Chapter Text
There was a boy in Momo’s class.
It was odd. They were third years, yet she hadn’t heard of this boy before. You’d think that she, of all people, would know that there was someone in this school with the same name as her favorite actor.
Yet, the first day of class, she was caught completely off-guard when she heard the name Ken Takakura read aloud. Her friends, Miko and Muko, were kind to her, only lightly teasing her. Yet, in due time, she would learn that neither of them had known about this boy before either.
After two weeks of classes, it became easier to see how this was the case. He had a presence that was just… easy to miss. His posture told it all, the way he curled in on himself, trying to make himself smaller. He had big, circular glasses, and a rather unflattering bowlcut, which was particularly unfortunate for him; he actually had quite a pleasant face, she thought privately.
Then, there were his eyes.
Large eyes, bigger than most, at least proportionally, and they would be a lovely shade of brown, but there was something off about them. It had taken her a long while to realize what it was.
There was no spark. No light. No real… feeling in them.
That, when thrown in with the fact that Momo had only heard him talk when answering a teacher’s question (usually correctly), she couldn’t help but wonder about this mystery boy. Now, Momo was the social type. A real yapper, her friends would call her, but it had always come naturally to her. She had considered, many times, just trying to chat with him, but his energy was so… off-putting, she found it hard to breach the wall. After all, what if he just preferred isolation?
If so, she could respect that. Plus with her odd nervous feelings about approaching him, she had accepted that maybe he should just be someone she silently roots for. She did what she could for him, where she could. She’d heard that another boy in their class, the asshat named Hase, had taken to bullying the boy. One harsh (and threatening) conversation with that shitheel, and she set that straight. After word of that got around, the others in her class would just ignore the wallflower. Not great, but better than treating him with active malice.
Momo always did hate injustice.
As far as talking to him went, she was content with respecting his space. Still, she would do what she could. Mostly, whenever she would walk into class, she’d try to meet his eye and give the boy a smile and a wave. The first time he noticed it, she had seen the first expression from him yet. A confused furrow of his brow. As though unsure if it was directed toward him, and afraid to acknowledge it in case it wasn’t.
Repeating it the next few days, he seemed to catch on. He had yet to return her wave, but yesterday, he gave her a small nod. She had tried (failed) not to beam at him, walking over to her friends’ knowing eyes.
Miko and Muko had advocated just approaching him plenty of times, mistaking her interest and concern for her classmate as some kind of romantic attachment, and neither were interested in hearing otherwise. They just didn’t get it. She was okay with being a benefactor for him, defending him from bullies when it was needed, and she was okay if he never knew about that. She was okay if he didn’t wanna befriend her. She just couldn’t stand to let someone be treated the way he had been.
And it seemed like she had done her job well, so far. He was being left alone now, and that’s what mattered to her. So, the distance was fine with her.
Until this morning, when he walked in with a fresh, violent bruise growing on his jaw.
W̸̬͖̜͑́h̵̛͍̘͑͊a̸͇̠̩͉̔̂̆̉ṫ̴͙̼̠̑ͅe̴̳̠̻̥̿̉͋v̶̟̼̤̚ͅé̶̗̗͚̳̌̉͠ṙ̶͈̼̻͖́͋̇ ̶̧̻̄͂͗̀͜ì̵̧̦͎̚t̴̛͉͔͌ ̶̹̉̽̿̅t̶͉̺̝̰̋̄̔͝a̸̳̮̓́ͅk̸̛̼̪̦̾͐e̵̡͔̐͛͝ŝ̸̨̮͖̰
“Yeesh,” Miko whispered to Momo, leaning back on her desk while the teacher wasn’t looking. “Your boy seems a bit… worse for wear, girl.”
She was too distracted by that ugly, sweltering bruise, she forgot to correct Miko on him being her boy. “Have either of you heard anything?” Her eyes didn’t leave the back of his head, where he sat in the middle of the room.
“Nah,” came Muko’s soft reply. “After the beating you gave Hase, whole school’s too scared to touch him, boo.”
“I didn’t beat him,” Momo protested.
“You know how word spreads,” Miko said with a shrug.
Momo sighed, her eyes going back to the familiar bowlcut. Not only was there the bruise, his energy was different today. He was more… fidgety. His shoulders were tight, but his hands seemingly couldn’t stay still. He was more reactive, too, for lack of better words. A student dropped a book, and she watched him jump and stiffen. Someone’s voice would raise a bit as they chatted, and he’d curl in on himself.
“Ayase!”
She blinked, shaking her head, and looking up at the teacher. Mr. Kitatsu was giving her a long, tired look.
“H-Huh? Sorry, I spaced out,” she admitted, face flushing a bit in embarrassment. Her teacher just let out a sigh.
