He was in a safe place. Everything was back to normal. ‘Maybe I just ate something funny and had a crazy, lucid dream. Yeah, that makes sense… even though… I don't remember coming home last night at all.’  

Nope. Not a single memory of coming home came to mind. Just the perfect rehash of events from that what-should’ve-been-a-dream. There was none of that mind haze as a dream slowly deteriorated from one’s memory. It still felt real, especially… the graze of those white scales-!!

He absent-mindedly rubbed his side, when his shirt caught on something painful and raw feeling, making him wince and hiss. ‘Gah!! What the-’

His mind went blank.

And then he shot up off the makeshift bed, scrambling for the bathroom-

Well, he tried to. 

As soon as he was on his feet, he had to grapple onto the backrest of the couch and sit back down, a surge of debilitating dizziness flooding his senses, splotches forming in his already blurry vision. He had to close his eyes, groggily rubbing over them as he tried regaining his sense of balance. Funnily enough, the stinging on the left side of his back helped him stay grounded and not spiral along with his head…

‘… I fell over on my right side yesterday. I shouldn't be hurting worse on my left-’

The massive set of claws holding onto him in that… that dream… would've had the talons directly against where he was feeling that stinging pain…

He looked around for his glasses, finding them placed on the table, opened and waiting for him (funny, even when utterly exhausted, he always took the time to fold them up neatly). He wiped them off and placed them on his face-?

Everything in the room… wasn't dusty. There wasn't a single speck of dust anywhere in his home, despite… not remembering the last time he cleaned anything, apart from his own bedroom. Now he thought about it, everything smelled clean, with a hint of something else in the air… like incense, only there was no smoke. An oil diffuser, maybe? It was a woody, spiced and almost earthy, sweet smell; nothing like the spice shop he'd go to when restocking his cooking blends. It felt more like walking into an apothecary the more he breathed in the smell. If it weren't for his confusion as to where it was coming from, the strangeness surrounding him and the pain on his left side, he would've totally relaxed and slumped right back onto the sofa cushions and slept for a few more hours.

‘What the heck is going on?’ He stood up after a while, slowly, making sure that he was good to move this time. There wasn't a hint of dizziness, taking the time to ease into it having been a good call. He calmly, if not anxiously, walked with haste over to the bathroom to get a good look at what was irritating him so badly, pulling off his shirt.

Really, the first thing he noticed when he turned on the lights was how chaotic his hair looked. Hell, it even looked longer than he remembered. The strands all stood out in individual cowlicks, and running his hands through them did nothing to tame them. It wasn't just bed-head, it was like a totally different head of hair all together!! “What the-!? Why are you so different!? I look like…” Well, okay, it at least looked a semblance better than when it was just a cheap bowl cut he couldn't do anything with. But having a windblown look wasn't necessarily better-

He paused, before tugging on his hair again. ‘… wind…?’ He replayed the few moments he remembered of getting carried in the sky, dread now spurring him to turn his body to see if he was right about the- “HUH!?” 

Four welts in his skin, almost evenly spaced out from each other with thin scratches along each of them were dug into him. But what was more alarming than the mild skin trauma was that they had a strange shimmer to them, teal bleeding into his tan skin like ink in water from the divots dug into him.

He adjusted his glasses a few times, staring directly at the color slowly poisoning his skin. Sure, the only part that actually hurt was the scratches themselves, but… his skin turning freakin’ blue was more than just a little bit concerning!! Trying not to freak the fuck out, he prodded around the healing(?) wounds, confirming that yes, the teal parts didn't hurt whatsoever-?

He rotated to see his other side, where he had hurt himself from the fall. He expected to see gross, purple and yellow patches of skin where he was bruised and… supposed to be aching, like yesterday. Instead, somewhat larger blooms of teal splashed out in the same areas that had been hurting, any swelling having vanished in favor of the admittedly pretty color. He poked his ribs that had been bugging him, only to find that he was completely fine! His shoulder wasn't scratched, his hip wasn't aching; nothing seemed to be hurting, aside from the tiny scratches!

“O-okay… this is…” What? Weird? Impossible?? Did it even matter? He smacked his cheeks, shaking his head as if to wake up from a dream. No, the slaps stung and the teal markings were still there. He was even hungry, having skipped dinner and needing breakfast. 

He was awake. The color was real.

“You've got one pitiful looking aura, regardless of that there blessing you've got latched onto ya.”

He shuddered all over, remembering what the old crone had said. Just the memory of her made the world seem to spin a little-

The swirling colors were back. Sure, it was just the very corners of his vision, not nearly as bad as yesterday, but the tickle was irritating all the same. 

“Aaaaargh…” He covered his eyes, hating how the swirling grew in intensity when they were closed. “Noooo… go away. I don't want to see this anymore!” He focused on his breathing, willing the stupid swirls to recede. His chest felt like it was buzzing from the inside, so he imagined stamping out the flames with his foot, snuffing it out to prevent another forest fire from blazing out of control again. He was not going to deal with it; they were just stupid hallucinations! He was just dealing with anxiety messing with his mind, just little tricks from his screwed up brain.

He opened up his eyes and was mildly relieved when no saturated colors wiggled around, but he didn't allow himself to relax, feeling a bead of sweat start to roll down the side of his face. It seriously felt like he was bottling something volatile inside of him, and one wrong move would make it go thermonuclear. 

Feeling his body growing colder the more he forced down the strange warmth, he thought that was the key. He focused on cold thoughts, like snow (there was a spark of red when he thought of snowmen and warm drinks), ice (he remembered his first time ice skating and how proud he was when he finally stopped slipping, flashes of rich blue and navy coloring the room), w-wind (orange and pink danced as ocean breezes cooled him off in memories of Summer, pearly white sparkling when he felt the warm claws holding him securely as the night sky flew past)…

The warmth exploded out again, the colors tackling the sides of his vision. He couldn't even feel mad, now more frustrated that he was actually feeling good for once!! When he tried stamping down the feeling, it only bounced back with a soft vengeance, enveloping him in its cozy embrace as unbridled joy flooded his heart, mind and body.

“AAAAAAGH! FINE! Have it your way!” His cheeks were painted red as he trudged out of the bathroom and over to his bedroom, the world swaying in delightful hues alongside him. He grabbed a random shirt, one with a cow abduction, and threw it on, noticing that his hair was even more disheveled and reacting to his aura exploding out. It was almost curling with the colors, much to his chagrin. There was no point in brushing it, since it didn't settle no matter how much he tried to flatten it with his hands, but at least there weren't any tangles. He didn't look so bad, all things considered-

That little hint of satisfaction made the colors surge once again, the rosy feeling welling up inside. “D… D-DAMNIT-” He deflated, the golden retriever bumping into him repeatedly as he waited for it to calm down, since there wasn't much else he could do. Even trying to calm down from controlled breathing seemed to fan the flames more, the relaxation making him feel warmer and freaking giddier against his will. 

It felt gross. ‘Is this what normal people feel like when they get happy!? What the Hell is this!?’ He wanted to drop to the floor and roll around out of frustration, but he felt that giving in to any of these feelings would only aggravate his problems. He needed to stop seeing the colors. Seeing them only led to more problems, and that was not something he wanted to deal with again. ‘I’ll even give up UAP watching if I have to!! I just want this stupid, flowery BS to leave me alone!! Just end already!! I can't take it any-’ 

First the colors jolted. 

Then, 

Klack-THUMP. Klack-THUMP.

Ken ducked in place when from overhead, a loud set of noises, sounding like massive footsteps, came echoing out. Something was slowly walking over the top of the small apartment complex.

His eyes widened as he followed the colors that signaled exactly where the next footstep would be taken. It led him outside his room, his morbid curiosity getting the better of him as he wondered just what on Earth could be big enough to make that clacking, stomping sound. A low rumble echoed through, meaning that whatever it was up above, it was growling loud enough to be heard through the insulation and building materials.

Klack-THUMP. Klack-THUMP. Klack-THUMP.

He hesitated to follow it further, now facing the openness of the living room as opposed to the small bedroom and hallway. He hated that the blinds were open to his window, those cheap, double-paned glass walls standing no chance against whatever beast was still practically overhead-!!

A knock at his door snatched his attention.

His head whipped up towards the ceiling and down at the door a few times, his breathing quickening as he realized the situation just got bad. Really bad. Either there was a person outside that was in danger of getting hurt, or worse, by whatever that thing was outside, or… that same thing is what knocked the door. Regardless, he crept quietly over to it, not making a single squeak as he approached. He could at least check the peephole to see if there actually was a human on the other side. 

When another knock came, this time more fervidly than before, he seriously hoped that, if it was a person, that they'd stop. ‘It’s gonna kill you!! O-or something!!’ The creature went eerily quiet, too, as if stalking its prey. He peeked through the looking glass, unbelieving as to who he saw.

Ayase Momo stood some distance away from the door, her hand tugging on her cherrywood bangs as she looked away from the sight of the peephole. She looked… nervous? At least, from what he could tell, having never really seen her nervous before. Either way, she looked nothing like how she normally carried herself. She fiddled with the hem of her baggy sweater with her other hand, her cheeks definitely were a shade pinker than normal; this shyness was truly a rare marvel for the Feral Gyaru…

It was… actually kinda cute-!!

The colors started buzzing again. 

He looked up again for them, but quickly threw open the door, launching out and snatching her wrist right as she was about to knock the door again out of frustration with him taking too long to open the door to her liking. He pulled her inside and ignored her yelp as he slammed the door shut, the colors settling down a smidge, although they remained vibrating at the outer edges of his mind, stuck on high alert as he listened for any movement outside. 

Nothing moved from what he could hear. Nothing triggered another response from the annoying, but infuriatingly helpful auras he could see. ‘Good… she's safe…’ The single word made his tension release, and he sighed as he let his back slide down the door as he met the ground in a collapsed heap of himself-

“What the Hell, Okarun!?” Momo made a show of dusting herself off, having been ruffled up by his admittedly crazed action. He couldn't blame her, what he did must've seemed insane to do, especially when he couldn't stand her. 

He waved her off, quickly coming up with a logical excuse, “Chill out. I thought I heard something outside, like a rabid animal, or something-” He then pinched the bridge of his nose, correcting her before she could possibly misunderstand what he meant, “ No, I'm not talking about you; I swear I thought I heard an actual animal. Even you don't deserve getting bitten by a racoon dog, or some crazy cat or whatever.” 

Her anger fizzled out, “… o-oh. I guess that makes sense.”

‘Heh, crisis averted-’

“Wait, where did you hear that animal?” She furrowed her brows, looking around a bit before narrowing her eyes at him.

He did his best not to react to her valid scrutiny. If it all was actually in his head like he hoped, he'd definitely be seen as a crazy person. “I-I’ve been hearing them all day. On the roof, down in the alley, outside the front door… they're gettin' around and probably fighting. Ya know… typical neighborhood squabbles.” 

She didn't fully buy it, judging by the lack of change in her expression even as she decided to kneel down on the floor to be eye level with him. “Seriously? Did you call animal services?” 

“Can't. Don't have a phone.” He broke his last cellphone years ago and didn't want to bother asking his parents for help at the time-

She looked over her shoulder, “Then what the Hell’s that? Some weird prop or something?” 

He followed her gaze over to the landline. “… right. Forgot I had that.” Genuine dread filled him when he gazed upon the damned thing, the colors finally going away entirely as he felt bitter cold wash over him. He didn't even want to look at it, noticing that it too no longer had dust. It felt insulting to see it cleaned after all this time-

“… did you want me to call for you?”

He turned to her, bewildered by her offer, “Huh??”

She shifted in place, bringing both knees up so that she could rest her folded arms on them and hide half her face from his view, “I said, did you want me to call for you? Crazy animals are no joke. Someone could get hurt, ya know?” 

She was speaking so calmly again with her frustration held back, just like yesterday. ‘Even though… I pissed her off? She was extra mad after that… I don't like how she's… being so unfairly nice.’ He turned away from her burning eyes, the warmth rubbing off in a way he wasn't used to noticing until now, now that he had that irritating aura issue going on. His cheeks started burning against his will, the colors bleeding back into his vision… and oddly enough, the incense-like scent grew stronger. ‘N-no, stop it, you idiot!! Now's not the time to-’

“Hey, Okarun?” 

He looked up at her. His jaw dropped before he could stop himself from reacting.

She tilted her head, her glowing, teal hair swishing quietly as she asked him again in a soft tone he was not used to from her, “Are you alright? You look… a little sick, honestly.” 

He couldn't get his eyes off the white scales peppering her cheeks like freckles, or how her pupils in her vibrant, ruby eyes were slitted as she looked him over for other signs of ailment. The more worried she grew, the more scales started showing and the relaxing scent grew more potent.

“H-hey… say something.” She laughed nervously, her fangs catching in the light, “C’mon, you wouldn't shut up yesterday. Why are ya quiet now?” She was reaching out to probably bat at his sprawled out foot nearest to her, but she hesitated to touch him with her teal clawed, white scaled hand, her expression  suddenly growing terrified when she looked at her hand, and then straight into his eyes with a gasp. 

He hated that look on her.

It spurred him into action. 

“Yeah!” He blurted out, scrambling up to his feet, “I-I’m fine! I'm… I'm just really tired!” Well, it wasn't a lie. He brushed himself off, doing his best to not look at the absurdly familiar pearly scales littering Momo’s body, trying to ignore how they slowly disappeared as she calmed down. ‘Good! Change back to normal! I won't say anything about it!’ He glanced a few times at her eyes to make semi-normal eye contact, like he would've done had nothing been different, “I woke up on the couch this morning and was totally out of it, because I don't even remember going to sleep in the first place! I've got no idea what happened at all! Heh, must've been stressed out the whazoo yesterday!” 

He was satisfied when he saw that no more scales were showing, aside from the few tiny ones peppering her cheeks, ‘Ugh, they're kinda adorable…!! Focus, dumbass!!’ He turned his head away from her beautiful visage, hating how striking her appearance was like this, “S-sorry! U-um, could I get you anything to drink? Some water, or tea? I didn't even think to offer anything. I-I'm an awkward guy, s-so-”

“KYAAAAAH!!”  

He jerked at her louder than humanly possible screech (… he assumed, now wondering if this was just something she would've been capable of regardless) that seemed to just spontaneously combust from her throat. He was about to ask her what the heck that was for, when her thrashing tail wagging below her legs kicking in the air stole all his words from dumbfounded disbelief. It was long and serpentine in shape, a fluffy, lion-like tuft of teal hair adorning the entire tip of it as teal ran along the upper spine, light pink scutes matching her favorite sweater plainly visible since she was flipped over on her back. He leapt away reflexively before she could knock him over with her muscular limb, her possessed movements threatening to break bones if he was caught off guard even for a second-

Pearly scales. Teal claws. A smell of incense. A tail.

He didn't need them to confirm it, but the colors of her aura only further affirmed his observations. 

She was the…

She finally settled down, rolling over and angrily flicking her tail like a pissed off cat, “Dumbass!! Don't you ever say that again!!” 

He snapped out of his stupor, “Wh-wha!? Sorry for not offering you anything!?” 

“N-no!! The other thing!!” She yelled indignantly, her tail slapping the ground with her wave of agitation.

He saw little horns- no, antlers that appeared on her head, ‘Damnit, those are kinda cute, too!! How the Hell is a dragon cute!? She looked like she was gonna kill me last night!!’ He racked his brain for what she could possibly be- “Wait, I'm an awk-”

“DON'T SAY IT!!” She roared as she leapt up, practically tackling him. However, she visibly held herself back when she opted to grab at his ridiculous shirt instead of launching herself fully at him, although her aura told him just how much she wanted to just knock him over and grab hold of him for simply saying the truth- 

She cooled off, her ruby eyes regaining a bit of brown and their roundness as she looked down at his shirt. She let go of him, not noticing him marveling at how her tail simply vanished from view as she snorted, “Dude… what's with this shirt?” 

He blanked for a moment, having been preoccupied watching her hair change back to mostly cherrywood and her tiny antlers disappear. “U-um… got it on sale at the comic book shop, just a few blocks away.” He looked down, noticing how quickly she drew her hands away from him again, especially from his left side. He rubbed his neck, “I dunno, I just… really like aliens, so I didn't think too much about the design looking goofy at the time.”

She shook her head, grinning again, her teeth still a bit sharper than normal, but no longer pronounced. “Nah… I think it looks good on you. It suits you, Okarun.” 

It was funny… despite him hiding the fact that he could see what was going on, she didn't show any more of her dragony features. ‘Is she not comfortable… being transformed?’  He decided to put a pin in that thought for later, deciding making sure she was not going to freak out again his top priority. “U-um! So, did you want anything, or…?” 

She looked bashfully down at the floor ( ‘WHY IS SHE BEING SO CUTE!?’ ), rotating her foot as she thought for a bit, “… tea sounds nice. Hot, though. And I wouldn't mind some snacks, since I'm here. Granny made breakfast, but I, uh…” Some scales peppered her cheeks again as she blushed, “I kinda left in a hurry this morning. I felt like shit after yesterday… yelling at’cha, despite knowing you've had it rough for years. It wasn't… it was unfair to pile that on ya, like it's common knowledge or whatever.”

She hesitated, he caught it, but she reached out and tugged on his sleeve, “I really meant it. This semester- this year is gonna be different!” 