“I was asking for the answer to question 23, but clearly, you’re too busy making googly eyes at the back of Takakura’s head.”
Her breath caught, and her face grew a deeper red. She heard some of her classmates snicker at her, but they at least were still scared enough to shut up when she cast her eyes at them. Good.
“Nimura, question 23? Let’s hope you were paying attention, at least.”
Muko shot straight up, bright smile adorning her features. “Sir! I was paying attention! But I have no idea what the answer is!”
Now the class were actively trying not to roar with laughter, the girl’s soldier-esque responses getting to a lot of them. Miko loudly failed, cackling. Hell, even Kitatsu seemed to be trying not to laugh, having to visibly remind himself to admonish her. Muko looked down at Momo from the corner of her eyes, giving a wink. The message was clear.
Hope this took the heat off of you.
Momo smiled back, nodding her thanks. She was lucky to have the friends she does.
Yet, she couldn’t help but notice that the boy didn’t react to any of it, not really. Even when his name had been mentioned, his head didn’t lift. It was like he was stuck in his own world.
Muko had sat down, as the class around them settled, thank God. “You owe me, boo,” she whispered, voice laced with fondness.
“What flavor of pampy ya want? I’ll get ya some during lunch break.”
“No, girl,” Muko said, shaking her head. She nodded toward the boy Momo was already cautiously watching. “Talk to him. You want to, right? Wanna check on him? Don’t let that embarrassing moment stop you, doesn’t even seem like it registered to him.”
Momo kept staring forward, for a moment, before nodding. “You’re right. Let’s just hope he doesn’t think I’m as scary as everyone else does.”
The rest of the class seemed to crawl by, leaving her with too much time to consider her approach. In some ways, it called to mind the feeling of approaching a feral cat, she had a feeling that if she went about it the wrong way, she’d scare him off. Besides, clearly his experiences with others already weren't the best. Trust issues were something she could understand, and she wouldn’t be shocked if he had plenty. She had to be gentle. She could be gentle.
At least, she thought she could? Whatever, she’d have to be.
Finally, the lunch bell rang. The movements of bodies around him seemed to stir the boy from his thoughts, as he moved to gather his things. Momo glanced at Miko and Muko, the former giving her a solid fistbump, the latter, a kind smile and an enthusiastic “you got this!”
She approached him from behind, while he packed his bag languidly. Even from his side-profile, she could see that the bruise was nasty. She might have to kill someone.
“Hi,” she called out to him, trying to keep her voice gentle.
He flinched, turning his eyes up to her. She wasn’t too close, but still seemed closer than what he was used to. He blinked owlishly, confusion knitting his brow.
“H-H-Hi?” There was an upward tilt at the end, the phrase sounding like a question. “I-Is there s-some-something I c-can do for you, Ayase-san?”
So he knew her name. Hey, that was probably a good sign. “Ya wanna eat lunch together?” She held up her bento, still wrapped.
Large brown eyes darted from her face to her box. “I-I’m afraid I d-didn’t bring anything, s-sorry.”
“Hey, that’s okay. My granny always packs too much for me, anyhow. We can share,” she smiled at him.
For a moment, he watched her, as though scanning her face for any deception, any concealed intentions, and it occurred to her that he had been hurt badly by those around him.
“If you’d rather not, that’s cool too,” she said, lowering her bento. “But I’d like to eat with ya, if it’s okay.”
When he spoke, his voice was halting, hesitant. But, maybe, buried beneath it all… hopeful? “...Okay. I can eat with you.”
She trained her face, trying hard not to show her joy to its fullest extent. Still, a small smile couldn’t help but worm its way onto her face. The first step had been successful.
Which, she realized, grimacing internally, was the only step I had planned. Gotta wing it from here.
Î̸̡͚̜͉͆ ̸̺͆͊͋ṡ̸̹̹̗w̴̛͓̯͓̟͛̕e̷͙̠͍̝̓͂̔͠a̵̡̦̋r̴̖͠ ̸̌̅̚ͅt̸̙̓́o̷̢̧̢̍̃ ̷̠̐͜y̵͚̗̩͎̓̋o̷̳͇͔͐̊ű̸̩ͅ
They’d been sitting in this secluded area of the courtyard for about five minutes. She had wanted to go up to the roof, initially, but he had been hesitant. A fear of heights, apparently. This was cool too, as far as she was concerned. No one really came by here.
They hadn’t really shared any words beyond that, she was a bit busy stuffing her face, as she was wont to do. Yet, the immediate edge of her hunger graciously curbed, it was time to make good on her offer.
“Want some?” She held the box toward where he sat, an overly respectful distance away. “Got octopus sausage with your name on it.”
That hesitance was still there, lingering in his eyes. He looked at the sausage warily, as though it might explode in his mouth. He took it gingerly, but made no move to eat it. She sighed, though projected patience through her tone.
“Hey dude, like, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t have any kinda like… ulterior motives here,” she said. “I know people can be assholes, but this isn’t like… a prank or whatever.”
“N-No, I know,” he said, voice soft. “Y-You’ve been k-kind to me, Ayase-san. I-I’ve wanted to th-thank you, I j-just…”
He trailed off, voice hopeless. Still, she beamed at him.
“Words can be hard, I get it! Besides, I don’t do anything for thanks, y’know,” she replied, chomping down on onigiri.
“...Even so. I-It’s easy for p-people to act like I… don’t exist. S-So, I’m grateful to you, already,” he said, bowing his head in a way that made her chuckle.
“Please, dude, it’s really no big deal. I’m glad it meant somethin’ to ya, but don’t think ya gotta put me on some pedestal cause of it. I just did what anyone should do.”
Nervous eyes turned up to meet hers, as he lightly fidgeted with the octopus sausage in his hands. “...You are kind, Ayase-san,” there was a note of trepidation in his voice. “I-I also… I hope y-you don’t feel… obligated? T-To talk to me, that is.”
She barked out an undignified laugh at that. “Dude, I’ve never felt obligated to do shit. I asked cause I wanted to. Been wantin’ to for like, a week now. Was just worried I would be intrudin’, is all.”
“Really?” The trepidation had faded, replaced with that restrained note of hope.
All she could do at that was give him a nod, hoping her eyes would convey her sincerity. She watched as he exhaled, a bit of that tension leaving his shoulders.
Okay, she thought. So far so good, here.
Gulping down another bite, she gestured to his jaw. “Nasty bruise. Doin’ okay?”
The tension came right back, and she wanted to curse her own lack of tact.
“O-Oh, y-y-yeah! I-It’s just… I f-fell is all,” probably the most pitiful excuse for a lie she had ever heard. Of course, his shaking voice and lack of ability to even look at her didn’t help.
“Look, if ya don’t wanna talk about it, that’s okay,” she said, forcing the righteous indignation towards his aggressors to not infiltrate her tone. “I just… hate bullies, is all.”
He deflated a bit, his rigid posture relaxing. “I-I do too. B-But, I really am okay.” He finally ate the sausage, eyes widening a bit. “It’s good…”
“Yeah, my granny can cook with the best of ‘em,” she said, eyes shining. “You can have the rest of the sausages, if ya want em. I’m about full, honest-”
Her stomach chose the worst time to make a very unfortunate growl. Her cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson.
“M-Mostly full,” she finished. “I’ll take the rest of the riceballs.”
He didn’t comment on her body’s attempt to undermine her, for which she was grateful. For a moment, he eyed the rest of the octopus sausages, before shifting his gaze to her.
“Y-You’re sure it’s okay?”
“What, you hear a girl’s stomach talk to ya and think she could eat a whole house,” she spat out, still mildly embarrassed.
“N-No, not at all! I’m sorry to imply-”
Her giggles cut him off, as she tried to contain herself enough to talk. “Dude, you’re good. I was just teasin’, is all. But yeah, take ‘em. I’ll have my granny make more for tomorrow, if ya want.”
His eyes went wide at the mention of a tomorrow. She liked his eyes, she realized. Once you got him talking, they were really expressive.
“I-... I’d hate to put you out-”
“I’ll bring them,” she said, not leaving him any room to argue.
“Th-...thank you,” he said.
They sat for a moment, in companionable silence. She silently noticed that, once he started eating, the other sausages went by fast. He definitely seemed scrawny, though the gakuran hid his body well. She wondered if he ate enough.
She glanced at him as he ate. She had seen him occasionally look over to her, a mixture of gratitude and anxiety in his eyes. She supposed she couldn’t blame him, really.
“Hey, you wanna hear a secret?” She wasn’t sure if this would help or not. Part of her was hesitant to tell him something she hadn’t really confided in anyone before. But if she was asking about a bruise, it felt fair to give him the trust she was asking.
“Hm?” Came his muffled reply, still chewing.
“I was bullied, when I was a kid,” she admitted.
“Really?” He seemed genuinely surprised. “W-With how tough you are, I f-figured people would know better.”
She blushed a bit, realizing he knew her reputation. She wondered if he had heard that she had nearly gotten into a fight on his behalf. She kinda hoped he hadn’t. Seemed like an unfair thing to put on him.
“Mm. I mean, I definitely got into fights over it, but I was, like, young. Like grade school. Wasn’t much I could do,” she said, still a bitter note to her voice.