He felt his heart and aura both leap up, colors bounding all around the two of them, almost like some cheesy shoujo anime. He swallowed down his urge to cringe, smiling instead at how earnest she was being. ‘Was this… the blessing that ghost lady was talking about?’ He turned away, sighing, “Yeah… I've got the feeling you're not really going to give me the choice on that, are you?” 

She lit up triumphantly, picking up on his mood improving (against his will, not that she needed to know how aware he was of it all). “You got that right! You'll know there's good people in the world before the year’s up!” 

He had to remind himself it was okay to flinch when her tail thrashed out again and smacked against the kitchen island, making the bowls and silverware jostle around. “H-huh! Was that an earthquake?” He didn't allow his eyes to follow her receding tail, adjusting his glasses as he fixated on the cabinets.

She tried her best not to blush, judging by the scales peeking out again as she covered her mouth when letting out a yipe from the impact and then sound she was responsible for. Her aura screamed that she was so sorry for making a definite mess hidden inside of the cabinets, but he was just glad that she wasn't petrified again.

“Heh, unless there's an aftershock, I don't think it's anything to worry about!” He tried to reassure her, taking her attention away from the mistake. “Here, let's just get you something to eat. It's the least I can do since you fl- uh, p-practically flew over here in a hurry, huh? Ya know, hightailed it?” He nudged her arm, much like how she would do to him… funnily enough, always with her knuckles, if she could help it. He opened up the fridge, “Pretty weird that you did that, ‘specially since we aren't really all that friendly, right? It's not like I'm dying and in need of surveillance.” 

She perked up a bit (thankfully without the tail this time), “Y-yeah… yeah.” 

He closed the fridge door. “… Ayase-san. I'm alright. I'm not… I'm not going to do anything stu-” 

… he literally did do something stupid last night. He confronted a demonic spirit that wanted to kill him. ‘… she totally thinks I'm suicidal, doesn't she?’ It barely registered at first how nonchalant he put it when he thought about it, the realization hitting him like a truck.

“A-Ayase-san!! I swear, I've never even considered-”  

“Sh-shut up… dork.” She gripped onto the hem of his shirt, her scales flaring up again as she refused to look up at him. She held onto his shirt like it was his lifeline, making his aura glow in tempo with her own. 

His breath hitched a few times, unable to respond, regardless of whether or not she'd figure him out. He just didn't know what to say to how desperate she seemed when clinging on like that. Did… did he really matter that much to her? Her friends did say he was her favorite…

He turned away again, allowing her to hold onto him, even if distantly. “Okay, Ayase-san.” 

 

Momo still clung to him, in a sense, even as he walked to his next class. She wasn't physically latched on like she was in his apartment, but she still kept him within arms length at all times, the teal in her hair growing in quantity whenever someone else dared venture too close to him… or even look at him.

‘Isn’t this a bit much??’ He wanted to confront her about it, but to argue with her? Being a dragon was besides the point- or rather, it explained why she has always been so hard-headed!! ‘This is ridiculous… I couldn't even work up the courage to ask her to wait so I could change my shirt! Now I'm wearing this to class!!’ He tugged the side of his coat to close in on the image of the cartoon cow getting beamed up into a corny flying saucer graphic, gripping tighter on the straps of his bag with his other hand. 

Weirdly enough, though, she had an air of satisfaction when he left the house with the shirt on, some of her scales flaring as she complimented him, “I like the new look, Okarun! It feels very you… a newer you! Especially the hair; it's waaaaaay better than that Godawful bowl cut.”  

His eyebrow twitched again just thinking about it, but he couldn't deny it: she had a valid point. His new hair could almost ( almost ) pass as styled… if not mysteriously longer. It definitely felt longer, especially whenever his own aura flared up. And he didn't know if he was imagining things or not, but it seemed to mimic how her own hair behaved when she transformed… 

Apparently dragon blessings not only made you targets of hungry ghost ladies, but also changed your hairstyle. Neat.

He stopped about two meters from where his class’s door was, before turning to face the unfairly adorable bane of his existence. “Alright; it was fun having my own, annoying chaperone despite being nineteen, but here we are. You don't need to keep hounding me, Ayase-san.” He gestured to the doorway, “There's no need for you to keep following me, unless you want to continue being a nuisance and follow me inside the classroom.”

She growled under her breath, something that only he apparently could hear since no one else reacted to the animalistic noise, “I’m not gonna apologize for making sure you didn't do anything stupid while I wasn't looking, Okarun.”

He could hear the unspoken “again” in her tone alone. He rolled his eyes with a groan, “I don't need a parole officer. I don't need a bodyguard. And I definitely don't need a babysitter. Ayase-san, I'm literally going into my classroom to take notes and be bored out of my mind during a two hour long lecture about theoretical numbers. How unsafe do you think me sitting in a math class could get?”

He didn't mean to sound so patronizing, but he seriously needed to get the point across. She was being ridiculous!! Internally he cringed, ‘I don't even want to tease her about acting like a girlfriend, because this is beyond even something maternal!! She literally thinks I'm gonna die if she doesn't have her eyes on m-’

… she didn't have her eyes on him. She was looking past him with a mixed look of anger and fear, her eyes glowing bright pink as her hair and rapidly forming scales startled to bristle. Her scent, while once just a nice lingering smell, now overpowered his nose and threatened to lull him into a deep sleep like anti smelling salts.

‘… way to be subtle, Ayase-san.’ He really didn't want to look, but he couldn't not look! If this had been a normal situation where he didn't see weird shit and he didn't know she was a freaking dragon, he would've absolutely looked over his shoulder like she was just staring down a sworn enemy delinquent. He seriously wished she was still doing just that, but the aura colors he'd been trying to ignore were now buzzing like TV static all over again.

Masking it as an annoyed groan, he breathed out to steady himself, following her line of sight.

A large, billowing mass of black and putrid, puke green skin was blocking his view from the rest of the hallway. If it weren't for Momo’s scent smothering him both inside and out at this point, he would've totally been assaulted by the smell of rot and decay. He could feel the evil gaze from above, but he rigidly turned right back around from the sight before he could give away his ability to see the fucking thing what the actual fuck is that thing how did it get so close to him so quickly!?!? He cleared his throat, trying to remember how to breathe as his mind screamed out, willing himself to just play it cool, “A-Ayase-san? What are you even looking at? It's just a hallway.” 

She looked between him and up at the thing practically drooling on him- oh God, it actually was. He had to calm his aura down so that the spiritual goop would- oh, he was totally gonna vomit if he thought about it too long- pass through his skin and body to fall through the floor and dissipate. He rolled his eyes and closed them, feigning annoyance with her, when really, he was just trying his damndest not to screech at the top of his lungs, ‘PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT'S HOLY, AYASE-SAN, PLEASE ATTACK IT ALREADYYYY!!!’ 

He kept up the charade, noticing the creature behind him didn't seem to move at all, as if it too were curious if he could actually perceive it or not. The danger alarms weren't blaring like with that vicious ghost hag, so maybe pretending was a good idea on his part? It didn't matter, he was only hanging on by a single thread of what remained of his waning sanity!!

She blinked again, her aura still flaring even as she calmed her voice down, although she struggled to finish her sentences coherently, “O-oh! Oh, uh… yeah! Right! Y-you need to… a-and your class is long! Yeah, you won't need to be… u-um,” her eyes kept flicking up at the monster looming just over his head, “I-I'll see you later, Okarun. I mean it. You stay safe, okay!?” She poked him right over the sternum, again with only her knuckle.

He had to really stamp down the flames of his soul from reacting to her determination to see him in general. ‘Why does she care so much!? I don't understand-’  

He internally shook his head when another glob of saliva dropped on him and phased through him, Momo cringing at the sight herself. “O-okay! S… s-see you later.”

He kept his eyes closed as he turned fully around, dread gnawing on the corners of his brain as he knew what was ahead, even without knowing the details. The colors blared behind his eyelids, warning him of the danger he was already much aware of, feeling more globules of phlegmy spit splash through him. ‘O-okay! Calm down, calm down! I'm just gonna walk on through like it's no big deal!’ At least his terror provided a good anchor for tying down his aura. He worked it down, all until he could barely see even a hint of the creature’s disgusting aura. ‘Okay, good! Like he isn't even there! Now just…’

He let his feet carry him forward. What felt like walking through a gelatinous, slime wall enveloped him, but he was able to continue ahead with easy breathing, Momo’s incense still burning mercifully in his nose as he moved, helping negate the nausea that he wanted so badly to succumb to as he proceeded. ‘Surely this thing will end soon, right!? He's not going to fill up the entire hall- is he!?”  

Thankfully, the new terror was short lived because he felt the rush of fresh air and release of the disgusting confines of the ghost he walked through. He stopped himself from gasping; there would be time to freak the fuck out later-

“O-Okarun!” 

He didn't turn around fully, only turning his head to at least listen to the she-dragon clearly. “Hm…?”

“… hang in there.” 

Her voice rang like bells. It was sweet as honey, and it… even when still tamping down his aura, he could tell there was power behind each word. She was casting a spell, as if to cleanse him of that damned spirit’s existence, allowing room for only her own magic to coil up around him.

He didn't know why it drove him nuts not looking to see her wave at him, auras quickly rushing back with double the force as he felt his entire body heat up- f-from her spell!! The unnecessary blessing that felt like a full bodied hug was just making him a bit flustered, that's all!!

He turned fully away again, trying not to panic when the TV static started returning now that his inferno of an aura started picking up the attention of the spirit again, “Th… thanks. I-I’ll… see you around.”

Seeing the perfect opportunity to get the Hell outta there, he retreated into the confines of his classroom-

She didn't even wait for him to be fully over the threshold before she transformed behind him, shaking the entire building and smacking the creature against the walls, her battle cries only heard by Ken, but the aftermath heard and felt by everyone.

“Woah, is that an earthquake!?”

“What the-”

“It feels like a bad one!!”

“Everyone, get outside!! I'll email the lesson notes later, just get to safety-!!”

The floor left everyone's feet for a split second, Ken being the only one to not fall over since he got the heads-up to grab hold of the door frame prior to Momo snatching up the monster in her jaws and slam it down against the floor, cracking a few of the tiles in the process as she made the world shake and the lights flicker. The girls and even a few of the guys in the classroom screamed and yelled, their professor urging them to get outside. Ken wordlessly exited the doorway to allow his classmates to easily escape along with the other evacuating classrooms, the faculty and student body completely unaware of the teal coloring the walls as Momo spread out her aura to protect them from any adverse effects of the drooling ghost made of rot and decay.

It hit him… he would've been looking for her, wouldn't he? In a normal world, he would've been worrying about her, even if she was a pain in the ass and too headstrong for him to handle…

“Ayase-san? Ayase-san!?” He cried out over the crowd, doing his best to sound worried, despite-!!

Phasing through rushing people as if she didn't even exist, her dragon body was sent careening into the floor, the shake caused by the impact making people shriek with no clue that a dragon was laying on top of them as they ran through her like a ghost. 

“Momo-san!!” He himself shrieked. He immediately covered his mouth at the slip-of-tongue use of her personal name, not expecting himself to react so strongly. However, he couldn't really blame himself for the sudden bloom of panic. Her beautiful scales and glimmering mane were covered in black, rotten blood, her eyes clenched shut from the gunk getting smeared all over her snarling, pained face. She herself shed no blood, but she still slipped in place from her own dizziness. 

Her aura, however, seemed to burn brighter when he had called her name. If… if his own powers of sight grew stronger when his own aura was brighter, then…

“Momo-san!!”  

The lights began flickering more sporadically, some even bursting overhead. Her mane billowed out like teal flames, letting out a mighty roar that shook the building and threatened to make the very walls crack. She galloped before lifting into the air, blinded but sure as she flew straight into the disgusting creature’s torso…

Ken regretted looking at the grotesque figure, now having seen the uncannily humanoid face with semi-empty eye sockets with melted viscera oozing out and gaping, unhinged and broken jaw that looked like a perpetual scream, holes littering its face as the remaining flesh stayed caught in the final stages of advanced decay postmortem. The bites and deep gash wounds from Momo’s easily over fifty centimeter long claws only added to the horrific sight as black blood poured out each of the injuries she made, smoke rising from each one as if she burned it with each touch.

That thing had been drooling on him.

It was too much for him to take in. 

‘Y-yep… ‘m gonna puke.’

Trusting that she could handle herself as she decapitated the abomination, he ran to the nearest bathroom he could, becoming well acquainted with the closest stall and toilet.

He was really starting to hate being proven wrong about ghosts being made up…

Chapter 3: I Turned the Lights Off, So Why Won't You Fly Through the Window? And Why Won't I? (I Know: We're Both Idiots, That's Why)

Ken waited in the shade sitting on his coat with his eyes scanning for any sight of either the beautiful dragon she turned into or the obnoxious increasingly adorable gyaru that was Momo’s true form. ‘She sure is taking her time… I thought she killed that ghost, unless it really didn’t need its head…’ Just the thought of it made his skin crawl.

It was getting close to an hour after the building was evacuated, and he’d already received multiple emails on his dinky school netbook. Each were from the classes he had in the main hall and close buildings about having temporary classroom relocations until the all clear to return was given. He wondered just how long repairs would take, seeing as how Momo had no qualms against smashing and thrashing the walls and tiles with the body of that- guh… that thing. Just thinking about it, he had to fight the anxiety ridden nausea that reared its ugly head again. The ghost that had clearly wanted to eat him and been so close to him seriously did a number on Ken’s mental state. He was glad he had taken off his jacket, he needed the cool breeze to help his nerves settle down, his skin still feeling the phantom sensation of the drool going through it.

‘And then walking through its body… why the fuck did I think that was a good idea?? I should've come clean right then and there!!’ He gripped his hand over his mouth, trying to calm down his breathing before he could get sick again. ‘At least that stupid plan worked. I gave her the perfect opportunity to transform without me noticing her disappearing-’

He lowered his hand, his stomach forgotten as he replayed the series of events in his head. She blessed him or something after he… exited the spirit, he got all sappy about it and his aura flared up, and then, only then, did the spirit start to turn after him. It didn't even try to stop him while walking through it! It wasn't until after Ken lost control of himself that the spirit noticed!

He held his chin, considering what that possibly could've meant. ‘The colors still act up a bit when I'm calm if I get super close to Ayase-san- or rather, when she approaches me. If I pay more attention to it, I can still sense things close to me like it even when I'm not actively using that aura seeing thing! I can still tell things are there without looking directly at them, but they don't seem as hostile if I try to ignore them and suppress… wh-whatever this ability is!’

Granted, he only had the passing encounters with the shadows from yesterday and the decayed corpse monster to go off from, since the old crone didn't really count (his aura and color sight were both on full blast and he had no hopes of turning it off while she talked to him). Still though, the possibility that he was onto something regarding dangerous spirits not attacking him as long as he feigned ignorance and controlled his aura, and by extension, his ridiculously overflowing emotions-!

“Okarun!!” 

He felt his aura engulf him the second he heard Momo’s voice, cutting off his internal theory crafting completely. ‘Sh-shit!!’  

He was starting to wonder if this was shaping up to be his own brand of a Herculean task.

She came from the side of the building, her scales on full display with her tail swaying with each step behind her and her teal hair floating in the wind she created. Despite the black blood smeared all over her and her clothes, she had the biggest, cockiest grin he had ever seen on her, positively beaming with a post battle high. She only partially wiped off the blood from her upper face so she could see, her utter lack of embarrassment suggesting that it was not a mess he should've been able to notice. There's no way she, the Feral Gyaru, would ever want to be seen in that state, especially by himself, a lowly nerd that she saw in need of protection since he couldn't stand up for himself. 

So, he ignored it and how badass it made her look.

But it did not remain in the forefront of his mind for long. 

It couldn't, not when it wasn't nearly as alarming as the fact that she was holding an injured arm close to her side, nor did he miss the slight limp from her right leg as she came wobbly speed walking as quickly as she could over to him. He instantly realized what happened: both injuries were from when she crashed into the ground, thrown by that ghost in her dragon form. Even she could be touched and harmed, regardless of her prowess and terrifying strength.

It shocked Ken to his core.

He scrambled up to his feet, all caution against reacting being thrown out the window as he panicked, “Ayase-san!? Wha… what happened!? You're hurt!!” He looked her all over, hating that he couldn't tell if any of the blood on her was her own, everything hidden underneath the uneven layer of rotten, black muck.

“Heh, yeah.” She shrugged with only her left shoulder, wincing a bit. Still, her smile stayed strong, grinning ear to ear in spite of her pain. She closed her eyes, lying through her sharp teeth with uncanny ease, “Got shoved over pretty bad. I stayed tucked under a few desks, just in case some aftershocks came rumblin’…” 

A few broken sounds were all that could escape him. He couldn't stand how easy it was for her to lie so simply, the rehearsed lines sounding like second nature for her, regardless of how much it made her aura flicker in bitter agitation. He could see how it viciously ate at her, watching her resentment for herself festering from lying to him, despite it obviously being what she needed to say to keep up the façade of normalcy. How… often did she find herself needing to do that, to lie and ignore her own desires when she truly didn’t want to be dishonest just to protect herself?

He felt sick from how easy it was for him to do the very same thing.

Her pink eyes flashed open, the agitation in her heart changed out for something more bubbly, so sweet he could almost taste it from where he stood, when she audibly pointed out her realization, “Wait, you waited out here?” There was a quiet ‘for me?’ hidden in between what was spoken out loud, mystified confusion so blatantly written all over her face, the black sludge never stood a chance at hiding it.