“Can I ask… was it over something specific?”
Well, she had made it this far. Even Muko and Miko didn’t know this.
“My… my grandma is a spirit medium. Exorcist, I guess. I haven’t told anyone that before, but she used to make me do these rituals on the way to school, stuff to hone my chi. They made fun of me for that.”
She braced herself for the mockery, only to find that it didn’t come. She looked over at him, finding him chewing on what remained of his food. He was watching her, curiosity brimming in his eyes. After a moment, he swallowed.
“And you?”
“Whaddaya mean ‘and me’?”
He shrugged. “Kids made fun of you for that stuff, do you believe in that kinda thing? Ghosts, yokai, exorcisms?”
There was no real judgment in his voice. Only something that might have been… genuine interest?
“I… I think I do. When I was younger, I wound up getting embarrassed and saying some… some real nasty shit to my grandma. Called her a fake, a phony, whatever,” she sighed. It was nice, sharing this with someone. “Still feel like shit about it. Looking back, I don’t think it was ever that I hated bein’ made fun of. It was… I dunno…”
“Did it feel like they were making fun of her?”
It struck her, harder than she expected. She had been sitting on those feelings for years now, but had never really known how to verbalize it, or to put it into words. Yet, as he looked at her with those understanding eyes, he seemed to be able to pick up on it quicker than she ever did.
“Y-Yeah. Yeah. It did,” she said, shoving her surprise down. “I loved what my granny did. What my granny does. It’s… special, and it helps people.” She turned away, looking up towards the blue expanse of the sky. “You asked if I believe in ghosts, and I guess I gotta say yes. I believe in her, so I believe in ghosts.”
There was a quiet stretch of time. After half a minute, she turned, looking at him, only to be struck.
He had a small smile on his face, one that stretched his cheeks to reveal dimples on both sides. Those brown eyes, that she had thought lifeless, seemed to be shimmering. It was the first time she’d ever seen him so unguarded, and she decided that she would have to cherish every time she saw him like this.
“You have a nice smile,” she said, without thinking. “I hope to see it more often.”
He clearly had no clue how to take a compliment, much to her amusement. He stammered to the point of being unintelligible, cheeks flushing a deep, deep red. It was then that something else occurred to her.
The boy was cute.
The thought was flustering, a little, but honestly, all she could do was giggle. It was nice to see this on him, nice to be able to bring this side out of him. She hoped she could do it again and again.
“I think that’s a lovely sentiment,” he said once he settled, voice warm. “I… I like to think that it could be real. Ghosts and spirits and so on. I think it’s beautiful to be able to believe in something like that.”
“Mm,” she nodded, still grinning. “What about you? Got anything like that?”
He looked down at his lap, before picking a blade of grass, twisting it around in his fingers.
“Aliens,” he said, voice quiet now. The smile on his face shifted, still warm, but a bit sad too. “It was… well, is kind of an obsession, I guess. Mom was really into occult stuff, she and I used to go hunt for crop circles. Never found anything, but it was always… nice.”
He didn’t elaborate, but honestly, that insight was more than she had been anticipating. She was grateful already.
“Looks like we both believe in some weird shit, Occult-kun,” she said, laying on her back, watching the clouds move through the sky lazily.
“Speak for yourself,” he said, tone a bit belligerent. “At least my weird belief has scientific backing.”
She turned her head over to him, finding his eyes on her. There was a smile still, not sad, nor mocking… mostly teasing.
Did he just wanna argue with her?
“You ever seen an exorcism? Shit’s for real.”
“Have you ever seen a UAP, Ayase-san?”
“A UA-what?”
“UAP! Unidentified Aerial Phenomena!”
“So… a UFO.”
“If you’re a layman, sure.”
She rolled her eyes, snickering. “Okay, expert, have you seen a UAP?”
He deflated, sighing. “...Fair enough.”
She laughed at that, brightly. What’s a girl to do, she loves a nonserious argument.
“More like, you talk pretty easy when you get serious about somethin’,” she observed. His brows went up, surprised.
“Oh? I guess you’re just… easy to talk to, Ayase-san.”
That filled her with a warmth, and she couldn’t help but curse when the bell rang to go back to class. She sighed, pulling herself up before turning to him, where he remained kneeling.
“Glad ya think so,” she said, offering him a hand. “You’re fun to talk to, Okarun.”
He flushed as he took her hand, and they were softer than she would have imagined. Standing, he brought both hands to adjust his glasses. “Okarun?” He asked, not looking at her. “What’s that?”
“You like the occult, so Occult-kun, but that’s a mouthful, so like, Okarun!” She said, proudly. “Friends give each other nicknames, y’know?”
She couldn’t bring herself to admit to him why she struggled to say his actual name.
At the mention of friends, she watched as his eyes shot to her. Eyes that were still searching, looking for any sign of deception, any duplicity. It's then that a thought occurs to her, one that sinks her heart to her stomach.
Has he… never had a friend before?
With how awestruck he looks, she thinks it may be the case. She has to shove down the rising anger she feels at that realization.
“You wanna be friends with me?” And god, the fragility in his voice makes her want to tear the world away. But she knows, she has to be calm. Take things at his tempo.
“Of course!” She exclaims, brightly. “We told each other secrets, right? I’m not gonna tell someone that if I don’t wanna be friends with ‘em.”
“S-Sorry, I’m… an awkward guy,” AREYOUFUCKINGKIDDINGMEWHYWOULDHESAYTHATLINE, “I don’t have a ton of friendship experience.”
His quiet admission confirms what she had already concluded. Shoving down the feelings that the Ken-san quote brought up, she elbows his arm, smiling.
“I’ll be glad to help with that.”
And he’s smiling again, a bit bigger than last time. She’d never learned where the bruise came from, and she understood that they weren’t there yet. That’s okay. He deserved her patience.
Right now, she was just happy to have made a new friend. She could ride this high for weeks to come.
Ĭ̷̤̈́̾̆ ̵̘͆̋̽̌ẉ̷̈́̏̚ì̵͎̦͝ļ̴̹̺͐l̵̠͚͍̋̑͜ ̶͎͙̮͕́̏s̸̗͕͛̈́͂ͅǎ̴̦v̶͔̭̈̋e̸͖̳̾͌ ̸̤͌̓͐y̸̼̺̪͗ô̶̜̿ụ̷̫͖̹̉̂̚
She woke up.
She was sweating, shaking. Something was wrong. She turns, reading the clock on her nightstand.
3:04 AM.
She had felt fine, going to bed. If anything, she had felt great. She was still excited to have made a new friend, she got to chat with Granny over good food, she had gone to bed delightfully sleepy.
And yet, something was wrong. She could feel it.
She tried to close her eyes, tried to relax, tried to let sleep once again take her, but to no avail. Something was stirring inside her.
She rolled out of bed, padding over to her bathroom, flicking the light on.
She blinked. When had she started crying? Why was she crying? What was happening?
Woozily, she shook her head, wiping her eyes, when a flash of color invaded her vision. A bright teal, right around where her hand had been.
She stared at the palms of her hands for a moment. The light had vanished as soon as it appeared. Maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her?
What the fuck…
She had this feeling in her chest, too. A sense of impending doom. She didn’t know what it was from. Only that she had to do something to stop it, but what?
Turning the light off, she closed her bathroom door, flopping back on her bed. What could she do? She didn’t have any solutions, but to hope she felt better come the morning.
She rolled around, trying hard to fall back asleep, but the restless feeling wouldn’t leave, not until sheer exhaustion set in. Finally, sleep gripped her. As she faded, there was one thought in her head.
Okarun… I need to… save…
N̷̯̹͗̋̋o̶̺͍̽͒̐ ̷͍̱̞̉̌̀̃m̴̳̊̽͒ä̵̢̙͠ͅt̶̢̹̭͆́͝t̵̩̼͉͎͝ȅ̷̮͎͆̈̃ͅr̴̙̱̤͚̈́̓̋͠
“Momo, you don’t look great,” Granny had said, genuine concern lacing into her otherwise aloof voice. “You sure you don’t wanna stay home?”
“‘M sure,” she mumbled. “Gotta test today.”
She lied, trying to soothe her Granny’s nerves. She knew she looked rough, not having done much to fix her hair beyond the bare minimum, and not applying any makeup. She still felt exhausted, even though she felt like she should have gotten a decent amount of sleep, even after waking up in the middle of the night. She just couldn’t get over this feeling of dread.
This feeling that there was a danger coming.
Her Granny didn’t believe her, she could tell. If they were as close as they once were, maybe she would have pressed harder. But Momo could see it, the fear in the older Ayase’s eyes, the worry that if she tried to push, Momo would run away again. Their relationship was better now than it was in the past few years, and her grandmother was afraid to undo that.
And god, if that didn’t make Momo feel like shit.
“I-I’m worried about a friend. No real reason. Just have a bad feeling.”
Her perpetually-youthful Granny leaned over the breakfast table, getting a better look at Momo. Maybe trying to read her aura, it was something she had said before. After a moment, apparently unable to see anything, she sat back.
“Don’t see nothin’,” she said. “But trust bad feelings, Momo. More often than not, there’s a reason.”
Momo had just stewed on that, until she found herself at school.