It made his heart lurch. ‘Yes, dumbass! You were fighting a goddamn monster and got hurt!! Of course I waited for you!!’ He wanted to shake her by her shoulders, only refraining from doing so because of her injuries. “Ayase-san!! What else was I supposed to do!? You disappeared when everyone was freaking out! I called your name and looked outside, but I couldn't find you!” He couldn't believe that she didn't once stop to think about how this must've been for people who didn't know what she faced in the spiritual side of their world, ‘What if it were Mīko-san and Kei-san!? Would she’ve seen then how scary it would've been for the girls!? Wait- they must be freaking the fuck out right now!!’ He immediately voiced his concern for them to the dragon girl, “Did you tell your friends you're alright!? They're probably panicking half to death right now!! The school sent out emails to everyone!!” 

She flinched, mumbling, “Can't… left my phone at home this morning.” 

He groaned out loud- “Wait a- you forgot your phone!?” He grabbed over his messy hair, openly gawking at the development, “You left to come to my place without eating anything and you left your phone behind!? Ayase-san, you’re never without your phone!! You always have it handy and constantly get into trouble texting during seminars!!”

Her aura flickered sporadically as blush and scales competed for territory on her skin, “Why the fuck do you know that!? Are you stalking me or-”

“Oh, come on!! EVERYONE knows that!! You’re the only stalker between us, Miss I-Followed-You-Home-to-Your-Apartment! Yeah, remember that? I sure as Hell do!” He gestured wildly, trying to understand how she could've possibly been so distracted that morning- and over him no less! “Being with your phone is literally part of your style! You even change the cases out sometimes just to match your outfit! Sorry for noticing something as blatantly obvious as a giant, neon billboard!!”

She crossed her arms, clearly frustrated that she couldn't really argue with him on it. Her incense turned a little spiced as she snarked back, “Okay, okay; I was just super worried after that stu- th-that conversation!! That's all! I wasn't thinking, especially not about my phone; I-I just left in a hurry! I… I needed to see that you were okay, Okarun! And how the Hell was I s’posed to know there'd be a goddamn earthquake!?” 

‘In your case, that should always remain a possibility…’ He pinched the bridge of his nose, despondent over the fact that she was clearly using his Tragic Backstory™ to her advantage in making excuses, even if she herself didn’t realize that's what she was doing. ‘Low blow, Ayase-san… ugh, I can’t even really hold it against her, though. Especially not after that stunt I pulled when she specifically told me not to get involved…’ And fainting twice, his brain oh so helpfully reminded himself. He sighed as he held up his other hand, “Okay, I'm sorry. It's not like you are so bad that it's glued to your hand and face like some people; but you seriously are hopeless, Ayase-san.”

Her scales flared out and up, like how an angry, scared cat would fluff up its fur ( ‘WHAT THE HELL!? SHE SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING SO FREAKING CUTE!!’ ). “A-am not!! Don't be such a jerk!! I told you: I was worried about you!! You di- you were gonna do something stupid if I didn’t check in! I just knew it!!”

He grumbled at her earnesty (and near slip up, just further proving his point at how hopeless she was), ‘Yep, she’s right. I did get almost seriously hurt and killed by a ghost and yes, I fainted. Twice. I get it, brain. Thanks for that.’ He shoved his glasses up so that he could massage away the tension between his brows, ‘I guess I can get why she wanted to come over to my place as quickly as possible, because either way, I did something stupid and freaked her out. She definitely blames herself for it, too.’ 

Ken just could not find it in him to stay upset with her, and she had a point about the “earthquakes”… unless she wasn't telling him about any clairvoyance she might've had to warn about the ghost. He quietly chuckled after sighing, “Yeah, but you're still a klutz.” He held up his hands before she could snarl at him (both figuratively and literally), “Hey, don't get mad at me. It's the truth; you can't deny that leaving your house like you did and not grabbing your phone, or anything to eat, was a pretty ditzy thing to do, especially with how much you talk to your friends. I don't even have a ph- cellphone, o-or friends to talk to, and even I know this-” 

His breath hitched when she looked up at him with a pained look, but he knew without a doubt it wasn't because of her injuries. A bloom of that mysterious scent of hers exploded out as she stared up at him with wordless empathy, reading his every expression as if searching for something. 

He had a feeling he knew what, even though she did her best not to make him feel like another tragic case study to be pitied. Her aura wasn't needed to be seen in order to express how genuinely hurt for him she felt. ‘I mean, I did pretty much trauma dump on her about me being a miserable, worthless loner yesterday…’ He waved her off, trying his best not to groan and unintentionally sound annoyed, “No, not- not like that. I just… look, don't worry about it! Ayase-san, it's just-”

She tugged the hem of his shirt, her eyes staying locked on his, “Okarun-”

He ignored the blood on her hand as he gently grabbed it and pulled it up after she released her hold on the shirt, noticing the ghostly goo did not leave a mark on him. He also didn't miss how she flexed her fingers to keep her claws away from his skin, nor the smooth softness of her warm scales. “Ayase-san… it's fine. I get it. If it weren't for yesterday, you wouldn't have felt the need to be this nice to me. Don't trick yourself into thinking you need to be nicer, or make it up to me, especially when I was being a major jerk to you. Alright?” He released her, allowing his heart to scream at him for making her look so hurt-!!

Rrrrrrrr…

She suddenly grappled onto him while her chest echoed with an impossibly deep growl, her hair blazing out and her eyes burning as she dragged him closer to her face, making him stand almost on tip-toe in the process. The deep tone shook his organs, making him instinctively freeze up, forcing him to fixate on her entirely as she lowly enunciated each word with that paired rumble, “Listen here, Okarun… you better stop assuming shit and pushin’ me away. I get to decide who I want to be friends with, whether they like it or not, and that includes you .”  

“F… f-friends!?” He audibly gulped, not expecting this kind of reaction from her at all!! ‘What the Hell!? What- why is she-!?’ He grabbed over her hand that locked him in place, crying out before he could even think about it, “Why do you care all of the sudden!? We aren't- when were we ever-!?” Because really, there was no logical explanation! He was just a nerdy nobody, an occult obsessed freak that everyone hated, before she came along and blessed him for some freakin’ reason!! 

She glared him down so intensely, he wouldn't have been surprised if she suddenly set him on fire or even killed him from her gaze alone, the pink surging like molten magma just waiting to cook and eat him alive. (It was totally unfair how beautifully mesmerizing her anger was like this, distracting him all too easily. ‘Damn it…’ ) She tsked under her breath, clicking her tongue as she chose her words carefully and slowly released him, “I have my reasons. I don't need to share them with you. That shit's for me to know. Maybe, I just couldn't stand seeing you being all pathetic and mopey all the time! It bums me the fuck out.”

He knew she was being at least mostly honest with him; she masterfully skirted around the actual truth while still giving him a good enough answer. He supposed that's what came after however long she's kept this monster secret of hers, be it months or her entire life. ‘God, what if it was brand new? No, no… this doesn't seem like something she’s only just started to deal with over the course of break. She seems too skilled and sure for it to be recent recent.’  

It… it hit him… she’s had to lie and hide the truth ever since they met, and before that with every other single person she knew. Shit, did the girls even know?? Even if they did, it didn't matter. He didn't want Momo to have to lie more than what she already had to do with everyone else around them, especially not with him. He felt like he was cheating, being able to see her for who she truly was, the magic she hid from the world. Hell, he was cheating. He truly felt disgusting for lying to her just to protect himself from the supernatural, especially after she went out of her way, twice, to save his utterly lamentable life.

He was the actual worst. The least he could do was give her an out, a way to never feel obligated to be around him again.

“If me and my problems bum you out so much, you don't have to stay around me. Nobody's forcing you. I definitely am not.” There was no bite to his words. Part of him wondered if he should've sounded more pissed off to really drive her away, but he was already lying to her too damn much, making himself feel sick all over again in spite of her scent. ‘Just leave, Ayase-san. You need to go home.’  

Her eyes softened up immediately, clearly thinking she fucked up everything with her answer. “N-no, wait-!! I didn't mean it like that! I-! Ugh!!” 

He grabbed his glasses, wincing as she started to stress over him again, ‘Sh-shit! At this rate, she'll never leave me alone!’ He groaned, “Ayase-san… just leave. You need to go talk to your friends; your real ones, not waste your time around me. Let them know you're okay. I did what I needed to: I saw that you're alive, if a bit hurt. I'm sorry that happened. You don't even have classes today, right? You wouldn't have even been here if it weren't for me…” 

He hadn't really thought about it, but yeah… as his words tumbled out, he just felt more and more guilty, hating himself for it. This beautiful, kind dragon girl, who needlessly saved his dumb life, got hurt because of him. She lied just to try and be around him. He wasn't worth all of that, not remotely.

“I'm not worth it, Ayase-san. You don't need to pretend anymore. I’m fine-” 

She let out a high pitched cry of sorts as he started to turn to walk away from her, desperately hooking his arm with her claws so quickly, he nearly yelped from the shock. “Okarun!! Don't blame yourself for something like that!! You- you are worth it!! You matter!! I didn't mean it like that!! I was bummed because you are bummed!! I don't want you to be hurting, and it's making me angry that I can't figure out how to fix it!!” 

He supposed he could understand that. Of course she would get frustrated that she couldn't easily chase away his pain, like how she chased away his bullies and those disgusting monsters. Still though, it really just felt like she was forcing herself to cling on. She didn't need to, especially when it was only hurting her in the process to do so. “Ayase-san… until you can give me a reason why you care so much about me and my problems, you should just stay away. It'll be easier for you-”

“No! It won't! It'll be anything but easy for me!” Her grip tightened, her claws poking him and breaking the skin a little, not that he would react to it outwardly. “I can’t… I can't just leave you-!”

“Why?” He pushed his arm towards her and her thumb, apologetic when hurting her fingers a bit as he broke her grasp on him, a maneuver he was unfortunately well practiced in from other, crueler hands. Before she could recover and try snatching any other part of him or his belongings, he backed away, “Sorry, Ayase-san, I'm just… I'm not… ready, for whatever this is… and you aren't, too.” For her strange infatuation over his protection, for the reality check of yokai being real, for the sight he was given… for something more familiar between them. None of it. He gave her one final look in the eyes, before turning around. “Go home, Aya-”

“You called me Momo.” 

He froze. 

“You did, didn't you?” She didn't approach him, but her aura broadcasted her every desire to. “Back in the hall. ‘thought I heard it.”

‘… she knows she heard it.’ He sighed with an eye roll, ‘Why else would she’ve gone full blast like that?’ He didn't want to turn around and face her, but the colors of her were starting to beat against him in warm, confident waves. 

He knew if he looked, he'd get his breath taken away, stolen by her visage.

“You want to be friends. You. You want it. You care. Isn't that a good enough answer? I'm not doing it- any of this out of pity. Maybe… maybe I wanted it, too.” He heard her turn around, more scales crackling as she slowly let loose more of her power, “Ugh, you're such a dumbass… I'm leaving, but I'm not giving up. Never! Be difficult all you fucking want, but good luck getting rid of me! I'll make you eat those words and see you smile, damnit!”

If only she knew how much he had to fight the one currently growing on his face. ‘Why did she have to make it so freaking cheesy!? Gah!! I'm struggling not to laugh and let my aura go berserk all over again, now!!’ In a fit of desperation, he shouted back over his shoulder, “D-don't be such an immature brat about it! So maybe I did call you by your personal name; s-so what!? It was only because I panicked when I couldn't find you in a surging crowd of people!! Quit being so gauche!!” 

He heard her tail slam onto the ground, “I don't even know what gauche means!! Ugh, go blow yourself!!”

“Ugh!! You're so fucking vulgar!! Who’d even want to be friends with you!?” 

“Mīko and Kei, jackass!!” She growled for a second, but he heard her start to walk away, finally. “They like being around me, and we do everything together!”

“Fun. Nice to know they can handle your crazy ass. They must have the patience of saints to deal with you.” 

“They are saints! They're the best and I love them! Not that you'd understand something like that! You know what!? I'm gonna go hang out with them and blame you for my injuries, because you're right about one thing: I'd've never gotten hurt if I didn't come today! At least they'd care I got a fucked up shoulder and-”

“Wait, what!?”

He didn't even think. 

Colors exploded all around as a new form of fire took over his aura.

Ken rushed over to her, nearly stepping on her tail when he went to grab onto her uninjured left arm and shoulder to stop her in her tracks. “What happened!? What do you mean!? Was it dislocated!? Strained rotator cuff!? Broken!? Ayase-san, you need to go to the hospital if it's that bad!! You idiot!! Why didn't you say anything!?” He didn't care that he was now super close to her, or how startled she looked; he just needed to see if there were any other injuries she was foolishly downplaying!

‘And all because she's more concerned about me!! How can she be so dense!?’

She was stiff against his hold, all of her fire dimming down into gentle glimmers as she peeped, “I-I… I already popped it back into place. I-it was just dislocated. I just need to go home. Grandma can patch up the rest…” She didn't pull away from him, her scent blooming a bit sweeter than usual as she blushed with puffed up scales all over, her eyes locked onto his face.

“Just dislocated- are you cra-” He stopped himself, closing his eyes as he took in a deep inhale and steadying exhale. A general rule of thumb: never call the dragon lady crazy. ‘Could a human hospital even do anything for her? Maybe she heals fast and you're just overreacting from her point of view.’ Still though, he continued to question her, like he would’ve in a somewhat normal situation, “Are you bleeding anywhere? Did you get cut? Is it just bruising?” He grumbled at the black muck obscuring his view, “Your sweater is in the way. I can't see anything.”

“N-no, I'm not-!!” She suddenly pushed him away, “You're the one bleeding!! Oh my God, your arm!!”  

He looked down at his right arm she was gawking at. He barely reacted when he saw the angry, shallow lacerations across his forearm, although he was surprised he didn't even notice it until she abruptly pointed it out to him. Had he been wearing his coat, her talons may’ve not caused so much damage to him when he broke free of her grasp. Unfortunately, now that he looked and confirmed that he was indeed bleeding, there was no way to hide that she was technically responsible for the injury, since it was exactly where she'd been grabbing him… that and there was his blood tinting her teal claws.

It was what she too was currently looking at, pure terror flooding her expression…

“I-I'm fine!!” He grabbed over her hand with both of his, hiding her claws from her view. “Ayase-san, I swear it doesn't-”

“I hurt you.”

“N-no! I mean, kinda, b-but only because I-!”

“I hurt you again!!”

She tried lifting her right hand, tearing up as she started fruitlessly tugging her other hand against his hold. He didn't understand why she couldn't just pull away from him, dragon powers aside. He wasn't exactly strong, nor was he holding on tight, so she easily could've pulled her hand out from his. She already was able to push him! What made him holding onto her this time any different from right before?

Either way, he was thankful she didn't leave. He couldn't let her. Not just yet, not when he had to fix this. This wasn't what he wanted, not remotely. Her retreating and being scared of her own self for hurting him would surely be the death of him. He rubbed little circles over her soft, iridescent scales, showing no fear for the claws that he hurt himself with, not her. “Ayase-san… it's fine. It was just an accident, okay? I'm the one who pushed hard against your nails. Accidents happen-”

“N-not like this…” 

“Ah-” He cringed, since she wasn’t wrong. Even if nail obsessed ladies got theirs done super sharp, they weren't strong like true dragon talon keratin. And then, there were the puncture wounds from before-! If Ken was thinking about it, she probably was too, and he didn't want her to think about it at all right now. He was just a pathetically weak human compared to her dragon self; it shouldn't have been a surprise that he'd get hurt so easily! Holding up his arm, he gestured with his eyes, “Look, I'm not even in any pain! It probably just looks worse than it is! I'll be okay- heck, you're more hurt than me-!?”

Momo began to glow, her eyelids and lips curiously turning teal like a magical makeover as her hair lifted higher and her eyes burned. But what really shocked him were the areas he had the same teal coloring his own body, feeling the patches hidden underneath his shirt start to itch. It wasn't an unpleasant itch, though; the tingling sensation felt more like when you'd sit next to a heater too long and were completely saturated in warmth both inside and out. She was warming up his soul, making whatever it was she left inside of him excited and stirred up. He had no hopes of hiding the shudder that dragged its teasing fingers up along his spine, rapping and tapping against every single one of his vertebrae. Colors exploded out, the world’s auras bleeding into each other like spilled watercolors and ink, dizzyingly beautiful and overwhelming to watch.

She took advantage of him reflexively clenching his eyes shut from the sensation, touching his arm so deftly, he had no clue what she physically did. All he knew was that a fresh wave of energy seeped into his skin before he even had the chance to open up his eyes. 

She blessed him again.  

“Wh-what just…?” He blearily tried to look at her, only to be met with glowing teal shining from his own arm and her shyly nibbling her lips that slowly returned to their rich, coral color. ‘Bummer… she was really pretty with the blue… well, she's pretty cute normally-! Knock it off, Ken!! She just did something to you- WAIT DON'T STARE AT YOUR ARM!! YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO NOTICE THAT SH- STUFF, YOU MORON!!’ He gripped his head, trying his best to not sound so pathetically nervous, “Heh… I-I think maybe I got a concussion or something after all… I've been feeling pretty nauseous, so… maybe it just caught up to me?”

It wasn't a lie, technically… he had been nauseous earlier, and now he was feeling it again, regardless of how much her soothing scent immediately started to bombard his nose. It trapped him in a limbo between feeling relaxed enough to sleep and feeling his anxiety threaten to make his insides turn to mush, the new added sweetness to her aroma sending his brain on a sugar crash-

Ah… he was feeling happy again. That's what it was. Shit.

She drifted away from him, although her touch still buzzed within his skin, leaving him internally trembling. “You should be alright. I highly doubt it's a concussion.”

‘More like you highly doubt I'll remain hurt.’ He fought every urge he had to thank her for the unnecessary healing, especially now that all prior tension and pain from his other injuries were just gone. Whatever she did worked a little too well and genuinely left him wanting more. He wasn't stupid, he knew there was no denying how good the blessing felt. ‘N-no… don't grow attached, you idiot. She's calmed down, so it's the perfect opportunity to let her leave… God, is this addiction? Am I getting addicted to this feeling? Ugh, I totally am.’ It still felt completely unnatural, feeling so much joy and comfort trashing his heart and brain around like a huggable maelstrom. He could equate the sensation to getting drunk without the sickness, but still with a potential for a hangover.

“Ayase-san… why are you being so kind to me now? You never cared before. What… changed?”

He almost couldn't feel the words leave his own mouth, unable to even think about what he was asking before it came barging out between the two of them. Whatever she did to him really did a number on his social filter. ‘Uuuugh, I sound like such a dumb loser-’

She blushed, most of her scales receding, apart from the tail that stayed closely tucked to her legs as she shyly looked down and away ( ‘So cute…’ ). She had quite a bit of sass rumbling in her voice as she curtly answered, “You'd just call me a stalker again if I told you.” 

He rolled his eyes, struggling to fight the lazy smile that wanted oh so badly to sprawl all over his face. “Ayase-san… you called me a stalker for just noticing how much you love your cellphone. What? Were you watching me at home or something-?”

She very noticeably flinched, before slamming her tail on the ground out of defiance as she snarled, “N-no! What the fuck, dude? Like I’d waste my time doing something creepy like that!”

He didn't need to be able to see her aura sputter to know she was lying. ‘… oh my God she totally was- nope. Gonna pretend I didn't see that! I definitely do not have an obsessive, dragon stalker- why am I blushing!?’ He whipped his face away from her view, unable to stop the utterly unmanly squeak that escaped him as he did so. ‘Get it together, you idiot!! She's been-’

The yokai, the hag, his bullies… everything came to mind. 

‘… watching over me.’  

The thought took his breath away, turning again to look down on the adorably pouting woman who fought tooth and nail (literally) to keep him safe, no matter how much he frustrated her or how hard it was to keep the truth from him. He realized then and there, he was doomed from the start: there was no getting rid of Ayase Momo. He was completely, unequivocally stuck within her claws.

“You… I-I don't… understand.”

She tilted her head, confused by the sentiment. “Don't understand what? That I'm not some psycho freak out to get’cha? I just said I'm not stalking you-”

“No, not… not that.” He furrowed his brow, “I did nothing to deserve your kindness. I've never been nice to you. I even tried to avoid you; and yet… here you are, stressed out over me, when it makes no sense at all.” 

She didn't touch him, nor move to grab hold of his shirt again. Instead, she backed away after hesitating. In an unexpected moment of honesty, she quietly murmured, “… I don't… get it either… but you're also not outright nasty to me. Give yourself some credit, Okarun. You're too damn polite to be mean.” 

“I called you a bitch yesterday,” he dryly retorted.

“And I deserved it…” She looked at his arm, obviously still hung up over the scratches, despite healing them, “I deserve worse. Why aren't you mad at me? I don't get it…”

Ken wanted nothing more than to chase away that sadness in her eyes- ‘Is this what she feels when she looks at me? Shit, we're both freakin’ hypocrites… okay, no yeah, we're seriously the worst hypocrites.’ He held up his arm, showing her again as clearly and calmly as possible, “This was an accident, Ayase-san. I pressed up against your nails when twisting out of your grip. If anything, it was both our faults, so quit blaming yourself.”

He couldn't believe what he was about to say, but then again… she had been plenty childish, too. ‘Might as well take the plunge, since she's already dead set on sticking around.’

“I'll accept and let you claim me as a friend, if you stop beating yourself up for every little thing-!!”

She tackled him, almost sending them both falling backward, especially since he did not see it coming. Black goo smudged everywhere, sticking to his skin and staining his clothes since his aura unabashedly betrayed him. The goofball lizard forgot to control herself, because she was lifting him up off of the ground now with way too much ease… and he totally wasn't rendered speechless over getting lifted up by a girl somewhat taller than him, manhandling (dragonhandling?) him and nuzzling into his chest as he lost all of his breath from her constricting clutches. It was just from the tightness! Nothing else!

“A-arm!” He squeaked out, “Y-your arm! Ayase, your arm!!” 

She’d been letting out a victorious coo ( ‘Adorable-’ ), before finally realizing that she shouldn't have been able to lift him up like that. She set him back down as she grumbled, “Sh-shut up… I'm okay. This is nothing.” 

Oh, how he hated how his face burned even more at that. ‘I should feel put off by being told I weigh basically nothing to her, right? I should feel more irritated, or something… not like I've got butterflies in my stomach!! Stupid, freakin’ happiness. You're making me turn into an idiot!!’ She was proving that some levels of stupidity must be contagious, because now he was acting like a fool due to her blessing poisoning his sanity.

Was it foolish to blame it on her? Also yes.

God, he was stuck with her for good now, wasn't he? Her grip on him, although much gentler and softer than the last few times she grappled onto his body, still felt wholly desperate and determined to never let him go. Her colors blended with his own, tickling his soul. He was hers. It felt weird to think about, but it was the simple truth of the matter. For whatever reason, she wanted to keep him, to protect him, to coddle him…

He hesitated at first, but he patted her back as she got the urge to hug him out of her system (a very long and cuddly process not that he was complaining ). It felt awkward to be held like this, when she had no idea he knew the truth. It wasn't right for her to cling to a liar like him-

But… she was one too. They both were. They both were just protecting themselves…

He wouldn't push her. Not away, nor to open up… he'd pretend not to notice, now more for her sake, at least until she was ready to tell him what she was herself. All on her own time. He'd help steer her to feeling safe enough with him to tell him the truth, even if it meant risking getting targeted by yokai… not that he had much of a choice, given how easily she sparked up his aura. Still, though! He wasn't as afraid as before. ‘I’ve got a dragon looking out for me. Why should I be af-’

She started floating as she finally pulled away, letting him go so he could gather his things on the ground. She didn't notice it at all, wiping away happy tears before they could fall with the inside of her sweater that wasn't covered in ghost guts. “Okarun… I'll go home and take care of myself, like you wanted. I'll call the girls and let them know I'm okay, too. Heh, they do tend to overreact to things like that.” 

Okay, he was afraid again, just in a new flavor. ‘Does she seriously not notice she's levitating at least forty centimeters off the ground right now!? What does that even look like to regular people!? How frequently does this happen!? How has she hidden her powers until now!?’ Well, the problem could be temporarily solved by simply not looking at her. “Okay, Ayase-san. Good. You need to rest up-”

“I'll come by tomorrow to walk you to campus!”

“… eh?”

She landed silently on the ground and grinned with her fangs poking out, “Friends walk with friends! I don't ever want you to feel alone again!”

Oh, he was stuck stuck with her, and all that was associated with being the object of fascination for a dragon that would most definitely follow. 

All he could manage to squeak out was a hesitant, “O-okay…?” as she wrapped him up in her aura and scent, clearly struggling to not just pluck him up and carry him to her home right then and there.

So much for not getting attached… she didn't give him the choice.

Chapter 4: When Suddenly Being Made Attractive is a No Good, Very Bad Thing.

When people said cheesy things like “walking on sunshine” or “hanging on cloud nine”, Ken never understood what the Hell they were talking about.

It was only now, as he quite literally felt like he was drifting along as he shambled back to his apartment without feeling his feet and instead he weighed lighter than air, that he finally got it. He could probably walk for kilometers on end and not feel a single ounce of fatigue, and damn it, just the thought of trying such a ridiculous thing got him to giggle like an idiot. 

Ken still felt the effects of whatever the Hell Ayase Momo did to him before leaving to go home and get her arm properly looked at by her grandmother, the warmth coursing through him and making his limbs feel like noodles… stretchy noodles… very stretchy, and somewhat itchy, but in a pleasant sense? Like, how it feels after sitting close to a nice fire for a bit too long… 

‘I should do a bonfire on the beach sometime… would Ayase-san want to join? Would that be a weird thing to ask? Does she like fire, or is that specist to assume?’  

He only briefly wondered if he was a dork or not for thinking about that in the first place.

Colors danced in languid, slinking swirls and blotches as he drunkenly walked, unable to help the joy tickling him as something happened to his body. The tiny cuts were long since completely healed, and there was no evidence of any injury or soreness whatsoever. The teal markings were gone, but if he looked long enough, that gorgeous, familiar color would shine from within his veins. Her power, whatever it was, was inside of him, flowing around in his blood and staining his insides. It didn't belong and felt so foreign, and yet it also fit perfectly inside of his aura, the edges of his own, navy flame gaining more and more teal and jade highlights. 

Oh… right… he forgot yet again to contain himself. 

The colors still swirled around and against his skin as he stopped midstep to try and collect even a shred of focus, just enough to maybe tamp down the billowing monster of light inside of his core. Of course, once he did manage to massage the fireball back down into a reasonable shape, as soon as he started to feel relaxed and cozy again, the flames would instantly flare up and he'd be right back at ground zero…

Not that he could really feel upset about it, not like this. He couldn't really get upset when he felt like everything was all fluff and stuffing. 

Although… he still was aware of the dark shadows lingering in the alleyways and under vehicles, many eyes staring at him and the light he casted. He heard the disembodied footsteps, the gurgles of moist throats, the slithering of dragged limbs…

So even in his merry little stupor, he had enough of his wits left to move along in haste.

He didn't even remember climbing up the stairs to his floor, nor opening up and closing his apartment’s door, locking it behind him on reflex and tossing the keys into their designated holder. He barely remembered to stop and take off his shoes, humming nonsensically to himself some opening from a show he watched a few weeks ago. 

‘Would Ayase-san want to watch anime with me? Are dragons into anime? Are gyaru into anime? What about gyaru dragons?? This is so confusing…’

He dropped his backpack, uncaring for the contents or even his laptop inside of it. He shrugged off his disgusting jacket and let it tumble to the ground. He tugged off his shirt, ignoring the traces of black sludge and tainted saliva staining it. He shucked off his pants, nearly toppling over in the process. He almost considered stripping off the boxers and socks that were also exposed to that rotten corpse he walked through, but he honestly couldn't be bothered after nearly eating the floor from his dizzy tango with the denim shackles that’d been around his ankles. He barely had the mind to take off his glasses and lightly toss them onto the coffee table to the side.

Huh… now he too forgot to fold them up neatly. That wasn't like him. 

Whatever.

All he could think about was sauntering over to his sofa and flopping belly down into the cushions. Everything smelled of that deliciously spiced scent, the one that followed Momo wherever she went, the one that she saturated his home with and the one that lulled him with a sense of peace he never experienced before all this weird bullshit happened. It made the warmth inside of him erupt even more in sickly sweet magma, and his body succumbed to its siren's song, falling deep into its zealously given slumber. 

He didn't know how long he was out. 

He didn't really dream.

He was just exhausted in a snug way, his body releasing tension in places he didn't even realize were knotted up from years of stress buildup. His shoulders relaxed, his spine straightened, his hips aligned… he felt like he could finally breathe, even when lying flat on his face and snoring heavily as sleep, for once in his fucking life, actually rejuvenated his stretching body-

THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD

THUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUDTHUD

Ken screeched when slamming from his front door banged out over and over and over again, the sound so terrible, he fully expected it to burst straight off the hinges. He saw it rattle in place, the fake wood warping from each pound against it.

His windows began to quake and judder in their jambs behind him, and immediately he wished he hadn't looked, because numerous, long nailed hands made of withered flesh and exposed bones were smacking the panes, trying to scratch and crack it, all the while leaving smears of blood in their wake. They painted the panes in that godawful color, the light filtering in gradually tinting the entire room in nothing but disturbing reds.

All within that same moment, head-splitting screeches began flooding his ears in between the impacts from the door and windows, making him cover his ears to try and block out the noise. He found himself scrambling up to his feet, his heart thundering inside his chest even before he began running from the living room that was under assault from the outside assailants. The colors were blitzing around, like multiple little palms pushing him along, urging him further to hide from the horrendous sounds. Even if the dark creatures couldn't come inside, the very thing that was attracting them repelling them and barring them from entry, he couldn't stay out in the open space that was the living room-?

He felt warm stickiness collect on his hands, spilling past his fingers and down his wrists.

Something dribbled past his top lip, his breathing obstructed by a sudden thickness inside of his nose. 

He needed to hide from the noise. 

Running blind and half naked, he threw open his bedroom door, tossing the broken handle aside and away from him to return his hand to cover his briefly exposed ear. The cacophony of the foul shrieks was overwhelming even when they still focused on targeting the living room area. 

‘Something… drown out…’

He could barely think, but he still latched onto the fleeting idea that blipped by. He gritted his teeth, before braving the sounds again just long enough to grab his headset, uncaring that he'd surely stain the white muffs with his blood slowly drooling from his ears. He turned them on, hoping, praying that the Bluetooth would connect his laptop from the living room to his bedroom, and that the battery would outlast the starving banshees crying out for his soul and blessing Ayase-san- Momo gifted him. 

Luckily, the sound cancellation seemed to help, along with the random Lo-fi station he picked from a continuous livestream. The colors still flared and bristled, warning him that he was still not entirely safe, but he could at least be at ease knowing that whatever sound based attack couldn't affect him as long as he had his headphones on. Panting through his mouth, since it stung too much to breathe through his nose, he collapsed to the carpeted floor, his chest heaving as he left stains on the yarn. 

He couldn't rest, not fully. The desire to sleep was stolen by the voices outside. Knowing that those creatures were aware of him terrified Ken, and it unnerved him deeply to know that they'd followed him here. Why hadn't they attacked while he was walking? He was out in the open! Why wait now when he was in a safe spot made by Momo? He slowly covered his head, wincing at the still ebbing headache from the banshee calls-

He lifted his head a bit, his fingers trembling after jerking his hands away from each other. His… they… they felt different. A-a lot of him felt… different… 

He shook his head, Ken starting to feel like his normal self; mentally, nothing else. In competition with the nice beats from the music, his pulse’s rapid palpitations started banging against his eardrums. He had to look… his everything did not feel right-!!

The colors flared up as the banging settled down. They were shifting, signalling the movement of the spirits that wanted to kill him. His head whipped up, staring at his window that had the curtains drawn open…

With a surge of energy, he frantically sprung up and almost slammed his head into his desk, he was scrambling so wildly to get to the window before they could peer in and try targeting him with those screeches once more. He knew he wouldn't be able to handle any more of the screams that close to him again-!

When he reached for the curtains, the bar tore out of the wall and nearly smacked him in the face, Ken letting out a yelp and almost flinging the headphones off his head. 

‘What the!? How did that-!!’

His attention snapped back to the entities just out of view, fully aware that they heard the commotion from the bar somehow falling. 

Ken panicked. He didn't know what to do to hide himself. For a brief moment, his eyes darted over to the hanging ajar door, looking over to the imposing presence of his parents’ vacant room, the thought of hiding in there tempting for a solid second… 

He hated the idea of stepping foot inside of that damned room. 

Instead, he flung himself over to his closet, somewhat confused by how surprisingly hard it was to fit inside, only to shove that oddity out of the way as he forced the sliding door to slam shut, enveloping him in near total darkness. In the close confines, he could hear his frenzied breathing just under the humming melodies inside his headphones, the dried blood tugging at his skin and making his ears itch. He didn't dare take off the headset, no matter how uncomfortable his own blood was. He made the metal creak from how tightly he held it, imagining his knuckles turning white from the amount of force he drilled into his grip-

The thin cracks from below the sliding door illuminated red. They were looking in through the window. They didn't bang against the glass, but they still pawed at it, looking for any sign, any single trace of him within the fog that was Ayase Momo’s power.

He strained to keep his breathing quiet, cupping his inexplicably large, free hand completely over his mouth and nose. He tried not to stifle himself to the point of asphyxiating, but he came close to it as the red light started to rise up like liquid, unnaturally illuminating the bottom portion of the dark, makeshift hiding spot. His arm holding the door shut began trembling with strain, tears collected in the corners of his eyes, the sweat started to bead up and slip down… he feared that if a single drop fell, it'd trigger whatever this evil searchlight was. 

Suddenly, in a flash, the light flicked away, leaving him in darkness again. His eyes widened, searching for any sign of that unholy light. The colors calmed down in the back of his head, but they still hinted at the lingering danger. He was not alone, but they were no longer searching for him here.

He collapsed against the wall, unable to sit from the closed in confines, but no claustrophobia greeted him. Whatever trace of it he had vanished, as he thanked the tight space for the safety it had provided on such short notice. His breathing slowed as he slid down partially, uncaring to how painful the awkward position was, let alone in his state of undress. 

The music lulled him back into a state of ease, although sleep still eluded him. He didn't care, he was just too exhausted to care…

 

Hours went by. 

He did not move from that closet.