She’d been late today, sadly. She had planned to try to walk to class with Okarun, but she would barely be on time as it was, he had definitely beaten her there. Absently, she made a note to try and get his number, it seemed like it would be helpful to have for things like this.
As she grew closer to school, though, that sense of dread kept building.
Until the moment she walked into her class, and saw his face.
Okarun was covered in bruises, and his clothes were nicked and tattered. There was a bandage running down his neck, too. As she laid eyes on him, for a moment, she saw this… sickly green flame, engulfing him. Then, when she blinked, the flames vanished. Another trick of the eyes?
He didn’t look at her, when she entered. Class was about to start, but she’d be damned if she was gonna wait on this.
“Hey!” She said, lowering her voice as she took in his condition. “Wh-What happened, Okarun?”
“Oh,” he muttered, giving her a smile. “I’m really okay. Just clumsy, is all.”
The thing about seeing someone’s genuine smile; you’ll always be able to tell when a smile is faked after that. This smile didn’t reach his eyes, no boyish dimples formed. It was just… placating. That lit a fire in her.
“Who did this to you?” She knelt beside his desk. “Please, let me help you. We’re friends, right? And friends help friends.”
“We are,” he said, that same smile clung to his face. “But I assure you, I am okay.”
The bell rang overhead, as their teacher walked in. “O-Okay,” she got out. “Just… I’m here, okay?”
She walked over to her corner, head still filled with concern. He was clearly in pain, and clearly lying about being okay. She had to try and let go, for now. They only met yesterday, he just… needed more time. Needed to see that he could trust her. She just had to keep showing him.
The girls could see that her mind was elsewhere, and aside from words of assurance, they gave her some space. Still, class seemed to drag on. By the time lunch arrived, she was feeling antsy. She was already out of her seat, walking over to his.
When he turned, there was surprise in his eyes, mixed with… shame? Before she could speak, he cut her off. “Ah, A-Ayase-san, I’m sorry… I n-need to leave the sc-school, I won’t be able to eat lunch w-with you.”
Normally, she might pout jokingly. Maybe be a tad incensed, if only because she did enjoy talking to him, so far. But there was something in his voice. A desperation.
“Where ya headin’?” She asked.
“I… j-just have some family stuff,” he said, forcing a chuckle. “Y-You know how it is.”
“Right…” he was lying to her. Poor guy, his eyes gave him away. She doubted he could tell a convincing lie to save his life.
But what right did she have to pry?
So long as one thing was true…
“Hey,” her voice drew his attention away from packing his bag. “You’re… you’re not in any kinda danger, right?”
The fake smile returned. “Not at all.”
A lie.
H̴͔̳͗o̸̝̣̖̔̈́͘w̸̙͎͊ ̵̪̼̤̐̀̉m̸̘̬͖̈̅̈́̋a̵̓̀̽͘͜n̶̡̛̄y̵̻̻̭̅̉̑ ̶͎̱͆̋̅͝t̷̪͔̑̍͒̍i̴̮͕͐m̴̗̹̱̂̓ě̷͉̌s̴̢̳̥̹͒̋͛
Momo wasn’t the stalking type.
Honest to god.
But can you blame her for making an exception? Between his injuries, that green flame that, clearly, only she had noticed (assuming she wasn’t losing it, of course), and his general demeanor, she felt this want, or this need, to make sure that he was okay.
And so, as he left campus, she tailed him. She left a decent amount of distance, but frankly, she didn’t have to worry too much about being noticed. He was just… in his own head. It was like nothing else around him existed. While it made following him easy, she also worried as to what it could possibly that had him so… like this.
So she followed, accepting that it may mean that she’s late getting back. That was okay with her. She wouldn’t be able to focus anyway, unable to see past her own concern. After all, her granny’s words were ringing in her head. She had to trust a bad feeling as it came up.
He walked through downtown Kamigoe, seemingly in a haze. He spared no eyes at the people around him, nor minded their eyes landing on him.
He just kept walking.
After what felt like forever, they had left downtown Kamigoe. For whatever reason, he refused to take a train (not that she was complaining, made it less likely that he would see her), and eventually his trudging led the two of them to the Old Town.
This… was a part of Kamigoe that her grandma had always cautioned her about. She had told her to always pray before entering, to not linger if she didn’t have to. To not look at the shadows.
She watched as he crossed the threshold, entering the Old Town, and saw that green flame flicked again. She shook her head, offering a prayer to the god of Kamigoe for their safe passage, before entering.
The Old Town, to most, simply looked like a forgotten relic. It was on the very edge of Kamigoe, far enough from downtown that there was no great rush to pave over it. Yet, as Momo entered, she wondered if there were other reasons.
The temperature dropped instantly, the warm air of early May feeling more like the winter months. She could see her breath puffing out, as she followed her friend. If Okarun noticed the change in temperature, he didn’t signify it. The buildings around them, abandoned and rundown residences from before the war, all bore silent witness.
She didn’t like this.
She liked it even less when Okarun stopped in front of one of the houses. He eyed it, and she could almost feel the fear rolling off of him. He walked forward, as though to enter, and she felt her own anxiety spike.
“Okarun!” It came out before she could stop it. He froze, head slowly turning to her, eyes wide.
“Ayase-san…” his voice sounded… haunted. “Why are you here?”
“I…” she jogged over to him, not wanting to raise her voice around here. “I was worried about you. You acted, like… like you were scared of somethin’. Sorry I tailed ya.”
“Ayase-san, you can’t be here,” the desperation in his tone had returned. “You need to go, now.”
“Sure,” she said, wrapping her arms around one of his. “Let’s go, Okarun.”
He resisted her pull. “I-I can’t. I have to go inside.”
“Why? Place looks abandoned as hell anyway,” she said, tugging harder. “C’mon. W-We’ll be late, but it’ll be fine.”
She knew how it would look. The two of them coming in late, together, after what her teacher had accused her of just the day before. She knew what they would say, what they would accuse them of.
And she couldn’t possibly care less about any of it. She knew, on a primal, instinctive level, she needed to get him out of here. Now.
“Ayase-san,” his tone was firm. Unrelenting. “You’re in danger. You feel it, don’t you? Their… their eyes.”
She shuddered. He was right. They were being watched by something. When she spoke, her voice was lower. “Yeah. You’re in danger, too, you idiot. Granny always said to avoid this area, why are you even here?”
His eyes left her face, turning the two story residence in front of them. There was a grim resolution on his face, as he stared at the decrepit old door. “I… have a contract to uphold.”
That threw her off, arms slipping down to her sides, as her brow furrowed.
“What… what contract could you have made… with something that lives here?”
He smiled, forlornly, anxiety still itching at the edges. “Wasn’t me. I was just the cost.”
She didn’t know what the hell to make of that. So, she said dumbly; “Thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”
“I don’t,” he said, “but I believe in demons.” He turned to her, stony resolution regaining control over his features. “You need to go, please-”
“KEN TAKAKURA.”
He froze at the voice, that sounded like metal on metal. His eyes widened in abject fear. Momo couldn’t see the source of the voice, only knowing it came from the house before them.
“HAVE YOU RETURNED TO RIGHT YOUR WRONGS?”
He took in a shaky, shallow breath. “Yes.”
“AND YOU HAVE BROUGHT AN OFFERING.”
“No!” He shouted, throwing an arm in front of her. “I-I don’t know her! She just happened to be here! Leave her out of this!”
She stared at him. He was protecting her. Even as he was terrified, he was protecting her. The hell…
“My name,” she called out in the direction of the voice, “is Momo Ayase. I will speak for myself.”
A rasping sound. Laughter. Okarun looked at her, a mixture of frustration and horror. He wanted her far away from here. She knew that. But… her life had led her to this moment, hadn’t it?
This was a yokai. She could intuit that much. Her bloodline was rooted in this very subject, protecting others from such monsters.
The rasping laughter grew louder, as the door swung open. All at once, the noon sky seemed to darken into an ugly twilight. It reminded Momo of smog.
From the door emerged a figure… perhaps eight feet tall, it had spindly limbs, with unnaturally long arms that dragged on the ground as it walked. Upon closer watch, she saw that the arms ended around where the creature’s knees were, and the remainder…
Long, undulating blades, sprouting from its forearms.
It looked gaunt, skinny to the point of being uncomfortable. Its head, though… it reminded Momo of a praying mantis, but with a mouth more akin to a human’s.
This certainly was a yokai.
“AYASE, HM?” It seemed to form its words by dragging the blades of its arms together. “MY, MY. BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU, I WILL HAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO BECOME A GOD!”
“H-Huh?” She was at a loss. She knew yokai sought out that kinda thing, according to her grandmother. Supposedly, it made them more powerful. But this-
“YOU CANNOT SEE IT?” More of that awful, awful laughter. “YOU BOTH CONTAIN SUCH POTENT SPIRITUAL ENERGY. THAT IS WHY THE BOY WAS PROMISED TO ME.”
“Promised to-!” Before her question could be asked, she was cut off.
“Enough!” Okarun said, voice raised for the first time that she had ever heard. “Leave her out of this! Otherwise, I don’t care what you do to me, the contract is off. I will break it.”
The yokai’s head tilted to the side, questioning.
“DO YOU THINK… I NEED EITHER OF YOU ALIVE?”