The battery to his headphones was close to dying. His laptop was surely close to dying too. He couldn't remember the last time he charged either item. It was a blessing that they lasted as long as they had. There was no screeching or pounding, just the occasional thumps and sparks of color to remind him that his hunters were very much so alert and waiting for him to come crawling out. He was under siege, and all his enemies knew he wouldn't be able to remain tucked away in his hiding hole forever. He'd have to get up and use the restroom, he'd need food and water, he'd need to sleep… all the basic things humans needed. He wished he had a cellphone to call for help, beg Ayase Momo to come save him again… he was even tempted to touch that damned landline, but it would've all been for naught, since he didn't even know the girl’s number. Not even her email, so there'd be no point in sending a last message through the virtual snail mail before his laptop gave up before him. 

Even with full awareness of his soul and aura, stamping out the flames and utilizing his fear to keep them controlled, Ken knew he'd still be tailed. These beings were well aware of who he was, even if he could hide behind Momo’s leftover light and scent. Her blessing glimmered through his skin in thin, neon teal streaks to the supernatural, he knew it for a fact. He could see the streaks clearly in the dark, even with his glasses left abandoned on the coffee table. 

He flinched when he heard one of the creatures whoop, another calling out in response. They were communicating, leaving claw marks along the sides of his apartment, searching for a way inside. 

His stomach growled. He held his breath, panicking that the monsters heard even that little, betraying grumble, but the colors informed him that they did not hear the sound…

‘Am I just being paranoid? Would they actually see me if I left the closet?’ 

He didn't want to test that theory.

He knew it was his only option.

He didn't want to try anything. 

He wanted to leave.

He wanted to stay put.

He was hungry.

He'd throw up if he tried to eat anything.

He needed to use the bathroom. 

He needed something to drink.

He really needed to use the bathroom…

His headphones gave a final warning, before the music cut out entirely. He was all alone in that dark, little room, his only comfort being the colors brushing the synapses of his brain. He peeled off the headset, hissing when it yanked at his skin and baby hairs like tape from the sweat and blood making the muffs sticky. He scratched at his upper lip, getting dried flakes of blood and mucus caught under his nails. He didn't care, he was already a fucking mess. He could get cleaned up later. 

‘I’m alive. I’m not in immediate danger.’

He decided to take a peek outside of his hiding place, seeing if he could attempt sneaking to the restroom to at least have access to water, as unfavorable as drinking from the faucet was on a normal day-?

He tugged at the door. 

It wouldn't budge. 

He pulled again, but it was no longer sliding with ease. It was wedged shut, and if he tried to put any more effort into prying it open, it would definitely make a horrendous noise and he'd be back to cowering in silence without anything to block out the noises, the headphones being less than noise cancelling without the white noise active. 

He swallowed his panic, twitching when he heard another one of the calls from the monsters, this time on the other side of the apartment. ‘C-calm down… calm down… this is a two doored closet. Just move over to the other side! You can slide that one open instead!’ 

The only problem was that it was a tight squeeze, even before he found himself fitting less comfortably than before… had he always been this big? Why didn't he feel like his body was right- 

‘Nope. Stop. Later. Right now, focus Ken. You need to get out of here. The bathroom has no windows, too. You'll be safer in there. Momo said she'd come to walk you to campus. You can hold out in the bathroom until she-’

He felt himself grow cold. 

Images of her getting thrown in her dragon form, fucking up her shoulder and leaving her bruised, all for his sake… 

Maybe he should just stay and rot inside of his dark little closet… he was only bringing more pain to Momo the longer he drew attention from monsters…

Something… moved inside of him.

The cozy feeling, the warmth, her scent…  

The jade and teal surrounded his soul.

He gasped a little, frantically imagining wrapping his hands around the burning embers before they could flash into a signal fire once more. 

‘No! Stop! I don't want you to go nuts again!! Stop it! Being happy is not what I need right n-’

… he could almost hear her tell him that he also didn't need to be wallowing in a dark closet, the sparks of blue and green swaddling him and warming his cold heart up. 

“Stooooop… I'm trying to hide,” he whispered to the blessings and powers residing inside of him, praying that they'd settle down and let him remain unnoticed by the spirits. “I'll stop thinking like that… just leave me alone. Please…” 

The energy didn't budge… but it didn't pull him under the cozy comforter and blankets it wanted to dump over him and keep him trapped inside. On the other hand, he realized he couldn't self-deprecate even if he tried, feeling uncomfortable thinking lowly of himself even just a little bit…

“Okay, you didn't have to do that,” he sassed the blue stains coursing through him. 

Straining his eyes, he could make out the outline of his dresser. On the other side, his shoe rack with his hoodies folded on the top rack stood, the flimsy thing definitely unable to hold his weight if he were to try and stand on it after shimmying over the dresser, something he knew he'd have to attempt without falling off and smacking into the sliding door.

Quickly grabbing and throwing on a random shirt from one of the drawers, he hoisted himself up, deciding that holding onto the clothing rack pole would be a bad idea. Sure, there was metal inside of the wooden pole for added stability, but he didn't trust it holding him up, unlike the sparse clothes that were hung up. He slid his belly over the top of the wooden dresser, thankful to Momo for cleaning the dust off. It would’ve been a much more miserable time had he had to slide across the gross stuff, and he definitely didn't trust himself to not sneeze. The whole experience would've been easier, though, had he been able to grab a pair of pants and not drag his bare thighs against the lacquered top. That shit stung with his sweaty, sticky skin clinging to the surface, but he was not about to try wrestling on a pair of pants in the tight, dark spot, let alone without making any noise. 

He rested once he was fully up on top. Rolling to his side, he bunched up his knees to his chest and carefully rolled a little to the side, allowing his legs to dangle over the shoe rack. There was just barely enough space for him to lift his head up and gauge where to place his feet once he hopped off, placing most of his weight on the foot on the ground and just enough on the shoe rack for balance. Sure, it'd make a mess of his clothes, but he could fix that later when he was still alive and his guardian dragon chased away the shadow demons. 

The door on his current left side slid open without effort, completely unlike the side he had entered. The colors gave no warning alarms, and he heard no cries or snarls from the monsters nearby, no scratching at the walls or windows and no thudding on the front door. The temperature was uncomfortably cold, however, as if there was an ice storm outside. His breath lingered in front of him in tiny clouds, further obscuring his already blurry vision, the dim, afternoon light tainted red still making his eyes hurt a little from being accustomed to the darkness for so long.

He cautiously moved his way out from the closet, creeping up close to the desk, ready to dive and hide underneath it to remain out of view from the window-

He gawked at the holes left in his wall above the window. He had torn the nails out from the wood, ripping chunks out of it in his frantic pulling.

‘O-okay!! Uh, maybe there's termites! Water damage! S-something logical… you haven't used the curtains recently, right? Heh, I can't remember the last time I closed them-’

A bold faced lie, he just recently closed them when playing games on his laptop instead of sleeping like a healthy human being. 

‘Shit… this doesn't make any-’

The glint of the brass doorknob caught his eye… the same door knob that had an entire chunk of his door left on it, imprints of his fingers crushed into it. The bedroom door now permanently hung open without any way of keeping it closed unless he unsafely barricaded it, although it would remain untrustworthy regardless, seeing as how the top hinge was rendered loose and it looked close to falling off completely at any given second…

He broke his own fucking door.

“What the fuuuuu…” 

He clapped a hand over his mouth, again noticing just how big his hands were. It wasn't like his forearms were bulging either, nothing else seemed out of the ordinary… surely everything looking further away when he looked down was just an effect from not having his glasses on! He wasn't taller, that's impossible…

… even in a world filled with dragons, aura hungry ghosts, and apparently aliens, if Momo wasn't fuckin’ with him and instead was actually being dead serious when she unintentionally revealed her dragon side to him in the library. He truly believed her in the moment, and he was still keen on believing her, now that he was being hunted like a rabbit surrounded by lions, but there was no way he was taller!

The teal in his blood seemed to gloat a little bit, her colors making smug little swirls in his second sight-

Before his power snapped back into focus, warning him of a spirit coming back around to look into his room. 

He dipped underneath his desk, pressing his back up against the wall. Okay, he definitely should've been able to easily fit underneath it. There was no reason why he had to strain his body to fold up in order to hide in the once plentiful space, even with the wires involved. He held his breath when the colors signalled that the spirit was directly above and behind him, squashing down his own aura until it was practically a pebble and he couldn't feel his fingers or toes. The spirit didn't linger for long, drifting along to probably go paint more blood on his parent's room’s windows. 

The thought didn't bother him all that much, unlike the rest of the apartment being vandalized by demons. ‘Heh, more reason to keep that damned room closed off.’  

He crawled out from underneath the space, stretching as he did so out of necessity. Not wanting to tempt fate any longer, he scuttled over to the hallway and straight for the bathroom. He carefully closed the door, and it wasn't until it was completely shut that he finally released a heavy sigh of relief. Other than the air vent being technically connected to outside through a series of vents, there was no direct way for the spirits to figure out where he was. With the light flicked on, he let his stress roll off of him in waves, groaning in the more spacious confines of his new hiding spot as he leaned against the wall-

His eyes froze on his reflection. 

Sure, there was the fact that he had dried blood all over his lower face, sides of his head, on his neck and shoulders from the scream attack, but that wasn't what he really was caught breathless about. Despite being something he couldn't have ever imagined happening to himself, even when slouching and his vision impared, he knew he was fucking taller. There was no way to deny reality now, not when it was looking right back at him.

“What the Hell…?”  

At least he sounded the same, had the same amount of freckled birthmarks, had the same colored hair, even if the waviness was still relatively new…

Everything was the same, he was just taller… a-and healthier. His complexion was clear, his hair looked silky, his muscles were tone, although they hid a terrifying strength he had no explanation for-

…

Momo.

Momo had somehow made him absurdly strong. 

She made him look like this…

He snagged his wild hair in his powerful hands, luckily his gorilla strength being useless against himself. ‘I thought she was just healing me!! Did she know this was going to happen!? But… the last time she scratched me, those marks didn't seem to change anything!’ He slowly released his head, lowering his hands and holding them out in front of him. He watched the teal travel along through his many passages, able to see it all despite his arms and hands trembling and the blurriness of his still shit eyesight… although, it was comforting, in an odd way, his impaired vision. Just one other thing about him that he absolutely recognized. 

He didn't care to watch any more of his body or aura change and mutate while the sweet venom that soothed him worked its magic. There was no pain, no tingles, no burning… only infuriatingly pleasant warmth, and at the very least, no enforced bliss or gaiety. He internally felt like himself with awareness that he was trapped inside his own home and with no way to tell the time. He wouldn't have any way of knowing when Momo would be on her way, or if she would remember- 

‘No… no, she's coming. She's definitely going to come. She nearly followed you home instead of going to get help from her grandma like you told her to do. She wants to see you. She'll come… she'll come…’

After washing off his face of blood and sweat with a little bit of hand soap and taking a drink of water before answering the call of nature, Ken pulled out some of the folded towels and made a makeshift futon on the floor… deciding, after having seen one too many horror films in his life, that maybe sleeping in the tub was not the best of ideas when getting surrounded by ghosts. No, he set up his bed of clean towels far from that tub, his eyes continuously flitting to it to check, double check, triple check that no blood nor black hair showed up from the faucet or any hands crept over the brim.

… part of him wondered if there'd been any hands reaching out from his toilet like some video games would have, if it'd be more scary or more funny in a disturbing way. 

He left the light on as he relaxed and attempted to sleep. As if sensing his need for rest, the teal swept over him, her magic reassuring him further that she'd be there for him even as he slept. The colors would warn him if anything bad was going to happen. He could rest, knowing he was out of sight and earshot from the shadows and that, in some way, she was still looking out for him.

“Mo…mo…”

 

It wasn't long, or at least didn't feel like long, until the pulse of pearly white, pink and all too familiar teal awoke him. No other spirit stayed, feeling their colors retreat and give up on their endeavors in trying to steal his soul and blessings. He should've known Momo would've scared them all off without any effort, there hadn't been any reason to be so afraid.

Ken groaned, his eyes crusty from the unnaturally good sleep he got despite laying on the ground, regardless of the piles of towels- actually, he wasn't even on the towels anymore, his makeshift bed sprawled out around him as he apparently moved a lot in his sleep! He was hugging one of the bunched up towels, grimacing at his current state.

At least the teal had settled down inside of him, no longer glowing except for within his once navy flames. Whatever it had sought out to do must've been completed, since it no longer shone in his veins all over his body… that definitely felt different. 

The same body that broke shit too easily. 

He wasn't sure how to feel about anything that happened. Should he be upset that he was gifted strength? He absolutely had every right to be upset about getting turned into yokai’nip. Shit, did his clothes even fit him anym-

‘… oh no.’

Right as he felt Momo readying herself to land gracefully on top of his apartment, he had realized a serious dilemma: he was a much larger person now, especially length-wise, with no clothes to match his new body. Heck, despite not necessarily bulking up, his cotton shirt (with another ridiculous graphic, a cartoony alien saying “I believe in you, too!” right along the front) was feeling tighter on his shoulders and barely covered all his belly! 

It was a good thing the shirt was somewhat baggy before he got ‘roided up by a dragon that just wanted to heal some shallow scratches-!!

Ken lept up to his feet.

‘I left my dirty clothes in the living room!! Shit- and she'll see the broken door!! I can't let her see my room-’  

He stopped himself right before he could accidentally break another knob. He could feel the strength in his fingers boiling below the surface of his skin, the teal flaring up in his aura mildly disconcerting… just a bit.

Forcing his breathing to calm down, he carefully reached out, holding onto the knob with just his thumb and middle finger as he slowly applied pressure, just enough to grip and rotate the knob until the door squeaked open, swinging slowly outward. Sweat beaded down the side of Ken’s head; he didn't understand how in the world could his hands break something with such ease, when that ridiculous action felt normal still.

Klack-THUMP. Klack-THUMP.

Funny… her loud steps somehow brought a sense of comfort, unlike only yesterday morning when he thought she too was just another creature out to eat his soul.

He looked overhead, watching the colors signal every step Momo took. He could hear her belly scutes slide across the rooftop, now moving faster than yesterday morning. He wondered of she remembered her phone this time-!

“Focus, Ken!! Pants first!!” He sprung into action yet again, frantically thinking if he had anything that would be able to save what little dignity he had left. 

After taking her time to shift, Momo didn't even get the chance to knock on the door, when Ken unlocked it and opened the door up in a slight crack.

“Mo- A-Ayase-san! G… g-good morning!!” 

He had no idea why he suddenly felt the urge to tell her he missed her, the words bubbling up in his throat right as he caught himself.

She transformed partially in shock, her tail, her beautiful tail, whirling out behind her as she gawked at his sudden greeting. “Okarun! Uh, hi? Whatcha doin’, being all weird behind the door?” She chuckled once, her dragony features fading away, although her tail stubbornly remained put, “Were you gonna yank me inside again?”

“Ah-ha-ha, uh… a-about… that…” He glanced behind him. He barely found a pair of sweats that could pass as lounge capris, so he had no chance to toss his dirty clothes into his room. Everything was a mess, even if most of said mess was on his windows and not his fault-

He just noticed the blood smeared all over his door. 

‘Oh, that's gonna be disgusting to clean up…’   He grimaced, pouring everything he had into sounding as genuine as possible with her, since it was the honest truth: “I didn't want you to come inside today. Everything is a mess… I don't feel too good-”

She lit right back up, her feet lifting off the ground for a second, “What!? You're sick!?” 

Fuck, he didn't think that one through- really, he was barely able to think whatsoever. Of course she'd worry after yesterday's events if he suddenly was sick. “N-no no, uh, no I just… didn't sleep well…?” 

… it was such an obvious lie; her powers made sure that those few hours were some of the best sleep in his life as it finished altering his body, and even before the shadow creatures scared him shitless, he had felt so good. 

She tilted her head, her shining teal hair swishing delicately across her face in between her antlers that were now showing. “Okarun… you sound pretty shaken up; more than just bad sleep. Are you okay?” 

He leaned away from the crack between the door and frame, away from her searching eyes. God, why did she have to be such a clever genius and pick up on his hiding so well?? “A-Ayase-san!! I'm fine, really! I-I’m, um… I'm just not feeling up for classes today! Besides, most of them have online stuff, since most of them are still searching for temporary classrooms! I-I'm just gonna stay home… th-thank you for checking up on-!!”

She was getting fed up with his bullshit. Before she forced her way in physically, he was shoved by her metaphysical aura billowing out in a palpable cloud of frustration.

He backpedaled, catching himself before he could fall over entirely. “Ayase-san!?” He gawked at the dragon girl- trying desperately not to implode over the fact that he was towering over her now, adding a whole new unfair level of cuteness to her, “Y-you can't just barge into someone else's home!! That's horrible manners!!” 

“Like I’d care about bullshit like that. This is an intervention, dumba-”

She wasn’t shocked by the few articles of clothing on the floor. 

She wasn't able to see his bedroom door down the hall from where she stood. 

She wasn't even looking at the blood covered windows!

No, what rendered her speechless was the fact that she had to look up in order to look him in the eyes, even as he hunched slightly.

The rapid switching between shock, confusion and then childish anger was too fucking adorable for his heart to handle. 

“WHAT THE HELL!? HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET TALLER!?” 

Well, that answered that one question he had on whether or not she meant to give him a permabuff. The only problem? How did he tell her that him gaining easily over ten centimeters in a single night wasn't because of magical powers that he wasn't supposed to even be aware of? He didn't know whatsoever, panicking as he was being stared down (purely figuratively now, she was so cute) by a very pissy Momo.

“… taller? What do you mean, Ayase-san?” 

… God, he was a dumbass.

Chapter 5: Do You Like Avocados with Your Breakfast?

There was a grand silence between Ken and the dragon currently staring him down in utter disbelief. 

And all because Ken left all his fucking braincells on the bathroom floor after having bled them out through his ears. 

‘I’m not even playing dumb, I'm just dumb. I'm dumb and totally dead.’ 

Momo blinked a few times, looking him up and down, “What do I mean? You're… you're huge!! You're more than a head taller than me!! You used to be short!!”

Oh, he really wanted to correct her. He nearly did, ready to correct her with a “slightly below average” description, but that would've absolutely given him away. He instead doubled down on his feigned obliviousness, “Uh, yeah? When I was twelve, maybe. Mo-” again he caught himself nearly calling her by her given name, “Ayase-san, chill out. I'm a guy. Guys grow fast in their teens.” Except him, prior to getting blessed. He hid his hands from view as he crossed his arms, not giving her any extra fodder to use against his pathetic excuse for a poker face.

She still openly gaped at him like a fish, struggling to find her words. She brought her closed fist up to her lips, struggling with her panic, weirdly enough. Why was she panicking? He was the dumbass here who could barely lie to save his fucking life-

“O-oh… uh… must've… not paid attention…” 

He had to stop himself from being the one to gawk now. ‘HUH!? Wha- she's buying it!?’ He closed his eyes, allowing himself to internally scream. No, there was no way she actually bought it!! She totally was just playing along!! It made absolutely no sense whatsoever to assume that she didn't see the magical transformation-

… it was magic.

Spiritual magic.

He wasn't supposed to see it, not Momo.

‘… she thinks I don't notice. I'm not supposed to notice.’ 

Well, that both complicated and simplified things. 

She confirmed his suspicions as she pried her eyes off of him and started to meander, not wanting to give him the idea that she was staring. (‘Dork… you're so obvious, Momo.’) She rubbed her own arms as her tail twitched sporadically, broadcasting her internal panic, “U-um… you sure you're okay, though?” Crouching down, she picked up his abandoned jacket, disguising her pawing at the black slime as brushing out some of the wrinkles in the fabric. Her gaze was affixed to the dried blood that encrusted the windows outside, mumbling, “I just… had a bad feeling. You acting weird definitely doesn't help any.” 

“O-oh, I'm sorry-” He perked up in his mind, stilling his body as to not give away his surprise to that. ‘She sensed something was wrong!? But… she doesn't even live near the city!! How did she feel it from that distance- wait, why didn't she come if- n-no, she was healing. She has no obligation to come to your rescue, idiot. She was in pain. It's good she didn't come… and think about it: it would've been weirder for her to come on a whim. You're not-’ His cheeks heated up, remembering their new promise to each other, ‘U-u-um!! Well, I guess we are… friends… b-but even then!! It would've still been weird for her to come storming over just because she felt something was going on!! Had everything been normal, I would've said something callous about her being into spirit stuff like her grandma! You don't deserve her kindness-’

Both Momo and her gift snapped their attention at his bitter thoughts-

‘SHE CAN SENSE THAT TOO!?’ Ken looked up at the ceiling, trying so hard to hide his nerves from her- both of her, not that he really had any chance of doing so from the internal dragon now chewing and gnawing on the cold stone in his core yet again, whisking away the negativity that he stubbornly wanted to hold onto. Okay, okay, he knew that it was unhealthy to hold onto those dark thoughts, but they were familiar! Comfortable…

He didn't even grunt when the jade and teal embers kicked his soul in response, licking and staining his own aura as it demanded that he accept its comfort rather than his lifetime doom and gloom.

Momo came back over to him, that deep growl of hers somewhat still intimidating, despite Ken knowing well by now that she could never mean him any harm… intentionally. “Okarun… you're hiding something from me. You are not being real with me right now, and it's pissing me off. Something is bothering you. Tell me.” 

He tried so hard not to squawk out loud at her, ‘Do you want me to spill the fact that I can see everything or not, Momo!? I can't tell you that!!’ Still, he groaned, “Ayase-san… I'm serious. I just had a rough night. I freaked out a bit, but I-”

… he said too much. He knew it the second she lit up in a cascade of colors.

“What? Freaked out over what?” She approached him again, overwhelming his senses even when maintaining some distance between them… and flooring him with the cuteness that was her having to tilt her head up to look at his face, causing the light to catch all the pink flecks in her bejeweled eyes. “W-was it the earthquake yesterday? A nightmare? Any weird sick feeling??” She glanced behind her again at the windows, before facing him again, “Did… did you hear anything?” 

Ken tensed up. ‘Oh no… what do I say?? I'm not supposed to notice ghost shit!! But… normal people experience hauntings too, don't they? If it's super bad? This was extremely bad- unless, it wasn't?? That corpse thing was awful, and yet nobody noticed-!!’

She tugged on the hem of his stupid shirt, a strange vibration echoing from her chest that sounded softer than her usual growls as she bunched up her eyebrows and showed more scales, “Okarun…? Hey… tell me what happened. It's okay. I'm here now.”

Momo’s warmth was permeating his skin without even touching him. He squeaked aloud, feeling her claws cradle his soul like he was delicate glasswork, that he'd shatter into a billion pieces if she didn't tread lightly. She was cornering him, both sets of her hands spread out and barring him from escape, her shimmering, pearlessence flooding his vision…

“I-I think… I think it was the rabid animals.” 

Of course he clung to that stupid lie from yesterday to cover his ass and avoid the scaly truth. He turned his head away from her, struggling to handle her appearance even in tiny glances. “I heard something, I dunno, screaming, or whatever. It was… really unnerving, but… I still slept fine after a while. I just… I just really didn't like that sound. It freaked me out… but I-I'm okay now.” 

Now that she was here, that she chased away those bastards, like how she chased away anyone who hurt him…

She didn't release him, neither form of her did, but she seemed to accept the bits of truth that he shared; because he was better now. He didn't really have the choice to be anything but better, since she coiled around and around his brain and hissed at his negativity while also envenomating him with disgusting begrudgingly delightful joy. Her weird, little mind flayer tadpole had helped him with the real life nightmare, easing him when those things tried to steal all comfort, cheering him on to not give up and to run when the time was right.

Both Momos seemed to pick up on his relief, because he felt her smile brilliantly in his soul as he watched it grow shyly on her face, her marvelous tail swishing behind her in happy arcs.

“Good… that's good… I was super worried for a second, there,” she beamed, her scales fading away, all except the ones peppering her cheeks. Her scent bloomed, replenishing the living space with her presence. “You really know how to stress a girl out, Okarun.” 

“Heh, I'm sorry. I guess I just didn't want you to think I was crazy. Seemed kinda stupid to get freaked out over a weird noise, ya know?” He breathed her in, quietly thanking her for that spiced, woody incense. He didn't know if it was because of being Stockholmed into it, or if he actually was enjoying it all on his own, but fuck it: it was rapidly becoming his favorite fragrance ever. “I hope I didn't stress you out so much that you left without grabbing breakfast and your phone again?” 

She squawked, both with a feminine and draconic tone, punching him over his sternum (not that it hurt… be it more from her holding back or his new body, he couldn't tell), “You jerk! I did remember this time! I have my bag and everything!” 

He did not expect her to turn around and start wiggling in place like an over eager child to make the keychains on her small backpack jingle, the same tiny bag that he completely missed because he was so fucking distracted by her beautiful, glimmering tail that showcased her emotions (God, he loved that tail; he was such a fucking weirdo). He had to cover his mouth to stifle the fucking whine that tried escaping him because of her sheer cuteness that hit him over the head yet again. 

How the Hell did he never notice this side of her? The cutesy, clumsy, childish side of the supposedly “Feral” Gyaru-!!

She bumped into him, “But I'm still hungry! Come on, nothing fixes having a shitty night like eating a good meal! Let's go somewhere! It's stuffy as Hell in here…” 

He caught onto her double meaning, that mess the spirits made suffocating his safe space. He wanted out of there, and Momo was giving him the perfect opportunity. 

“Yeah… that sounds great, M- Ayase-san.” 

She grinned with her scales showing all over again, her teal hair glittering in light of its own making. “Good! Now, go get dressed! I'll wait right here, alright?” 

He, like an idiot, was about to tell her that he was already wearing what he could, since his pants no longer met his ankles like they should've, but he realized that she was hoping he'd leave; she was about to clean up the mess once again, judging by the fact that teal colored her eyelids and lips- just like yesterday when she blessed him too much. 

He would not get caught up in that again, no way. “O-oh! Um, alright! I'll go… get dressed,” ‘To the best of my ability,’ he silently added-

“… keep that shirt on, though.” 

In a double take, he hooded his eyes at her, despite the light catching in the lenses of his glasses, “Come again?” 

She nibbled her bottom lip, looking up through the drapes of her lashes and bangs as she murmured, “I like the shirt. The saying’s adorable… and,” she pointed at the alien all the while looking him in the eyes, “I believe in you, too.” 

He felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, as much as the dragon inside of him tried to help carry the load. He knew she meant it in a reassuring way, that he'd get through whatever tried to bring him down, but… he couldn't help but wince at her saying that to him when he was just a horrible, no-good liar. Even if it wasn't out of malicious intent, even if it was to keep her secret safe and help her feel comfortable, and maybe help himself stay alive, he still was just a despicable deceiver.

Still, he smiled at her softly, “Okay, Ayase-san. Thank you,” hating every single ounce of his guts the more he-

… he really should've seen the glomp from that spirit inside of him coming, but still, getting a sudden rush of icky, sweet syrup dumped over his consciousness was jarring every fucking time. Both Momos gleamed with undeserved friendship and kindness, and he had to hastily retreat as to avoid getting blinded or fainting from the absurd amount of blushing he was currently doing.

She was just.

Too.

Much.

He power walked over to his room, right past the bathroom with the towels still sprawled out all over, and the abandoned room of his parents. He closed his door, swiveling the desk chair over to block it from opening wide up, before he trudged over to his bed, flopped his body into the mattress, and groaned into it as his aura exploded into brilliant blues and vibrant greens, especially that light, earthy jade. Her gift coiled around him as he was overtaken by a rogue wave of emotion. As if it could help in any way stifle those stupid colors and disgusting, creepy feelings, he grabbed a pillow and slammed it over his head, further muffling his pathetic sounds. 

Sensing Momo transform and begin spreading her powers out did not help with his little problem whatsoever, his heart leaping when he could see the effects of her magic even with his eyes clenched shut, feeling her sweep around and wipe away the dark gunk that clung to his home with ease as she purified everything, reaffirming the sanctity of the once unwelcoming apartment. He smelled a fresh bloom of her scent even through the bed and blankets, instantly turning his insides to pudding. He loved that smell, no way to deny it now. 

He eventually found a pair of nice shorts that still met his knees, again confirming that he did in fact have no more jeans that fit his lankier, solid limbs. Even his shoes no longer fit his huge feet, resorting to wearing a pair of hardly worn sandals that just barely fit the brand new size. He'd need to go shopping for clothes, no fighting it now. 

‘I needed a new pair of shoes anyway. So much for saving up for MU issues…’ he silently mourned as he returned to the living room-

“Okarun! Ready to go?” 

-for all about two seconds, once again attempting to stomp down his flames as he watched her tail swing happily and her grin triumphantly over her handiwork-?

He noticed the bead of sweat rolling down the side of her face, and then her poorly hidden heavy breathing. Her efforts to seem fine, like what she did was no big deal, told him everything he needed to know: he wasn't supposed to notice.

While worry for her sunk its talons deep into his chest, the internal dragon unsure of how to respond to it, he forced out a pepped, “Y-yup! I'm good!” He internally marveled in a somber tone how easy it was for her to keep on her well crafted mask of normalcy, hide away her fatigue from doing something she really didn't need to. He wasn't supposed to see the ghostly blood, right? Why did she feel the need to clean up something he shouldn't have been able to perceive? Or cleanse his home so that not even dust remained? 

“Ayase-san, I'll cover breakfast.” He didn't care that he was on a budget; he'd survive paying for a meal. It was the least he could do, as thanks for pushing herself when he would've never have asked her for that. “I know you invited me, but please let me do this for y-”

She snarled at him, perfectly blending her voice with her draconic warning, “No way, Okarun… I’m treating you. Don't you even think about trying to pay for anything today.” She grabbed his arm, her rumbling traveling through her hand into his body and rattling his soul as she tugged, “You're stuck with me. I can't stand it when my friends aren't feeling well.”

His damned aura kept trying to blaze out of control with each breath he took, her continuous touch not only fanning the flames, but pouring kerosene right onto it. “I'm feeling fine, though!! Momo-san, you're blowing things way out of proportion!! I-” It hit him, “H-hey!! All day!? I-I still have classwork-”

Her aura shone brightly and her hair flared and writhed like flames, but she flippantly ignored both her reaction to the usage of her name and his earnest excuse, “I-it's all online, ain't it? Calm down, you're not missing anythin’ important.” She was practically hugging his arm now, her tail drifting closer to his legs, although it didn't touch him.

‘Yeah, no shit I'm not missing anything!! That's exactly why I'm not calming down!!’ He grimaced, “Ugh, you're being so ridiculous! I'm not sick! I'll go to breakfast with you, but after that, I'm going back home!” 

She stubbornly puffed her cheeks (‘THAT LITTLE CHEATER!! THAT'S TOO ADORABLE!!’), refusing to take no for an answer, “I don't care if you're not sick. I'm taking you out for the day, because you need sunlight and good vibes. That's the best way I know how to help…” 

He tore his gaze away from her weaponized sweetness, dragging his free hand down his face, “Uuuuuuugh… Ayase-san…” 

He didn't miss the hint of disappointment in her expression that snuck away as fast as it appeared.

‘Huh… she really wants to do this. Why is this so important to her? And before you go chiding me unnecessarily,’ he pictured the teal blob already rearing to smother him, ‘this a genuine question, don't get fucking mad at me: I don't get why she cares so much about me. Is it wrong for me to be confused about that?? It still doesn't make any sense!!’ 

But he knew he wasn't going to get an answer, a proper one, any time soon. He pinched the bridge of his nose, right where his glasses rested. ‘Well… the alternative is playing roulette with what'll happen next to me if she uses her powers to make me “feel better”…’ That realization alone made him raise his free hand in surrender, “Alright, alright… I give up, Ayase-san.” But before she could start celebrating fully (‘STOP. BEING. SO. CUTE. YOU'RE A DRAGON, MOMO!! STOP MAKING ME FEEL SO CONFUSED!!’), he held up his index finger, “On one condition… we will not go to multiple stores. I'm not big on shopping; I'm a guy. That's not my thing, and being yanked around all day will only make me feel worse. One store. That's it.” 

She flip-flopped between excited and bummed, visibly trying to decide on only one store- she tugged on his arm again, “H-how ‘bout two? Two stores?” 

He narrowed his eyes at her, but groaned, “Fine… let's see how I feel first, but if I'm not too uncomfortable, we can go to two. Don't expect me to let you buy me anything from both of them, though.” 

She nodded… before squeezing his arm again within her clutches, “Maybe can we do three?” 

“Don't push it.” He was quite proud of himself, in the back of his mind, that he could rise past his internal screaming over her charms.

 

She stayed clinging to his arm as they walked, vibrating with that strange thrumming sound the entire way. Ken couldn't help but feel embarrassed by her antics; to others, the way she was behaving totally looked like she was a clingy girlfriend!! To him!! A dorky otaku who couldn't have lived in a more different world than the gyaru hugging his arm, even without including the dragon stuff. 

Hell, people probably thought he was just a creep who paid for her time or something.

He grimaced at the thought. Her reputation would plummet if someone from their school recognized her and saw her glomped onto him of all people-

He shooed away the gift inside of him, ‘Calm down!! I'm not hating on myself, promise!! Do you seriously think a nerd and a popular girl make sense together!? Let alone a fashionable one!? Look at me, I'm wearing a dorky alien shirt, here!! And Momo… well she's-’ He slammed that train of thought to stop. ‘A-anyway!! We're like night and day, you little tadpole!! It's weird!!’

It coiled back up, but he felt her piercing gaze on him regardless. 

Momo tugged on his sleeve, her aura glittering in pearly excitement, “Hey, look! There's that café I wanted to take you to!” 

He turned away from the pissy teal serpent inside of him, immediately gawking when he heard the word café. “A-Ayase-san!! Aren't those places ridiculously expensive!?”

“Naaaah… this is just a breakfast joint. The expensive places are those like desserts, pop up shop and maid ca-!!” 

His eyes shot wide when she choked on her words, hovering a bit when she finally released him to help herself recover. “Ayase-san!? Are you alright!?” 

“‘m fine! Heh heh…” She pounded against her chest a bit, “Just swallowed down the wrong pipe. N-no biggie!” She elbowed him a little in the side, making him yelp from the ticklish pain, “Quit hovering, you're acting like you're my boyfriend or something!” 

He stared at her in utter silence for a good moment. ‘… I'm the one acting like we're in a relationship?? Does she seriously not realize…?’ He shook his head, pointedly deciding that that was not something he should really bother to think about over anything else in their strange as Hell arrangement. “Okaaay… gonna elect to ignore that one.” 

“Aww, not even a little bit of a freak out?” She poked his side again, eliciting yet another yelp from him.

He rubbed his side, wagging a warning finger at her, “Knock that shit off, Ayase-san… I will turn around and go back h-”

TV static.