Instinct saved their lives, only barely.
She had tackled him, knocking him to the floor, as the yokai flew past. She heard its blade whistling through empty air.
Okarun shot up, pulling her with him as he took off into a sprint. “Ayase-san, you need to get out of here!”
“Oh, SHUT UP! WE gotta get outta here!” She ran ahead of him, tugging him along now. “If we can get out of the Old Town, we should be safe! I have no way of provin’ it, but I think that thing’s a bound spirit, tied to this specific area!”
“RIGHT YOU ARE!” The voice was right beside her, the only thing that delivered her from death, as she ducked on reflex, pulling him down with her.
She didn’t escape unharmed. She realized that when darkness took over half her vision. Realized that when she saw the blood leaking out, the half of her sight she still possessed staring at the pooling crimson.
“Ayase-san…” Okarun’s voice was distant. Haunted. “Y-Y-Your… your eye.”
“GO!” She shot forward, dragging him once again. It was only luck, the yokai’s speed was impressive, but seemingly out of control. Every missed attack sent him careening, buying them a few precious seconds to-
A flash of movement, coming straight for her. The loss of half her sight meant that her reaction was delayed. She couldn’t move.
But… Okarun could.
The two tumbled to the floor. Her adrenaline, the only thing keeping her from screaming in agony from the loss of an eye, was firing strong, she made to run again, pulling him-
Just to find dead weight.
She turned back, her good eye widening. A horrific gash along his throat.
He was bleeding.
He was dying.
For her.
He threw away his life.
For her.
“OKARUN!” She screamed, running to crouch beside him. Yokai be damned, ghost town be damned, lost eye be damned, she had to help, had to fix-
“Aya… se-san” his voice came, weak and unsteady. God, he had already lost so much blood, so much blood on the ground, what could she do? She needed to… needed to
“You… need to… run…”
“I’m not,” she argued, trying to put pressure on the wound and his blood was on her hands his blood was on her handshisbloodwasonherhands
“Please…” a weak, heaving breath. “...it… was brief. B-But I… was grateful… to be your f-... your friend.”
“You’re not doing this to me,” she babbled, tears mixing with the blood in her eyes. “We barely even got to start… why, why would you-”
“Friends… help friends,” he said, giving her a smile. And godfuckwhy it was a genuine one. “No… regrets. Just wish… I caught you… following.”
“Friends help friends,” she argued. “C’mon, I’ll get you out of-”
“Momo…” his chest rose, one final time. “ Run.”
His breath left, chest falling, eyes losing their shine, turning to the skies above.
She stared.
“No.”
Her voice sounded foreign, even to her.
“No… no, you aren’t… you’re not doin’ this to me, Okarun.”
Her bloodied hands went to take one of his, still warm, still soft. “Please, please, come on… you can’t… you can’t leave like this, you- we didn’t even get the chance to… to be friends, I still had- I still wanted- WHY? Why… you barely knew me- you-... you threw it all away f-for someone you-”
At some point, she was sobbing. Oblivious to footsteps behind her, she squeezed the dead boy’s hands.
“I don’t care what it takes… I don’t care what it costs me. Whatever it takes… I swear to you…”
There was a shadow standing over her, elongated arm raised high. She couldn’t see it.
“I will save you! Whatever I have to do, I’ll save you!”
She was glowing. Teal light was shining in the artificial darkness. She couldn’t notice, staring at his face.
“I swear to you, I will save you, even if IT KILLS ME-”
The blade slashed through her neck. The teal light was extinguished. Everything went dark.
Her last thought was of home. A dinner table. Her grandmother, Miko and Muko, and Okarun. Peaceful.
Her head hit the ground, rolling away from the rest of her body.
Ḯ̷̲ ̷̯́ ̷̺͊D̷͎͊ ̵̯̚Ī̵̼ ̸̯͂E̵̞̚
Chapter One
Even If It Kills Me...
She shot up, screaming, clutching at her neck, clutching at her eye, clutching for a limp hand that wasn’t there.
Teal light flooded her dark bedroom, as her windows exploded open. Her closet door was ripped from its hinges, as every object in her room seemed to fly around.
And after a moment, everything stilled. The chilly night air of early May swept over her from the broken windows, the curtains having been torn off. There was a crack in her ceiling now that hadn’t been there before. She was crying silent tears. Yet every sensation, every observation, all of it fell to the wayside as she stared at the digital clock, the display cracked from having been thrown around the room, but still functional.
3:04 AM
She looked down. Same clothes from last night.
Same unsettling feeling, in the pit of her stomach.
A new sound rang through the room, as Momo Ayase sobbed, deep and broken sobs.
Whatever it takes…