The gift inside of him bristled, before curling around him in a loose spiral, resting what felt like her head on his shoulder. 

Momo noticed it as well, her hair fluffing up a bit as she too bristled from the presence he refused to allow himself to look at. 

‘Nope! No, just gonna focus on her hair fluffing up because holy shit that's adorable. No panicking, not yet.’ He groaned loudly, before taking up her hand and leading her straight for the dainty, white framed glass door, and away from whatever the fuck was curious about their presence. “Come on, then. The sooner we eat, the sooner we can go looking at stuff, and then the sooner I can go back home and relax properly.” 

She kept turning her head back to look at the stalker of the day, but she allowed him to lead. “O-okay-!!” She formed her tail to help her with balance, scales and blush showing up all over her body as she skipped a few steps and floated after him.

Whatever it was that followed stayed outside, at least. Ken furrowed his brow as he looked at the provided menu, mindful of his aura sense, but doing everything he could to not to react to the entity. 

Momo was doing that plenty for the both of them already.

“Ayase-san, what do you normally get?” He tilted his head up, refusing to look out the window right next to them and acknowledge the black cloud ruining the otherwise beautiful day.

“Huh?” She snapped her attention back to him, blinking rapidly as her puffed up, flared scales calmed back down and faded partially back into her human skin. “O-oh! Uh… I usually get the fluffy pancakes, if they don't have a special I'm interested in.”

“Oh? That sounds super sweet.” He chuckled, glad to find some genuine enjoyment between the beats of stress. “Let's see… I think the special was some sort of croissant sandwich. Something about… avocado? And an over-easy egg?” He scrunched his nose, but he still chuckled, “How do those two things even go together?” 

She immediately lit up, thoroughly distracted from the entity just standing there across the street, menacingly. Her eyes glittered in warm tones as she babbled, “Oh!! You'd be super surprised! Avocado is great when warmed up all toasty! They go great together, and with cheese and bacon? Oh! And with the yolk all runny like a sauce? I love avocado with breakfast! You gotta try it!” 

Ken… just stared. He shook himself, remembering to breathe. ‘H-holy shit… who is this girl and what did she do with Momo?’ Honestly, he just could not recall at any point, prior to their argument in the library and him gaining this weird sight, Ayase Momo acting this passionate. She was damn near childlike with her bubbliness fizzing out of control like Mentos in shaken cola, her tail shooting out and wagging as she eagerly plugged in an order for two of the breakfast croissants in their table kiosk, not waiting for his input whatsoever.

“If you don't like it, I'll just order you something different and eat the rest!”

Her words helped spur him back to a functional state- “Ayase-san, isn't that bad manners, or something? Do you think eating all of that is a good idea?” 

… on one hand, his mouth running on its own, before he could remember that she was a dragon and could probably eat way more than two breakfast sandwiches before feeling remotely full, was helpful, since it was a reasonable thing to ask a girl if he had thought she were normal, like he was supposed to in this situation. On the other hand, though… he also realized that regardless of her being a dragon, she was still a woman and he just called her out for being willing to “pig out” in public.

He rapidly tried to course correct before she could throw a fit and make an actual scene, “I-I-I’m so sorry, Ayase-san!! I did NOT mean it like that!! You can eat however much you’d want, I-I don't care, as long as you're happy-!!”

“Pfft-!” 

Ken jolted when Momo started laughing. She covered her mouth, attempting and failing at muffling her merriment, completely unphased by the fact that people now were looking at them both. Her boisterous giggles and snorts made his inner fire sputter and crackle, the tadpole-ish entity cuddling up against his heart and brushing up against his brain in an endless, looping cycle. 

“Okarun! Don't worry so much about that. I don't care what people think; good food needs to be eaten! I wouldn't eat it if I couldn't handle it or didn't want to!” She then rumbled in a way that invoked a sense of intimidating play that Ken had no choice but to play along with as she teased him, “Besides, that kind of bullshit only matters to girls too fixated on dating and making themselves seem like prissy little dolls for guys who don't deserve them. What, are you into that kind of thing, Okarun~? Perfect little dolls?” 

Ken squirmed under her semi-predatory leering, clenching the sides of his seat to ground himself. She was just messing with him!! Why did she have this kind of power over him when he knew she was just fucking around and was more cute than intimidating!? His voice cracked a little as he snapped back, “What?? Of course I'm not, Ayase-san!! How would I have known that was date-specific?? I just thought that was common, public etiquette!!” He crossed his arms, focusing on cooling off as much as possible. Of course she made his soul blaze out of control, so there was no helping that, but he could at least focus on calming down his damned blushing and crazed heartbeat. “Damn it… sorry for thinking about your image. It's bad enough you're hanging out around me; what happens if someone at school recognizes you and-” 

“And what?” She scoffed, thumping her tail against the ground without a single care to the shaking it caused and startled squeaks from the girls near their table. She rested her cheek on her upturned palm, staring him down with a relaxed aura, her scent curling around him in lazy curls that made the peach fuzz on his skin stand pleasantly on end, “Do I look like I care about whatever the Hell anyone else thinks? I only care about my loved ones and what they think. Mīko and Kei both like you, and I have a strong feeling my grandma would like you. If anyone else has a problem with me, you, and what I love and want to do, they can talk to my fists and kicks.”

He had to replay what she just said… he squeaked out, his brain struggling to understand what the synapses were spelling out to him in plain hiragana, “Th-there’s… there's a comma, there… right? Y-you didn't mean…” 

She jerked upright, furrowing her brows at him. “Huh? What do you…?” But she slowly replayed what she said herself, when it visibly clicked. Scales exploded out with furious blushing, Momo barely stopping herself from leaving scratches on the table with her claws as she waved her hands frantically, “O-Okarun!! No, no I meant… l-like food! Eating!! I love food, o-or fashion! N-not… um… I-I mean… I… you…” 

They both stared at each other as she trailed off, the sounds of the café simultaneously cacophonous and not reaching their ears.

Ken broke the silence between them, harshly clearing his throat in a forced cough, “U-um! Yeah, no, that… that makes sense! Heh heh, just messing with ya, Mo- A-Ayase-san! Yeah…” 

She nodded vigorously, “Y-yep!! Definitely!! Messing… you turd.” She stuck her tongue out at him a little, “Scarin’ me half to death with that shit. Don't do that!”

Ken did his best not to look straight at her antlers and puffed scales that showcased the truth that she was still reeling from it all. ‘She’s really flustered… sheesh, she's so hopeless.’ He held up his hands in mock surrender, although he couldn't help himself from actually messing with her a bit, to keep up the little lie, “Hey, now! You're the one who decided to be a klutz with her words. Besides, whether you like it or not,” he gestured around them, although he rigidly stopped himself from looking even near the window, let alone outside of it, “the fact that we're technically on a date doesn't help clear things up at all. There's some serious mixed signals getting scrambled in, Ayase-san.”

She puffed up again, her hair flaming teal as she cried out, “What!? In what world is this a date!?” 

He was just playing around, but now? He squinted at her, “Ayase-san… you're not serious right now, right? A nice, objectively romantic café? Not letting me cover my part of the tab? Isn't that, what, the basic definition of a date?” 

Momo stubbornly snapped at him, “W-well! Kinda, b-but!! It's only a date if I actually liked you like that!! D-don't go assuming shit!!” 

He watched her puff her cheeks and cross her arms indignantly, snubbing her nose at him… and her tail flicking at the very tip, just like when…

… she got excited when he said they could be friends.

“… so, do friends go on dates, too?” 

She jolted at the honest question, her scales flaring again. 

He waved her off, “Not teasing, I'm being serious. I really wouldn't know.” 

She uncrossed her arms, slowly, almost methodically as she pondered his question for a bit, “Well… I guess, yeah. There's stuff I've done that's date-like with friends, and there's things that aren't strictly romantic, but that's more of a hangout, rather than… a date…” She held her chin, now visibly thinking hard about it, “‘though, sometimes it is a kinda-sorta date, if we don't let the person we're celebrating or helping out pay for anything. If one of us is down in the dumps, or if it's their birthday or something, we don't let that person pay for anything. So, yeah! I guess that's a date?” 

Ken nodded, surprised with himself that he followed along with her thinking. “Alright, that makes sense, then.” 

She grinned softly, “I definitely can't complain; this is the first time I've been on any kind of date with a guy and actually enjoy myself during it.” 

… his heart was going to fucking explode. 

His aura lit up like a festival in Summer, the jade and teal flames colliding and mixing with her scent. She was so unfair with that smile of hers, with her hair shining and her scales sparkling, freaking dazzling him. He bashfully cleared his throat again, struggling to catch his breath because she kept stealing it, “C-can’t say I've ever had any kind of experience like this before; I-I'm glad my first date is a nice experience for you so far.” 

She batted back the teasing this time, “D-don't count all your eggs yet. There's still plenty of time for everything to go wrong.” 

He snorted, “And what? I'm holding you to your word that I'm stuck with you. That goes both ways-”

His breath hitched.

Her eyes widened. 

“… I didn't mean it like-”

She held up a clawed finger close to his face, silencing him and saving him from digging the hole straight through the planet, “Nope. That is totally different than what I fumbled. I am happy that you're determined to be my friend, too.” 

“O-okay, Ayase-san,” he grumbled, muffled from hiding his face in his hands. His skin was buzzing so much from the overwhelming embarrassment, he barely noticed the TV static feeling and Tadpole bristling next to him. ‘I don't even care if the thing gets me at this point. Just put me out of my misery-’

“Okarun… hey, look up, goofball.” 

He groaned, but obediently lowered his hands just enough to glance over his fingers and through his somewhat fogged-up glasses, “Nnn…?” 

She snickered, “Hey, there's no need to be all gloomy!” 

“‘m not bein’ gloomy.” He imagined himself glancing at Tadpole (yeah, that nickname definitely stuck), ‘She wouldn't let me if I tried.’ 

Momo pawed at his arm, her claws tickling his skin, “Look, we're both just being awkward dorks. I- hn…” She thumped her tail against the leg of her chair, “We're both overthinking things.”

“Yeah… we are,” he conceded, looking outside, away from people-

… and straight at the black figure currently staring at him. Its indistinct features did nothing to minimize how intense the sensation was that they indeed locked eyes, or whatever that shadow had in the void that swallowed all light and desired to consume everything else the longer Ken looked, the colors getting pulled in as it engorged itself on the excess auras of the other patrons sitting next to the window. He couldn't have been looking for more than a single second, but that same instant felt like it lasted for hours, his nerves turned to solid ice.

It pressed its amorphous face against the  top of the glass despite hunching over, dragging its limbs on the ground with no way to lift them. It couldn't, the forearms were only tethered to the body by impossibly stretched out tendons and strips of skin and meat, smoke wafting out from both ends of the torn open sockets, the blood turned to dust from only the spirits knew how long that thing had been wandering around. It almost looked like an elongated skeleton from how unnaturally emaciated it was, the shape of its pelvis jutting out in sharp angles in tandem with the disgustingly exposed ribcage-

He tore his eyes away from the void skeleton when Tadpole flared her energy and sent fuzziness through his veins to melt the ice, forcing himself not to shudder from the fear trying to keep him locked inside of its talons. 

“Okarun?” 

Ken didn't flinch, instead finding his muscles releasing their tension and air returning to his lungs as Momo reached out across the table, not touching him yet, but ready to hold onto him if he needed grounding. Her round, quinacridone eyes shimmered with worry, searching him for the cause of his distress. He saw them flick towards the window; he knew she was well aware of the spirit that was closer to finding its target. 

“Are you alright?” 

He didn't want to lie. 

“I-I’ll be okay.” 

It was the honest truth. He trusted that the incredible dragon seated across from him would protect him. This ghost wouldn't be able to hurt him. It was hardly affecting the other people, only consuming what was already excess along the outer fringes of their auras, that energy already spent. He reached for the tabletop kiosk, turning it around, “What else should we order? Maybe that tropical fruit salad? Definitely some drinks!”

Momo perked up, not expecting for him to try and play off his malaise. “Okarun-” 

He shook his head, unintentionally agitating the static sensation and stirring the colors around him. “Momo-san… I'm fine. I'll be fine. It's just a bad feeling. It'll pass.” He gestured again to their menus and the kiosk, “I'll feel better with something in my stomach, how about that? Let's just… have a good day.” 

He wanted it. He so desperately wanted it. ‘I don't think I've ever…’ He internally pictured himself gripping over his heart, while his real hands remained focused on swiping the digital screen, not really reading any of the options. He wouldn't even curse the demon trying to take a taste of what Momo and Tadpole did to his aura, opting to deny it that little bit of satisfaction. He wouldn’t let this freak ruin his first ever hangout, date, whatever this day was with Momo, the dragon who went out of her way to make him feel better about living. 

Tadpole, although distinctly keeping her focus on the spirit, rubbed up against him, although she didn't cause more sparks in Ken’s aura that would signal the stalker. 

‘Yeah… I feel better now. No need to make me all giddy and shit,’ he teased the worm inside of him. Both forms of Momo being so determined to make him feel better wrought out a smile before he knew it, and he chuckled when Momo asked him what was so funny. “Nothing… it's not really anything important.” A lie, but like Hell he'd say something unintentionally sappy after all their fumbling from this single outing alone.

She scrutinized his appearance, before turning away, “Bullshit… I've never seen you smile like that before… or really ever.” She huffed, “It's weird. Makes your face look all squishy.” 

 “Ah-” He blinked a few times, the smile in question vanishing in an instant. Just like the other day, she had another weird thing to say about his appearance! “Wh… wha? What does that even mean??” He couldn't help himself from touching his face, messing with his cheeks a little as he hid his mouth from her. Sure enough, unlike the rest of his body, the spell she placed him under didn't do much of anything to his facial structure, if he didn't include how his hair now curled and framed part of his face differently. It wasn't that his face was chubby, but he did always have a sort of boyish roundness to it… definitely not a manly appearance. 

It stung what little pride he had left to his name. Hell, he didn't know why he bothered glowering, he probably just looked more pathetic and soft than anything to her, “Well, sorry if my smile makes my face look stupid.” 

“No, I didn't say stupid. Quit pouting; it just makes your cheeks look more squishy.” She rolled her eyes before looking back at him with visible effort-

Ken watched her hide partially behind her hand as she tugged on her bangs, that strange rumbling echoing from her chest again like earlier. He saw her colors begin to curl falteringly, almost anxiously inside her chest and start to seep out in tangible warmth. Others in the café seemed to resonate as well, because they almost collectively relaxed even if they couldn't smell her spiced and sweet scent or feel the magic itself, all of the colors swirling around settling down, even in the presence of the void demon standing outside, who banged fruitlessly and harmlessly against the window with its face in slow repetition. 

“It's… adorable. ‘m not used to it…” 

The skeleton’s banging picked up in tempo when Ken felt his heart slam against his chest repeatedly a few times, definitely startling Tadpole. 

‘Damn it, Ken! It is just a compliment! Not even a good one; you're a guy! Adorable and cute is not what you're aiming for! That's her thing, not yours!’ He clenched his eyes shut as he tried to steady his breathing and get a fucking grip. ‘Gyuh… this girl is going to kill me.’

She extended some mercy his way by swiveling the kiosk back to facing her, “Here, let's get that fruit salad you mentioned. I really like the strawberries and kiwis, and they always have the sweetest ones here. The pineapple’s perfect, too. Do you want juice, tea or water?” 

He snapped out of his stupor, “Huh? Oh… uh, a-actually, I wanted to try their iced coffee.” 

“Huh… I've heard it's pretty good. I'm surprised, though. You didn't have a coffee maker at your place; I assumed you didn't like coffee.”

He stared at her, only to sigh to himself, ‘Does she seriously not realize how weird it is for her to know that despite being at my place only for a few hours total, from a normal person's perspective? She really did go through the entire apartment…’ He shook his head, “No, not necessarily. Just never went out of my way to try it, I guess. I don't think either of my parents were into it, so they never got one of those automatic ones. I think there's a Turkish coffee set still in storage, though; it's an office gift my mom never opened up.” Shrugging, he picked the menu back up, “Just thought I'd try it, since I'm already way out of my comfort zone. Might as well embrace the adventure, right?” 

“Daw, I'm your adventure?” She coyly cooed. 

He had just started looking at the desserts to see what else the café had to offer, when he slapped it back down on the table, “Ayase-san… do you want me to get the idea that you actually want this to be romantic? Knock it off with the flirting, please.” 

She recoiled in her seat, “Fl-flirting!? I'm not-” Her breath hitched, realization hitting her like a bullet. Her hair blazed out with flustered fury, “Oh, shut up!! You were messing around too, ya know!! Maybe I like seeing you get all mushy and shy!! It's refreshing. I like it way better than the gloomy-ass you from before. You're happier now, aintcha? I like being at least partially responsible for that!!” 

He bit back his delighted squeal when she made the cutest sound of annoyance he had ever heard, a perfect blend of a girl’s harrumph and a dragony chuff, her tail thumping against the ground and her chair a few times. Sure, Tadpole was fully aware of his internal meltdown, but it was obvious that she couldn't snitch to the real Momo; not on positive emotions, anyway.

He cleared his throat, “I mean… yeah, I guess that would be… accurate, to say the least…” God, he hated how embarrassing this was. Could he have been any more awkward than now? At least it wasn't just him being a social ditz. And damn it… he couldn't judge her for wanting to see him crumble up in fluster, since he was enjoying the same damn thing with her!! He was enjoying her true bubbliness so much, it was driving him crazy!! And apparently, something as simple as his smile was enough to warrant the same reaction from her…

“… huh.” 

Momo perked up, having just sent their food order in, “Hm? What's up?” 

He almost chuckled at how quickly her agitation with him vanished. “Nothing, really; I just realized something… well, kinda sad, actually.” He waved her off, “It's kinda depressing, now I think about it. I don't want to ruin the mood-”

“Tell me.” 

He made a little noise when her intensity flared steadily. She didn't push him to answer right away, but it was obvious she wasn't going to let him dodge. She was simply letting him take his time. 

“… I don't actually remember the last time I smiled this much.” 

She made an affirming hum, her tail swishing delicately at the tip. 

He rubbed the back of his head, finding the new curls satisfying to card his fingers between as he thought a little on his past, trying not to picture the depressing bullshit he had to deal with. Luckily, his gifted brain worm saw to it that he'd remain grounded and not chase the dismal white rabbit. “I just don't have any happy memories, really. Not that anything terrible happened-”

“I'd beg to differ, but I don't beg.” She narrowed her eyes at him, “Don't downplay it, Okarun. It's okay. I get it.” 

He sighed, “Alright, then yeah. My life sucked.” However, he couldn't help but let another smile slip out, chuckling at her firmness with him. She just couldn't help herself from dragonhandling him, could she? 

Her own lips quirked upwards in a crooked smile, “Sucked? As in, past tense?”

He groaned as he leaned back in his chair, struggling not to laugh, “Again with the flirting…” 

She fake scoffed, having expected his retort this time, “Flirting? I am doing no such thing! I am simply calling you out on your sickenly sweet thoughts.” 

“You're definitely flirting with me, Ayase-san.” He tossed her a knowing smile-

“HURK!!” She jerked violently in her chair, before snapping at him, her tail flailing wildly behind her, “Don't smile like that!! What the Hell!? Quit it!!” 

He gawked at her, utterly bewildered by her outburst. “Wha?? Like what, Ayase-san??” 

“Qu-quit playin’ around!! You know damn well what!!” 

“No?? I don't-” He then realized… he must've looked smug. ‘Wait, that's what broke her this time??’ The idea made him sputter. 

“D-don't laugh!!”

He ignored her demand, now chuckling even more. ‘She’s seriously so hopeless! I didn't even try to get under her skin!’ 

“Ugh!! You're such a pain.” 

“Hah hah, maybe, but you still love me.” 

He didn't know why he said it like that, but he had heard the girls talk that way with each other before with similar quips. He even matched the same sarcastic tone-

“I-I-! Tch…”

GARAAAAOOOOOW!!!

Momo let out a frustrated roar along with her girly outcry, earning only mild glances of confusion from some of the nearby patrons. The only other entity to react to her true loudness was the skeleton outside, the figure staggering backwards from the burst of energy she let out. 

Ken himself sat stock still with his hair looking like he had just jumped out of a plane, whipped back and fluffed up while his glasses laid askew over his nose.

“Damn it, Okarun!! Seriously!! Don't say shit like that!! It's so weird!!” She slammed her head down on the table, right as the waitress came with their drinks, an iced coffee and hot green tea.

Meanwhile, all Ken could do was watch her with blown wide eyes and ears ringing, half expecting her to explode yet again. Even Tadpole was now fixated on her creator, rather than the shadow figure that now hesitated to linger up against the window directly, despite continuing to stare. ‘What the Hell…? I thought… that was an obvious joke. Why did she…?’ 

Girls were confusing. Dragons were confusing. Gyaru dragon girls were super confusing.

He reminded himself to breathe when the waitress asked if Momo was going to be alright, Ken almost missing it thanks to his ears still screaming at him due to the assault from Momo. “Y-yeah, probably. She gets theatrical sometimes.” 

“Fuck off, Okarun…” she groaned.

He only chuckled, “See? She's still responsive. We'll be fine, thank you.” 

“O-okay! Good, I guess… I-I'll bring out the fruit in a few minutes for you two.” 

“Thank you, sounds great.” He scooted Momo’s mug closer to her, “Ayase-san, stop being dramatic. Your tea will get cold.” 

“Fuck off…” She repeated without a single ounce of bite behind it, keeping her head down without so much as flicking her tail. Even her hair went back to that rich chestnut color, only a few sparse highlights of teal visible. She hid her face from him with her arms, scales only peppering her fingers with her nails glowing teal without sharpening fully into true claws.

“You’re so ridiculous.” He nudged her arm, “Come on, I promise I won't smile like that again.” 

She made a strained sound, almost like she protested against the idea. A flash of her rosy eyes peeked through the curtain of her woody bangs, before she lifted and plopped her chin down on her arms. 

“Well, that's some progress, but you're gonna need to move before the waitress brings us that fruit, Ayase-san.” He struggled to not giggle at how grudging she glared at him with those scales flared over her reddened cheeks. “Seriously, soon enough I'll think you're actually super mad at me.” He covered his mouth, straining not to smile anymore for her sake. ‘Come on, Momo! You're a dragon! You shouldn't be acting like a little kid!’

She finally pried herself off from the table, if only to dramatically drape herself over the back of her chair with a drawn out groan. “I've created a monster…” 

Tadpole squirmed along with him with repressed giggles… well, at least he knew the stowaway was on his side. ‘Oh my gosh! She’s such a drama queen!’ He rolled his eyes, “I'm not a monster, Ayase-san. Stop being so melodramatic. It's only fair; you've been messing with me ever since we met.” 

“Yeah, okay, fair; but I didn't expect for you to get so… this in, like, a few days! You never were so bold…” 

“Did you really ever give me the chance to be?” he retorted. 

She flinched, “… no.” 

‘Well, at least she is aware of how brash she was.’ He went back to looking at the desserts, replaying a few of the times she cornered him after standing up for him, or even just bumping into him in the halls- 

STEM halls. Halls that had nothing to do with civil services. Classes that she had nothing to do with. She never went into math or science related classes!

“Ayase-san… how long have you wanted to be friends?” Because it really just hit him, now that he knew she wanted to be near him, for some strange reason, how much she went out of her way to find him.

“Months,” She admitted, too tired to really try covering the truth.

“… wow, okay.” He wasn't expecting her to be so blunt about it. “A-and it wasn't until after break that you tried being nice?”

“Yeah, I dunno, man!” She ruffled her hair with one hand, “I just… I didn't know how to just talk to you! You were always just so…” she made an indiscernible series of vocalizations, but he understood the frustration she was attempting to describe, that much he knew for sure. She slapped both hands down on the table, making her tea ripple while he was signaled by Tadpole to lift up his cold glass before the impact could shake it, “You were just so quiet! I thought you hated me! You really made me believe that! It pissed me off!” 

He quirked an eyebrow as he hooded his eyelids, before taking a sip of his drink. Might as well, he already had it held up. 

She fidgeted under his unamused gaze. “Okay!! I get it; I didn't exactly give you any reason to like me, because I'm a brutish bitch!” 

“Yeah, you were.” He gestured to his coffee, “This is super good, by the way.” 

“Okarun-”

“Momo,” he cut her off gently, “You're overthinking it. You have been overthinking it; we both have.” He wagged his free hand between them, “Look at how easily we're talking now. Just being ourselves.”

“Mph… feel vulnerable AF right now.” She crossed her arms after sitting up more upright.

He snickered a little bit, “Can't say I feel sorry for you.” 

“Gee, thanks-”

“I like being able to see the real you.” 

Her sassing him back died with a squeak. 

He closed his eyes, not giving any hint that he partially meant what he said literally. He set the coffee back down on the table, holding it with both hands clasped loosely around it, “Being able to see you let your kindness show, your determination, your goofiness… I like it. I like it a lot. I really do.” He opened his eyes back up, wanting to see her, “You make me feel seen, and I've never really felt that before. Thank you, Momo-san.” 

She quietly stared at him, her hair puffing up wildly as her scales flared out. She let out an indignant squeak, her loud, rolling rumbles only for him to hear. “J-jerk… saying sappy shit like that…” 

He only sighed at the biteless insult, but he still couldn't help himself from smiling. At least he gave her the courtesy of sparing her by hiding it from her view with the menu. 

“Wipe that smile off your face, asshole. I can still feel it.” 

“Whatever could you mean, Ayase-san?” He had to bite his tongue a little to not giggle at her snappiness. ‘Heh heh, Snapdragon. This is what you get for making me a giddy little dumbass, Momo. You did make a monster.’ And he relished it. “I’m just sitting here, reading the menu.” He wasn't. “No need to get all hissy.” 

She actually hissed at that. “You tuna-head! Octopus! Squid!!”

He snorted, “Squid? Who you calling a squid, Ayase-san? You're the only squid between us-” 

Ken stopped himself, right in the nick of time. He was absolutely about to call her a Mind Flayer. Because of Tadpole. Something he shouldn't have noticed. 

She snorted darkly, but he could feel her joy sparking back up in heaping portions. She bumped his shins with her foot- no, her tail. She only moved her foot to make it seem like she kicked him underneath the table, but he felt her wondrous, cozy scales against his bare, lower legs and he was fucking glad he still had the menu up and blocking most of his face, because he felt how scribbly and wobbly his smile became because she touched him with the side of her she wanted to keep hidden. He could feel the warmth and her magic linger in his skin where she bumped him, the ridge of fur from her mane that ran the length of her entire spine teasing its softness in the few spare seconds it grazed him… God, he wanted to know just how truly soft that fur was. He was totally being normal about the limb that just left a red patch on each shin with how roughly she smacked him 

He didn't even notice at first Momo staring with abhorrent shock toward the window where the skeleton was now phasing through the glass and creeping over an empty table that still needed to be cleaned, the beast creeping along with its arms being dragged up and over through the window pane and smearing dust and grime over the table and seats. It kept its gaping void directed at Ken, the shadows from within it reaching out in hopes of consuming him, for sure. 

He just simply did not keep his eyes locked on it. Tadpole was already back to doing that for him-?

He didn't just see her colors of various blues manifest more so than normal now that she was active. No, he saw a distinct shape. He knew he did, but he couldn't explore the fact, since Momo was seated right across from him and definitely saw the brain worm she planted, the dragon glancing back and forth from the skeleton and the friendly little apparition she created that was currently positioned coiled around Ken’s neck and shoulders. 

His mouth felt fuzzy from the stress, but still he murmured, “A-Ayase-san…? What's wrong? Everything okay?” He looked past the figure, noting the fact that the other patrons still didn't seem to notice its looming presence. There was no lingering damage to their auras, no distress, just simple enjoyment of the food and drinks. He had to really force himself not to look at the lanky creature as it leaned down with a disgusting, impossible bend of its spine, tilting its concave face as it expressed its curiosity for Ken, blocking his view of Momo entirely as it crept closer and closer. He didn't want to say anything, absolutely certain that his voice would crack as bad as his mask and the monster would attack him for sure, so instead he took another sip of the iced coffee-

Tadpole glowed brighter, warmth coming off of her and from within his chest all at once. She spontaneously lashed out and all he saw was a teal comet smack into the chest of the skeleton, and Momo’s teal talons hooking around its neck-

CRACK!!

The instant Momo’s fingers made full contact, she squeezed and snapped its neck with ease, all within a single, swift strike. Black blood, although mostly dried with only a slight remainder of viscosity, bursted out, smearing all over her pearly hand, the skin of the entity burning in sea foam flames where she and Tadpole touched. It let out a silent death rattle that made the air vibrate, stirring the auras around them as ash lifted from its rapidly disintegrating body. 

As soon as Tadpole repositioned herself coiled up and ready back around Ken’s stiff neck, his entire body frozen stock still in utter shock, Momo glanced at him, her stained, scaly hand hovering where she had mangled the absolute afterlife out of the ghost with petrifying power. “Uuuuh… th-there was a fly.” 

“… o-oh?” He didn't even bother falting himself for squeaking, just thankful he wasn't shaking his coffee around enough to be super noticeable (and yes, he was shaking). “I-I hadn't noticed…” How strong she actually was, how fast she could move; she was like a fucking bullet with that attack! He didn't even see her coming!! That ghost definitely didn't!! Were its bones just brittle?? No, he heard that snap, crackle, pop of solid, hard bone getting crushed underneath her… h-hand… the same hand that effortlessly carried him through the sky because he weighed nothing to her, but still could be so gentle with him. By now, she should have ripped his arms out of their sockets, or just completely ripped clean off his torso, whenever she tugged him around, or snapped his bones whenever she gripped him out of frustration… but instead, she only used that strength to lift him up of the ground in snug hugs, to protect him from the demons out to get him-

… why the fuck was he blushing?

No, seriously. His heart was pounding. When she cleaned the gunk off her hand by letting the remains burn away, followed by shyly tucking her hand back to her lap as she lied, saying she missed it with the cutest tone of fake disappointment ever, he took the opportunity to set down his drink, now really close to having spilled it from shaking all over, despite how much he strained to fight it- whatever the Hell it was. He couldn't find a way to politely excuse himself, worried that she'd take it the wrong way and think he was avoiding her for being weird or something awful, when really, he just wanted to scream. Not because of the monster, but because of her, what she did to it and what she was currently doing to Ken!! 

‘What is wrong with me!?’ He gulped as he tried to will his heart back into a steady beat that didn't drown his ears out with raging thunder. ‘You weren't even this worked up when the skeleton was looking at you and close to touching your face, but now you're freaking out!? What's your problem, Ken!?’ Colors were blitzing around, everything picking up now that there were no ghosts around to bother the two of them on their not-date. He was alone with the dragon-

Tadpole, still remaining formed and present outside of his mind, squeaked in mild annoyance when Ken caught fire in jade and teal, realizing that now more than ever with the looming threat fucking obliterated, it officially felt more like a date, especially when the waitress came over with their fruit salad with the breakfast croissants on the way, making the dragon girl visibly liven up with the promise of food. Momo’s bouncing from sweet, to terrifying, to downright adorable both left him reeling, and led him to a horrible conclusion that made him have to clench his hand over his chest as he burned alive when she wasn't looking, already digging into the sweet treat in front of her. 

Momo was not only cute and beautiful, but she was kinda hot when angry.

He watched the apparent triple threat to his emotional well being out of the corner of his eye as she hummed and chirruped in satisfaction with every bite, her eyes glittering each time she opened them (they burned pink with razor sharpness when he caught a glimpse of them when she killed the spirit), her hair fluffing up at the tips in teal (her hair flared out like a solar storm as her aura blazed), her free hand balled up into a cute fist that she wagged slightly… (those fingers were so strong…)

She made a purring, trilling sound of curiosity, something he just could not fully comprehend coming from the powerhouse goddess seated across from him. “Okarun? You're not eating your fruit.” 

‘I,’ he listlessly began to monologue, ‘am a doomed man.’ He was going to fucking melt. Maybe, even evaporate. She was blissfully unaware of how she was murdering him in ways arguably worse than the now completely vanished corpse. He wished she would just put him out of his misery, but not only did she promise him that he was stuck with her, but also he couldn't comfortably think about her or her hands and what they could do to him, because his traitorous heart, brain and stomach were all doing things he did not want to explore.

“S-sorry, just, uh… thinking.” He forced himself to pick up his fork, and although the fruit was sweet and refreshing (she was right, the strawberries tasted incredible), it did nothing to calm down the butterflies in his stomach. “It's good!”

She brightened up, literally and figuratively, making his heart squeeze from the sheer cuteness overload, “Right?? Gah! It's so sweet and juicy~!” She happily trilled and purred, nibbling on the sweet treats as if she hadn't been a fiery badass not even a minute ago. 

Ken had to bite his tongue when she shook her fists and almost clapped in excitement when the waitress brought out their croissant sandwiches, her tail twitching rapidly at the tip yet again in unadulterated happiness- fuck, her fangs poked out from under her lip when she smiled…

Why couldn't he just be normal about this?!

She was a dragon enjoying food!! So what!?

His internal screaming was interrupted with a gentle bonk to his cheek. The little, dragony worm chirruped and trilled, the same adorable noises that Momo made, partially obscuring his vision in her colors. She was too close to his face for him to properly see her, but the message rang loud and clear: now was not the time to have a meltdown and make Momo worry even more-

Tadpole let out an airy bark of sorts. 

Ah, so that wasn't the main point Tad was trying to make. ‘Well? What did you want me to think that meant??’ 

She only snorted in frustration.

Again, dragons were confusing. He was, however, thankful for the much needed distraction from Momo’s antics… although he would've appreciated the distraction lasting a bit longer, since he immediately got blindsided by the visual of Momo taking a massive bite out of the sandwich with no hesitation, only pure, excited hunger. She smiled with her closed eyes, high pitched, whistling keening echoing out as she started purring, her scent and colors wiggling euphorically in the air. Her tail undulated in loose, S shapes back and forth as she savored the first bite of her meal, licking away the yolk that smudged her lips-

He quickly scooped up his own sandwich, biting into it as a means of closing his eyes as inconspicuous as possible. The avocado brought out an unexpected creaminess that mixed perfectly with the runny yolk and crisp, savory bacon. He was so caught up in stopping his frenzied heart, he didn't even notice that he himself was moaning from the delicious food, “Oh my God…”

“Riiih??” Momo nodded her head, mouth still full with her second bite. She chewed some more, before clearing her throat, “I toldja!! They go great together!!” 

Tadpole chuffed knowingly as Ken took what she said a bit closer to heart. 

“Yeah… they do.”